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
The gossip of the month was that Andrew Nicholson had withdrawn from the Equestrian Sport New Zealand High Performance Squad for 2015 until an ESNZ debriefing of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games had taken place and some of his concerns addressed - a story that was to continue well into the New Year when, in response to this withdrawal, he was left off the first NZ squad for 2015.
Opposition Buzz, the horse that was the pathfinder for the British team at four major championships ridden by Nicola Wilson sadly died at the age of 17 in November but the end of season British Eventing rankings brought better news for Nicola and world champion Sandra Auffarth took over the ride on Ispo, the horse formerly ridden by German rider Benjamin Winter
From Kings to Queens – we took a look at Mary King's new book 'My Way' and thought it the perfect ‘how-to’ book for eventing fans packed with colour photos, diagrams and great information while Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II became the first recipient of the FEI Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of her leading role as supporter of equestrian sport throughout her reign as British monarch
Events
In Australia, Wallaby Hill may have turned on some hot, wet and windy weather that blew over dressage arenas but a bit of changeable weather didn’t put us off and it was smiles all round from the Wallaby Hill team as ‘their own’ Michelle Robson took home two winner's rugs.
In international news, the surprise package of Fraser King and Nadal (above) came from behind to win one of New Zealand eventing's biggest crowns at the Eventing Canterbury National One Day Event Championships in Christchurch and, further afield, the home side took team and individual gold at the FEI South American Eventing Championship 2014 in Barretos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of the two qualifying competitions in the South American region for the Pan-American Games. But the big event of the month was the only CCI4* in the southern hemisphere .....
Australian International 3 Day Event
With the temperature in the thirties, Ground Jury member Christian Landolt wore his customary shorts at the first horse inspection in front of Adelaide’s Heritage Stand in Victoria Park, Adelaide. Although all the horses passed the first horse inspection, it is lucky that some of the riders did not need to pass a trot up with various riders strapped up, hobbling or having their horse trotted up by someone else. The casualties had started well before the actual inspection itself with one of the hot favourites in the CCI4*, last year’s second placed Sonja Johnson, withdrawing Belfast Mojito just before the event and Will Enzinger taking a tumble at Tooradin Horse Trials, landing on the same leg he broke only days before this event in 2013.
Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden
Everyone was present and correct for the first day of dressage however with local rider and Olympic medallist Megan Jones riding Kirby Park Grand Impressions the first horse in the arena on Thursday for the CCI2*. Queensland’s Eleanor Osborne led the CCI2* dressage for much of the Thursday morning session with a score of 49.40 riding Highborne Rocker but just before the lunch break Christine Bates riding Kung Fu Panda moved into the lead and stayed there
Megan returned on Friday to lead the CCI4* class with a score of 51.50 riding Kirby Park Allofasudden and, despite the score, was very happy with her horse that had only recently come back into top level competition. She also had two horses in the top five of the CCI2* making it a good start to the big event
If anyone was feeling a little sleepy first thing this morning after the overnight parties in Adelaide (that’s the trouble with being so close to good restaurants and bars), they would have been woken up by watching Megan, the first rider of the day on the CCI2* cross country. Megan experienced, in her own words ‘the best save I’ve ever done’ at Fence 18 when Kirby Park Grand Impressions made a spectacular miss.
Christine Bates and Kung Fu Panda
However Christine Bates and her two horses were foot perfect on cross country day and she talked us through her rides in the CCI2*. This class provided a great morning of cross country action across the Adelaide parklands and, with only 10 penalties separating the top 10 riders at the end of the day, it was tight at the top heading into the show jumping.
For the leader of the CCI4*, it was an unexpected but happy situation. “It wasn’t what I expected but it’s all that I hoped for” said 22 year old Jess Manson after the cross country. Jess, the second rider of the day had proved to be the speed demon on her Australian Stock Horse Legal Star who zoomed around the course with only 2.8 time penalties to move from sixth place after dressage to take the lead. Jess was nearly being tipped out of the front door coming out of the second water complex - although it was not realised at the time, some of the footing had caved in just at the exit to the water complex which caused Legal Star to stumble but shortly after, the Ground Jury called a halt to proceedings while the offending hole was filled in. The other bogey fence was our very own Fence 6AB - An Eventful Life Sports Field Corner Brush where various riders picked up penalties early in the course.
The next day the roads of Adelaide were open again and all eyes were on the show jumping arena. It was a day for the greys with Kirsty Douglas and Cushavon Crackerjack winning the CCI2* and young Jess Manson from Western Australia recording her first CCI4*. Clear show jumping rounds were few and far between in the final phase of the CCI2* and it was not until the young rider Isabel English on Grand Andi jumped a clear round under time that the crowd gathered around the main ATCO arena could get excited and the celebration music was heard. This double clear round, one of only five out of the final 42 competitors, helped move Isabel up to 13th place and also saw her complete the event as the winning Young Rider of 2014.
The overnight leader Christine Bates had only 3.8 penalties in hand and Kung Fu Panda looked as if he was not going to need them but Fence 9 came down and, agonisingly, the very last also fell. Kirsty and Cushavon Crackerjack (above) had clinched the Australian International 3 Day Event CCI2* win on a score of 51.30 with Christine in second place on 55.50 and Megan in third on 55.70. “He tried his heart out for me” says Kirsty about the lovely grey horse who very nearly lost an eye earlier this year and has subsequently missed a lot of competitions “He really didn’t want to touch anything”. Indeed he didn’t
There were few clear rounds in the CCI4* as well and Megan Jones had a look of pure determination on her face as she rode into the arena on Kirby Park Allofasudden. No stranger to pressure situations, Megan rode the first clear round since Katja Weimann’s which really piled the pressure on Jess Manson (below) who had 6.1 penalties in hand but she did not need them. An impressively calm and well judged round from the young rider sealed her first ever CCI4* win. It took a while to sink in but Jess was soon in the swing of things fizzing up the champagne on the winner’s podium
Our full reports, interviews and photo galleries from all days at the Australian International 3 Day Event 2014 here
Katja Weimann finished in fourth place in Adelaide and followed it up the next week by becoming the first female winner of the Equestrian Australia Exhibition Eventing Grand Final at Equitana with another great jumping round. This was the month for ‘arena eventing’ and while the Australian eventers were going head to head in the Exhibition Eventing Grand Final, at the Stuttgart Masters in Germany Michael Jung was giving a masterclass in how to jump a similar class indoors.
In the inaugural international indoor eventing class in Stockholm, Niklas Lindback took the individual honours on home soil while the Kiwis triumphed in the team competition
Training
Despite a busy month of events we managed to sit in on some great clinics too. We spent time at a Gareth Hughes clinic and talked to the Australian eventing team dressage coach about ‘the art of letting go’, why young riders should find someone to watch and what the difference is between pure dressage and eventing dressage and it isn't everyday that a young Australian rider gets the chance to train with a visiting gold medallist - we found out more about the Dirk Schrade Masterclass at Equitana from 16 year old participant Sam Jeffree
Dave Coleman's 3 year old Welsh Cob Albert had his first ever jumping and cross country experience under the watchful eye of Swedish eventing star Niklas Lindback in Australia – we watched how it went and found out what Dave took away from the lesson with his young horse
Features
William Fox-Pitt and Bill Levett were just two of the buyers at the 2014 Monart Elite Eventing Sale - the Irish auction that has not only good stock at reasonable prices but somewhere great to stay too while shopping for young horses and, on the other end of the scale, we heard the story of the amazing Brego, a wonderful Welsh Cob pony who is 'a bit of a gun cross country' from his rider Victoria Doak. Brego may be 22 years old but looks as if he will go on forever
Interviews
Top Swedish eventer Niklas Lindbäck talked about the setbacks faced in 2014, his new yard in Sweden and how he will be busy ‘catching up on lost time’ as his top horses Mister Pooh and Cendrillon get ready for 2015 and we found out more about 18 year old Kenya Wilson, one of the youngest riders who galloped around the parklands of Adelaide riding one of the smallest horses who came all the way from Western Australia
For Kirsty Douglas it was a bonus that Cushavon Crackerjack won the CCI2* in Adelaide - the real win was having him back in competition at all. In our video interview we found out more about how this lovely grey horse nearly lost his eye and what the future may hold
At Equitana we chatted to to Charlotte Dujardin just hours after being named Sportswoman of the Year and why the dressage sensation does not like ‘jumping downhill’ despite riding horses regularly for one of the world’s top eventers and when the chance came to do a video interview with eventing gold medallist Dirk Schrade on his recent trip to Australia, we jumped at it (or rather we jumped into a noisy stable) to find out about his trip, his thoughts on WEG, indoor eventing and what's coming up in 2015
Most watched cross country video
Katie Roots and Trevalgar II – winners CNC2* Wallaby Hill
Top 3 (most read) blogs
Alice Hirst “ Highs and Lows”
Rebel Morrow “ Re-focus as a rider”
Rachel Watts “The season is over – time for the pub”
Top 3 (most viewed) photo galleries
Australian International 3 Day Event XC Course Walk
Australian International 3 Day Event Saturday
Australian International 3 Day Event Wednesday
