Horses Please Judges

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31522, 9 November 1967, Page 8

Horses Please Judges

Satisfaction with both the number and the quality of entries in the horse sections at the Show was expressed yesterday by judges of the various sections.

The ring was hard and slippery for the jumping events, and many horses had difficulty in keeping their feet, particularly when turning.

The weather throughout the early part of the day was overcast but mild: later it became sunnier, but with a cold breeze.

Led Ponies And Horses Both numbers and quality in the led ponies and horses section were very good indeed, said the judge (Mr A. G. Harwood. of Frankton). “I have judged at every other major show in New Zealand and in the led ponies classes this was the best entry in both quality and numbers that I have ever encountered.” he said. The condition of the animals was good, and they were well presented. In most classes the competition was very close—in one class of 20 entries any of the entries could have been placed, Mr Harwood said. What he saw suggested that in the years to come the stand ard of ponies in Canterbury would be very high indeed, he said. Working Hunters Numbers in the working hunter classes were very good, the judge (Mr J. M. Mclldowie, of Gisborne) said. The standof the animals entered was also high. I The winner of the heavyweight hunter class was a particularly good horse, and in some of the other classes the top horses were exceptional. Over all, the standard of th* entry compared well with what he had seen at other New Zealand shows, Mr Mclldowie said. Clydesdales It was most encouraging to see that there was still enough interest in the Clydesdales for the section to be continued at the show, said the judge (Mr S. Keith Young, of Geraldine). This year the quality of the entry was at least up to that of previous years, and the numbers were about the same as they had been for the last five or six years. The standard of the animals was being maintained, and they were presented in good show condition. Some of the younger horses could have been wintered a little better, but generally the turnout was good, Mr Young said. Hacks Only the maiden hacks were judged yesterday, and the judge (Mr R. B. Hansen, of Gisborne) said that both the horses and

the riders were very well turned-out

There was a good entry in the light-weight class, with nearly 30 horses competing. In this class the winning horse would develop into quite a nice hack, although at the moment it was not built-up much.

The heavy-weight class was not as strong as the other, but in this class also the winner showed considerable promise, Mr Hansen said.

Jumping Events The first jumping events on the programme were the competitions for light-weight and heavy-weight hunters. In both competitions the standard was not particularly high, and many horses made mistakes at one or more fences, most of them putting two strides in the brush double instead of jumping boldly in one stride. However, the placed horses jumped well. If some of the fences used in these events had been of a more natural type the jumping could have been of a higher standard. There was a great difference in height between the small log wall and the last fence, a high, F.E.1.-type brick wall. The winner of the light-weight hunters competition was Miss N. S. Darling's Ariki from Oamaru. which gave a beautiful display of clear, even jumping. Second was R. M. D. Johnson's , Morepork, ridden by I. Gliddon i—another good round. Third | and fourth respectively were E. Ropiha's Southern Cloud which is the only North Island jumper competing, and Mrs R. F. Gorton and D. Youngman's Fiano. The outstanding round in the heavy-weight hunter was undoubtedly by Mr I. M. Richie’s Limelight, ridden by G. Nelson. Their round by far outshone the other placed horses, Imperial Jest (Miss J. Lemon), Calestan (Miss S. Penney), and Handyman (Mr J. R. Topp). F.E.I. Events The hit and hurry competition for A and C grade horses developed from a poor start in to an exciting competition. The ground was deceptively hard and slippery and did not lend itself to the tight course used for this event. The first two competitors to gain good scores of 39 points were Mrs F. F. Wilding’s Craypot, which was recently upgraded to C grade and jumped extremely well in this higher class of competition, and Miss J. Cresswell’s Geelong. Limelight, jumping very fast and using his big stride to advantage, looked like a sure place-getter until an unlucky slip caused him to go down costing him vauable time. However, his score after this misadventure was still 39 points in 62.4 seconds.

Fiano. ridden masterfully by D. Youngman, gave a dazzling display of jumping, and of turning that would have done credit to a polo pony to gain a score of 45 points in 63.1 seconds. He became the eventual winner.

Mrs R. R. Bain’s Harvest Moon also jumped brilliantly for a

score of 42 points in 65 seconds, and gained second place. There were two third equal: Miss J Nixon on Whispering with 39 points in 62 seconds, and J. R. Topp’s Handyman with the same score. The last jumping event was a Table A competition for C grade horses. The course was beautifuly built and called for precision by the riders. Each fence was related to the next and demanded a bold, freejumping horse. Competitors who went too slowly or too fast ended up in trouble. The competition ended with only two clear rounds being jumped. Domain ridden by Miss J. Robinson from Palmerston jumped a fluent and even round displaying great jumping potential. Domain was the eventual winner after the first jump-off when again jumping clear but gaining a quarter of a time-fault Miss M. Allin s Eldora, which was placed second after an unlucky slip and fall in the jumpoff. jumped powerfully and well. The three horses to gain third equal place for four faults in the first round were Mandalay (W. Smith) Handyman (J. R. Topp) and Hunter’s Moon (Mrs R. R. Bain).