We take a look back at some of the highs and lows, best interviews, event highlights and top training tips of 2014 from the world of international eventing, month by month, in our series of articles. Click on any highlighted text to take you to any of the articles mentioned to read in full
Gaby Pither not only won the CCI2* at Melbourne but also helped Australia win the inaugural Oceania Young Rider competition
In the lead up to the Melbourne International Horse Trials, the old event with the new name and new organisers, we focussed on some of the young stars to be competing there as part of the Oceania Young Rider competition; Teegan Ashby and Bonnie Farrant, Jessica Woods and Michaela Martindale, Emily Gray and Sarah Young, Jaimie Stichel and Maddy Crowe, Naomi White, Gabrielle Pither and Tayla Mason
The big news of the month was that the long wait was over for Australia’s Kevin McNab and New Zealand’s Jock Paget following the FEI Tribunal hearing in London. Both Jock and Kevin were temporarily cleared to return to the competitive arena after the FEI Tribunal this morning lifted his provisional suspension pending the release of their full ruling and we spoke to Equestrian Sport New Zealand’s High Performance Director Sarah Harris about the decision by the FEI Tribunal to allow New Zealand’s Jock Paget back into competition
Two prominent Australian equestrians, Wayne Roycroft and Boyd Exell were honoured in the 2014 Queens Birthday Honours List and it was good news for Canada and Poland. The FEI Bureau unanimously approved Bromont/Montreal as host city for the FEI’s flagship event, the FEI World Equestrian Games™, in 2018 while Strzegom in Poland won out over Fontainebleau, France in the bid to host the 2017 FEI European Eventing Championships
Events
The new look Melbourne International Horse Trials was eagerly anticipated in the lead up to the World Championships but before Melbourne kicked off, Tattersalls International Horse Trials in Ireland was to complete. The British riders dominated proceedings in the dressage but Holland's Janou Bleekman and Ireland's Fionn Clarke add some other flags into the mix at the event which always gets Libby Law excited!
For the fourth year running, cross country course designer Ian Stark displayed his creative flair, producing what the CCI3* riders described as an “inviting but challenging and unique course” (check out the course here) and Britain’s Izzy Taylor rose to that challenge. Izzy moved into the lead with a strong cross country round and then cemented the win on Sunday with a clear show jumping round, finishing on her dressage score of 41 while New Zealand’s Tim Price bounced back after Badminton to win the CIC3*.
Click here for our full reports, rider interviews and photos from Tattersalls
Ian Starke was also the course designer at Bramham Park in Yorkshire where Aoife Clark and Fenya’s Elegance produced a faultless show jumping round to be the first Irish winner ever of the CCI3*. Aoife explained why she didn't get nervous before her winning show jumping round to clinch the win and Ian Starke explained why he does get nervous before the cross country – you can see how his cross country course rode in our coverage of the event. However it was not such a good event for poor Mary King who was very contrite after receiving a second yellow card at Bramham.
When we did get to the Melbourne International Horse Trials, which now held all phases of the competition outdoors, the weather gods were being kind by providing some lovely winter sun. While Sonja Johnson's first horse didn't behave in the way she would have liked in the dressage phase, her second horse Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison certainly produced the goods and the pair took the lead in the CCI3*. However the top two riders in the CCI3* did a swop after cross country day with Stuart Tinney and Pluto Mio taking the lead only to be dealt a bad blow the next day when unable to present at the second horse inspection. Pluto Mio had looked fantastic as he finished the cross country phase on his dressage score of 46.01 but by later that night he was, according to Stuart, ‘dead lame’ due to a small splinter which has embedded itself into Pluto’s knee. The good news was that the injury was minor but this was probably little consolation for the Tinney team who believed their WEG hopes were over – no wonder that their blog following the event was by far the most read blog of the month!
When Sonja unexpectedly had two rails down on Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison in the show jumping, an emotional Shane Rose took the win with a clear round on his homebred ex-racehorse Shanghai Joe.
Click here for our full reports, rider interviews and photos from Melbourne International Horse Trials
It was great to see Kevin McNab is back in competition mode again at Luhmuhlen, along with six other Australian riders and a host of international stars, at the last 4* test before Normandy 2014. After the first day of dressage two 23 year olds were in first and third place in the CCI4* while the slightly older Andrew Hoy set a tough score to beat in the CIC3*. Germany’s Sandra Auffarth rode a super test on Opgun Louvo to grasp the lead from Andrew Hoy in the CIC3* with a score of 26.10 the next day, but another Australian, Lucinda Fredericks riding Flying Finish held off Michael Jung in the 4* to lead heading into the cross country, a day that won’t be forgotten for a long time.
Michael Jung took the lead after Lucinda Fredericks had a bad fall on course but was not badly hurt; due to Lucinda’s fall, Phillip Dutton was held on course next to the Ariat Table (Fence 20) and the decision was made to let Benjamin Winter on his second horse, Ispo through first. Their fall at this fence, which jumped well the rest of the day, was immediately obvious as a serious rotational fall but it was not known until later that, although Ispo was fine, Ben had been fatally injured
In consultation with the riders, the FEI and Ben’s family, the decision was taken to complete the event on Sunday with Ben’s mother bravely stating that “Benjamin lived for the sport and he was so looking forward to be competing in the CCI****. He would have wished for the event to be concluded” and in a meeting on Saturday evening all competing riders decided to continue the class in Benjamin’s memory.
On the same day it was confirmed that British rider Tom Crisp’s chestnut gelding Liberal had died on course at Luhmuhlen, believed to have suffered an aortic rupture although not while jumping a fence and news was also coming through that an incident had also occurred in the UK which turned out to be the death of Canadian rider, Jordan McDonald at Nunney Horse Trials.
The eventing world was in shock and there was no victory lap at Luhmuhlen but there can be no doubt that New Zealander Tim Price deserved his first four star win on the horse that 'finds everything easy', Wesko. ”It’s hard to carry on with the performance aspect and the celebrations in light of what happened” said Tim “But I’m really proud of my horse and I’m looking forward to the rest of his 4* career”
Click here for our full reports, rider interviews and photos from Luhumuhlen
While eventing squads were being announced left, right and centre for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the dressage and jumping test events were taking place in Caen, Normandy where the Australian born rider, and dressage coach to the Australian eventing team, Gareth Hughes scooped a win and Normandy showed it could turn on the rain (so maybe we shouldn’t have been too surprised later in the year!)
And the favourites for Normandy, Michael Jung and the German team put on an impressive display at Strzegom in Poland, bagging the FEI Nations Cup qualifier and plenty more
Interviews
As always there wwere plenty of interesting characters - two legged and four - to meet in our interviews. Alison Duthie caught up with the eye catching combination of Catriona McGufficke and Cayuse Kingmaker to find out more about the ‘Sportaloosa’ who doesn’t like getting his feet wet and their special cross country colours
Sarah Nevile-Lavingdale is not only the ‘voice of eventing’ at many of Australia’s top events but also an eventer herself. We found out more about the knowledgeable blonde behind the commentary microphone and in our Training Tips section, Warren Lamperd, Australian eventing rider and coach, looked at some of the things to consider when working a horse, developing its fitness and designing an equine fitness programme
Most watched cross country video
Aus Megan Jones and Kirby Park Impress, CCI1* Ballarat Horse Trials
UK Willa Newton and Neelix CIC3* Burnham Market
Top 3 (most read) blogs
Tinney Eventing’s Our Normandy 2014 WEG hopes are dashed
Tinney Eventing’s Two Tinneys into 2*
Nicole Stewart’s No Melbourne for us
Top 3 (most viewed) photo galleries
Cross country day at Luhmuhlen
