The fourth day of competition here at our Australian Jumping Championships has seen the completion of all the preliminary rounds in the various Championships and Series and all is in readiness for what promises to be a weekend packed full of finals action
The first class on the main arena today wrapped up, after a thrilling jump off involving 16 combinations. The second round of the Trailrace Australian Junior Championship had the crowd enthralled right to the end, witnessing great jumping with 11 double clear performances. The win went to Jack Barker and TULARA FOR QUINAR with a sizzling jump off time of 38.07 seconds. Second place went to a combination which led the class for a long time, but could not quite hold on for the win, Skye Hosie and ATHENA NZPH recording a time of 39.80 seconds. Third place went to the runners-up in Round 1, Ella Hayward and EDENA DP, who stopped the clock in 39.84 seconds. Jack Barker and TULARA FOR QUINAR will go into Sunday’s final on the minimum penalties of zero, based on their third and first placings in the preliminary rounds.
Performances in the first and second rounds of the Junior Championship have doubled up as an interstate teams challenge. With two members of last year’s team returning and being joined by two new team members, the Queenslanders recorded the win in this competition for the second year in a row. Second place in the competition went to the NSW team, while the Victorians had to settle for third. The teams were as follows:
1st QLD – Olivia Hewitt-Toms and CELERITY PARK LM STAR, Cody Tincknell and CONQUEST, Holly Tomkins and Finch Farm Vroom and Skye Hosie and Athena NZPH.
2nd NSW – Hannah Doolan and ASHLEIGH CITY LIGHTS, Charlie Magnier and NOTRE DAME DE BOURGUIGNON, Jett Newman and WANDA, Jake Tomlinson and VINCHINO. (Chef d’equip – Rod Brown).
3rd VIC – Molly Lawrence and CARABEL P, Sienna Holdsworth-Rose and COOLART FARM SHORT TORQUE, Elissa Stephens and DA VINCE, Olivia Price and LAFAYETTE.
The second round of the Futurity Series was the next class on the main arena Over what proved to be a challenging course, where fifteen of the starting combinations incurred at least one time penalty, only two entrants managed a clear round. The ensuing two way jump off saw each combination unable to repeat their clear efforts in the first round. Taking just a single rail, the win went to Aaron Hadlow and the imported gelding KOSMOS. With two jump off rails, Tom Sedger and his gelding CHECK IT OUT had to settle for second place. The best performance outside of these two was by Shane Davidson and SPECTRE D, who incurred just a single time penalty. Tom Sedger and CHECK IT OUT, who finished fifth in the first round before today’s second, will start on zero penalties in Sunday’s final, as will Samantha Dernee and LAUREL GLEN QUINTESSENCE who finished second then fifth.
The Day 4 action on the main arena wrapped up with an exciting second Round of the Riders’ Cup Series. A total of 34 combinations lined up to tackle the Olaf Peterson Jnr course, producing between them five clear rounds. A fantastic jump off followed, which saw the winners of the first round, Tom McDermott and CADENZA NZPH take another win in the series. They were clear in a very fast time of 44.89 seconds. In all it was a very impressive performance for a combination which have been together for not more than a week. Second place went to Phillip Lever and OAKS VAN DYKE who were also double clear, finishing in 47.85 seconds. Completing the podium were Amanda Madigan and DIAMOND B VIVIENNE who broke the beam in 49.85 seconds, also leaving all the rails in place. It was been a dominant performance by Tom and CADENZA NZPH in this series and they will go into Sunday’s final on zero penalties with a rail advantage over his nearest rival.
The first class on the Pryde’s Easifeed Arena Two on Day 4 of our Championships, was the second round of the Australian Children’s Championship, sponsored by Completely Equine. A start list of 34 combinations gave rise to nine clear rounds, requiring a jump off to sort out the placings. There were five clear in the jump off, however, only one combination could crack the 40 second mark. Local combination Valentina Hercus and RBH CHACCARLA took the win in a time of 39.74 seconds. The rest of the podium was occupied by a pair of Victorian combinations. Zara Adnams and NICOLETTE were second in 42.68 seconds, with third place going to Lucy Borrack and MIGHTY TOSCA in 43.43 seconds. By virtue of their win in Round 2 and a ninth in Round 1 Valentina Hercus and RBH CHACCARLA will go into the Final on Zero penalties.
The next class on Arena Two was the JPR Equestrian second round of the Sapphire Series. In a single round class, there were 10 clear efforts with a further 14 combinations taking just a single rail. In a repeat performance from the first round of this series the win went to William Wood and POWERHOUSE PARK EGO ROC, who took 62.82 seconds to complete the course. In what turned to be a very close class, where only 0.08 seconds separated the podium finishers, second went to Jess Brown and ELYSIAN FIELDS OCEANUS in 62.88 seconds. Madeline Sinderberry and MOLINDA JB were third, just 0.02 seconds adrift. Having won both preliminary rounds William Wood and POWERHOUSE PARK EGO ROC will go into the final on zero penalties, with a considerable advantage over the rest of the field.
To wrap up the day on Arena Two, there were Round 2 classes in three divisions of the Opal Series. First up, was the second round of the Waratah Showjumping Opal Series adult section. A five way jump off was needed to sort out the placings, which still left two combinations locked on zero penalties. It came down to times and even then, the judge could only find less than 0.10 seconds difference. The win went to Cody Mulder and YOICKS KITCHI ROU, with a time of 37.06 seconds, going two places better than their third placing in round 2. Second place was taken by Eden McMahon and BEATRIX, stopping the clock at 37.15 seconds. Third place, with just a single time penalty in the jump off, were Holly Griffith and MISS PIPPA. Cody Mulder and YOICKS KITCHI ROU will go into the final on zero penalties with a rail’s gap to their nearest rivals.
Next up was the second Round of the Junior Division of the Waratah Showjumping Opal Series, which saw nine combinations involved in a jump off to sort out the placings. Four of the nine put in double clear performances, with the win going to Jake McEvoy and AVENLY BUNDY, home in 33.32 seconds. Stopping the clock in 34.44 seconds was enough to secure second place by Charli Wallis and CENTAVINO. Repeating their Round 1 performance in finishing third, were Olivia Curtain and INDI’S MR ZORBA JONES, who took 35.82 seconds to complete the jump off. The consistency of Olivia Curtain and INDI’S MR ZORBA JONES will be rewarded by them starting on zero penalties in the final.
The last class on Day 4 of our championships wrapped up late in the afternoon under threatening skies. In the second round of the Opal Series for Young Horses, there were six combinations in the jump off, which saw the winning rider from Round 1 repeat her performance today, but on a different horse. Today, Ella O’Neill won aboard KYAN VERSACE, who she rode into second place in the first round. Their time today was a very dominant 59.42 seconds. Second place was filled by Ned Calcraft and GLENARA STATELY in 66.19 seconds, improving two places on their Round 1 effort. A time of 68.08 seconds was enough to secure third place for Samantha Dernee and TULARA CORAL G A K. Ella O’Neill and KYAN VERSACE will carry zero penalties into the final on Sunday afternoon.
It was a fantastic day of jumping and all is in readiness for what promises to be a weekend packed full of exciting finals action.