Canterbury Successes In Show Jumping Events

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28552, 3 April 1958, Page 15

Canterbury Successes In Show Jumping Events

A LTHOUGH its members did well in other events at the Marlborough show jumping championships held recently at Blenheim, the Canterbury A team failed badly in the provincial teams’ event. The team selected was:, Tora (H. C. Greenwood), Land Rover (E. Upritchard), Pharoah (Miss A. Hargreaves), and Bomber (B. G. Rutherford). Several factors contributed to the team’s failure: the ground was unusually hard and three of the team had to jump extra and higher fences in the jump-off in the big event of the first day: and as two of the members of the team were in the first four of the six bars event after three rounds had been jumped, this probably proved the team's undoing. Bomber was not completely fit on the Saturday because of a strained muscle, and he fell at the third fence in the team’s event and was unable to compete again. Tora stifled himself in the first event on the Saturday and was feeling the effects of this when he also was eliminated because of three refusals in the third round of the team’s event

This meant elimination for the team and therefore Land Rover and Pharoah did not have to jump so were saved for other events.

The Canterbury C team, with younger and less experienced horses did well to gain fourth place. It consisted of Radar (E. G. O. Rutherford), captain; Smuggler (Miss B. Macfarlane). Khayyran (Evan Upritchard), and Khyber (N. G. Fagan). Land Rover and Ellis Upritchard probably jumped more fences in the two days than any other competitor, and this combination’s three wins—two in speed events and one in the six bars—plus a second in the Victor Lodorum event and a third in the Marlborough Jump marked them as probably the best combination in the New Zealand show ring today.

The performances of Miss B. Macfarlane, of Culverden, and Miss A. Hargreaves, of Geraldine, were most encouraging. Both are young riders who have recently

returned from England where they received instruction under Capt. Goldman, one of the world’s leading instructors and an English Olympic equestrian team coach.

Miss Macfarlane with Smuggler won the dressage phase of the combined training event and the Gambler’s Stakes. Miss Hargreaves, with Pharoah, had clear rounds in three events to gain placings. Land Rover (E. Upritchard). Pharoah (Miss A. Hargreaves) and Bomber (B. G. Rutherford) were third equal in the Marlborough championship jump and were beaten only by an Otago horse and one from Hawke’s Bay. At the end of the first day of the championships it seemed that three of the best five horses at the show were from Canterbury. The performances of all the Canterbury horses were good and their meeting with the best from Otago and Southland at the Canterbury area’s show to be held at the Show Grounds on April 3 and 5 should provide interesting spectacular jumping.