Nat Davies, second in the CIC1* on Chatswood Captivate last year
Well, we hate to spoil the anticipation but we think we can already name the winner of the CCI3* Baxter Boots NSW State Eventing Championships.
Two riders will enter the CCI3* dressage arena – Shane Rose and Stuart Tinney and, as Shane is the test rider, that may give it away. However Stuart riding Annapurna still has to complete so the pressure is on the Iceman but our guess is that he can cope
It’s tough for event organisers when this happens but it really doesn’t reflect on the whole event which is jam packed full of riders. The Championships, held on the properties "Lynton" and "Braemar House" just five minutes from the centre of Goulburn in NSW, host CCI and CIC classes at 1*,2* and 3* as well as a CNC1* and national level classes EvA105 and EvA95. Most of these classes are well populated with the CIC 2* and 3* classes in particular look like providing some great competition.
Some names we’ll be looking out for are of course the above mentioned chaps riding War Hawk and Shanghai Joe in the CIC3*, Katja Weimann is heading up with BP Cosmopolitan and there will be an interloper from the UK to watch out for – Nick Gauntlett riding Nat Davies’ El Grado. Nat had a nasty tumble when her horse slipped between fences at Canberra recently but all is well and she is riding Chatswood Captivate and Chatswood Design in the CIC2*
Another Nat back on the circuit is Nat Blundell. When we last spoke to Nat she too was hobbling a bit but said she would definitely see us at Goulburn and so she will, riding My Aladin in the CIC1*.
With so many good horses and riders we will of course be filming them all during the cross country phases. The cross country for the CCI classes and EvA95 take place on Saturday while the rest head on course on Sunday so we should have some excellent footage available to view and buy soon after
