Rutherford Cup

Press, 12 November 1985, Page 37

Rutherford Cup

® From previous page. Dressage competitions will be held in the Addington Raceway carpark starting at 12 noon on Thursday. Elementary and medium grade horses will compete for the Prix St George which has attracted several top combinations. These include Merrin Hain’s Smiley John, Wynnis McDonald’s Hirondelle, Sally Field-Dodgson’s Huntaway and Jennifer Stobart’s The Black Douglas, which all competed in the recent Haig Dressage Competition at Masterton. Another well known combination is Charlie Meares on Kestral.

The Ballantyne AM3 event for A grade horses will be a feature of Thursday afternoon’s ring programme. Some strong combinations from the North Island are among the 14 entries for this competition, including Colin Mclntosh riding Prince D’Oro, Glen Pearce’s Ups and Downs, and Maurice Beatson on Nationwide. From Southland, there

will be Claire Honeywill and Buckingham, which was raced successfully as a steeplechaser and then schooled as a showjumper by Claire. Buckingham won the New Zealand showjumping junior championship in 1985 and was placed fourth in the Horse of the Year. Mark Crean, of Hawarden, and Missouri are always crowd pleasers and will be hard to beat.

Twenty-five entries have been received for the Noah’s Hotel Renown Challenge Cup for qualified hunters. Mrs Donna Smith of Southland. riding Ernie Mite, a firm favourite with the crowd and winner of the Grand Prix at Ashburton, Christchurch and Dunedin A. and P. shows last seasonswili be one of the hardest to beat in this top event. Ernie Mite has also won the Centre Bush Showjumping Derby several times.

Paul Rutherford, of Hawarden, on Kristofferson, and Mrs Tracey Chapman (nee Stringer) on Whetu are likely also to produce polished rounds.