HORSE TALK

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 15

HORSE TALK

Handyman CANTERBURY lost one of its few A grade jumpers with the death of Handyman last month. Owned by the Topp family of Kaiapoi, Handyman was a consistent performer in the show ring and at oneday events. When he reached A grade, Handyman excelled in speed events, preferring them to the higher fences in table A events, and he also showed a liking for night jumping, twice winning the grand prix at Loburn. Russell Topp went to the championships at Palmerston North with Handyman where they were seventh in the D.C. Trophy and this year, with Lynn Topp riding him, he again qualified for the team but was later withdrawn. Handyman was often used by a Kaiapoi Pony Club member who was short of a mount for an event. Many a time he was used for ploughing or harrowing in the morning and then taken to a show to jump in the afternoon—hence the name of Handyman. Mini-Show The first show of the mini-circuit was held in freezing conditions which caused many scratchings. Although the jumps in the pony ring were rather low, this is to recommended at the beginning of the season and the jumping in both rings was of a good standard considering the wintry conditions. A. Wightman on Gay Prince won the Brooklyn Cup for the Rangiora member gaining the most points, while the prize for the youngest rider went to Diane Topp. The Peerless points leader in the hack section is C. Killey on Gaie Cheval with 13 points. S. Bagrie on Blaze is next with six points. The pony section resulted in a tie between D. Choat on Johnny Fox and R. Harvey on Moana. Each finished with nine points.

One-Day-Evsnts Two one-day events were held last week-end, a novice contest at Amberley and a novice and open contest at Belfast There were 68 entries at Amberley and a low but well constructed course was well within the ability of most ponies. There were very few eliminations in the crosscountry and the show jumping. Test eight used in the dressage phase was rather advanced for a novice event and on the whole the tests were not well performed. The winners in the four classes were Belinda Gould on Trixie, Jane Prebble on Medico, Brent Gardiner on Tarantella and D. Collins on Glenmorven. The Belfast event had more than 100 entries and the ground conditions, which were boggy and heavy in the first half of the cross country, posed problems for many riders. However, riders have to learn to cope with different ground conditions. This was the team’s downfall in Auckland. It struck unfamiliar wet and heavy ground. The three novice classes were won by B. Williamson on Tango, S. Stead on Rebecca, and S. Harris on Tom Sawyer. The two open classes were won by E. McGrath on Pharoah and M. Gould on Ribbonwood. Use Of Whips An unfortunate occurred at Rangiora when a senior rider was disqualified for excessive use of the whip. At Belfast, the same rider repeated the performance causing many people to protest against such an exhibition. Although competition causes over-anxiousness to complete a course, any excessive use of a whip or spurs will not be tolerated by the Pony Club or Horse Society in any events and such riders could find themselves disqualified for the rest of the season in the Canterbury area.