New branch for north-west area

Press, 26 May 1984, Page 13

New branch for north-west area

Roydvale, the newest ci the Christchurch Pony Club's 13 branches, will be officially opened tomorrow by Mrs Virginia Johnson, the president of the New Zealand Pony Club. The branch, which operates on a leased property of about 12 hectares near the Russiey Golf Course, was formed a year ago. Mr A. W. Mahoney, the branch president and’ club commissioner, is confident the club will be able to cater for the increase in young riders in the northwest of Christchurch, and already it boasts a membership of 51. • • • Andrew Bennie, of Northland, one of the quartet of riders selected for the Los Angeles Olympics, will be among the more favoured contenders for the Swanndri New Zealand championship horse trials at the Tomoana Showgrounds, Hastings, on Sunday. Bennie will ride Jade, owned by Dale and Kay Frost, in the advanced section of the trial. This will be Jade’s last competition in New Zealand, as Bennie considers that the Benson and Hedges three-day trials at Taupo a fortnight later will be too much for the horse to tackle considering the preparation he will have to undergo for the Olympics. Already this year he has taken part in an international three-day event, at Sydney in March, when he was placed fifth. However, Jade is by no means a certain winner. The 12 contenders for the Forest Gate Trophy (advanced section) include this year’s Al cup winner, Susan Tomlin and Jonathon Grace, from Papakura; Leigh McCallum and Costillion (Wanganui), winners of the Waiteko Trophy intermediate trial last year and in 1982, and Trudy Boyce and

Mossman (Tokoroa), who were second to Mark Todd in the Olympic trial at Taupo in December. The Southland combination of Vicky Hammond and Amigo will fly the flag for the South Island in the Forest Gate Trophy, and are to be respected for Hammond would not take a horse north if she did not think it was worth the trip. The Waiteko Trophy section also contains riders with international experience. Hamish Cameron, of Masterton, has spent two years with Captain Mark Phillips, and Lynley Fife, of Putaruru, had the best speed and endurance performance at the Wylye international three-day event in England last year. Cameron will ride Knightsbridge and Fife will be on Halcombe at Hastings. The cross-country course, designed originally by Nick Holmes-Smith, a member of the Canadian three-day event team, has been built by his compatriot, Shawn

Flynn, and should provide a challenge for all three trials. The national selectors will be at the trials, watching for possible combinations to train for the world three-day event championships at Gawler. South Australia, in 1986. Although the world championships seem a long way off, preparation has to begin early and it will be the first time they have been held in the Southern Hemisphere. With the relative ease of transporting horses to Australia, New Zealand is likely to have a strong contingent there. « « » Preparations are going smoothly for the Springston Trophy, the South Island's premier pony club event which will be held in North Otago from August 23 to 25. The dressage and show jumping phases will be staged at the Oamaru Racecourse, which is adjacent to the grounds of the host club. Oamaru, but competitors will have a trip of 25km southwards to Hampden, the venue for the cross-country. According to Mrs Georgette Pile, the secretary of the organising committee, Hampden was chosen because the soil type there offered good prospects for 350 horses and ponies in bad weather. South Island branches have already received nominations for the event, and to date 58 entries have been received, although there is likely to be a permissible maximum of 56. Final entries will close on July 2. with the strongest numerically probably coming from Otago and Canterbury. However, Hari Hari (West Coast) and the Nelson branches of Tasman, Waimea, Wakefield and Moutere have also indicated they will field teams, so the more centrally located branches will not have things all to themselves.