Crean takes jump-off

Press, 25 February 1985, Page 3

Crean takes jump-off

Mark Crean, the Hawarden horseman, notched up his most important victory when his mare, Missouri, prevailed in a four-way jump off to decide the Trustee Bank A grade Victor Ludoi-um show jumping competition at the Ellesmere A and P showgrounds yesterday. The event was the premier competition at the two-day championship show held by the Canterbury area of the New Zealand Horse Society.

Crean’s win was achieved at the expense of the visiting North Island under-23 riders, and the notable Southland trio of Ngaire Lamb, Donna Smith and Claire Honeywell. Crean guided Missouri to the first faultless rounds of the competition, and was followed immediately by

Honeywell on Buckingham; Lamb with Naudu; Smith on the piebald, Ernie Mite; Simon Bennett (Gisborne) and Detonator; and Ilona Kelly, the North Island captain, on Glen Gareth. The second round was jumped in order of faults, and again six combinations went clear. Rebecca Diederich (Wairarapa) and David Snowden (Auckland) were two of them, and again Crean, Honeywell, Lamb and Smith went through, enforcing a jump-off against the clock.

Missouri set a cracking pace but hit the last fence, incurring four faults; Buckingham collected eight faults in a time of 40.45, just under 2s slower than Missouri; Naudu went round at a more sedate speed but took a brick out of the wall for four faults and Ernie

Mite, going at a moderate pace, also dropped a rail at the last.

Missouri, a neat, 15.2 hand station-bred mare, also won the AM2 competition for A grade horses yesterday. The North Island riders dominated the first day’s jumping, with Diederich and Quest winning the two A grade events and finishing second to Missouri in the AM2, but Juliet Srhoy, from Ashburton, kept the south’s flag flying by winning the John McEwing junior championship in which Diederich was runner-up and Honeywell third. The Pyne Gould Guinness dressage champion is Wynnis McDonald (Southland), on Hirondelle, and Jill Evans continued her impressive record by winning the hack championship on Allamond.