Canterbury Will Have Good Team For Horse-Jumping

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28540, 20 March 1958, Page 13

Canterbury Will Have Good Team For Horse-Jumping

rpHE jumping event held under international rules at the Hawarden Show on Saturday gave further proof that Canter* bury will field a strong team in the interprovincial teams’ competition at Blenheim next Saturday. < . This event is held annually by an area of the New Zealand Horse Society and is run along the lines of the Nations Cup event at the Olympic Games. A team of four horses represent each province and they jump an identical course twice in the same day. The three horses in a team With the least number of faults in both rounds determine the winner. Hawke's Bay, which stole a march on the rest of New Zealand with this sport, had held the cup since it was first- competed for- in 1954. Other provinces are fast catching up and last year, when the competition was held in Auckland, the margin was very narrow. Hawke’s Bay had four faults (one rail down), Auckland had seven faults (one Tail down and one refusal), and Canterbury was third with eight faults. On that occasion each horse had to jump a course of 16 fences twice. The three top horses in each placed team had, therefore, incurred penalties of only two rails down or less in 96 fences. Three members of last year’s Canterbury team, Mr E. Upritchard, on Landrover, from Cheviot, Mr H. C. Greenwood, on Tora, from Hororata, and Mr G.

McClintock, on Royal Mac,. from Cheviot, had the only clear rounds at Hawarden. They also had three of the fou’r clear rounds at Amuri and finished in the above order at both shows after jump-offs.

These three horses seem assured of places in the team which will be selected on the evening of the first day of the Blenheim show. The fourth member will be chosen from the .10 or 12 other Canterbury horses that will be at Blenheim.

The Hawke’s Bay team will this year be weakened because two of the best horses will be in Sydney to compete at the New South Wales Royal Show.