"N.Z. Should Enter Olympic Horse Jumping"

Press, Volume C, Issue 29517, 19 May 1961, Page 18

"N.Z. Should Enter Olympic Horse Jumping"

New Zealand should definitely aim at being represented in at least some equestrian I, events at the next Olympic 1 Games in 1964, according to r Mr Franz Maringer, trainer r of the Australian team which 1 won. a gold medal In the - three-day horse event at last e year’s games in Rome. a “You have the horses and - you have the riders,” Mr Maringer said on his arrival t in Christchurch last evening r to conduct a training school 1 under the auspices of the j New Zealand Horse Society. “I know that the expense is j terrific, but New Zealand - should be able to afford rep- - resentatives in the show a jumping at least.” Mr Maringer recalled that, ? on his last brief visit to New Zealand four years ago, he . bought the horse Fallals, ‘ which would have been a . member of the medal-winning j Australian team had she not B injured herself in the last s stages of preparation. This r time he would not be buying in New Zealand but he had

■ seen horses with much the I same promise that Fallais had j had. ; “The standard and riding in ■ New Zealand is very, very - good,” said Mr Maringer. “I i mean that sincerely. Like > Australians, New Zealanders t are natural riders and that counts a lot. The rest deI pends on two things only—- . practice, practice, practice I and training under an in- , structor who knows the I exacting requirements of > Olympic Games competition.” The three-day event was 5 a gruelling test for the best 1 horses and riders. It in- - volved a day of dressage, a r day cross-country, road, and track work and then steeple- , chasing, and a day of show r jumping. New Zealand had ; not yet seriously tackled this , undertaking but show jumpi ing was very popular, Mr ; Maringer said. Show jumpt ing in the Olympics should t be tried. ; Naturally New Zealand ; would like to compete under I her own steam entirely, Mr

Maringer said, but failing that, he was sure some scheme could be worked out to travel and work in with the Australians and then compete under New Zealand’s own colours. The New Zealand jumping . team in the Sydney show this year was “really terrific.” That was a good basis on which to think of training fpr the Olympics. Mr Maringer, who was born in Austria but is now a naturalised Australian, had 1 his own training in the world's most famous riding school—the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. He was a pupil for two yearrs. a junior instructor for two years, and ; then a senior instructor for ■ eight years. Why Spanish in Vienna? Mr Maringer said ' this arose from the famous Lippizzaner strain of horses with which the school was stocked. They originated in Spain 800 years ago. Mr Maringer is now permanently employed by the Australian Equestrian Federi ation and visits all States regularly. He is on loan to ■ the New Zealand Horse So- - ciety for schools in Bulls, Hastings, and Christchurch. From today to Wednesday he will hold a school here con- ■ corned principally with dressage.