Dressage team makes presence felt in Australia

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 34

Dressage team makes presence felt in Australia

PA ’ Wellington New Zealand’s first international dressage' team has completed an Important warm-up event for its assault on the Australian championships next week. The three-horse team arrived in Australia last week and competed in the New South Wales championships on Sunday. The most successful of the New Zealand horses was Kentucky, ridden by Marcia Bailey, of Te Awamutu, with a best placing of third in the international intermediatetwo test. Kentucky also finished a creditable fifth in the intermediate one, and sixth in the difficult grand prix. Stipulate, ridden by the Aucklander, Vicki Larsen, finished sixth in the Prix St George, seventh in the intermediate one and sixth in the advanced freestyle. Gisborne’s Merrin Hain and Smiley John were eighth behind Stipulate in the intermediate one. New Zealand’s chef d'equip, Judith Simpson, said that the riders had found the competition valuable in helping them adjust to Australian conditions, especially competing in the sand arenas which gave excellent footing. The World Cup for showjumping riders was introduced in 1978 to capture attention for the sport at a time of year when there was not much else happening in other sports in Europe.

Since its inception, the final has been dominated by> United States riders, who have won seven of the nine championships. More than 60 qualifying rounds will be held, leading up to the final in Goteborg, Sweden, in April. The rounds will be held in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Canada, and the United States. Up to 50 riders will contest the World Cup in a series of competitions, each attracting points, the top scorer winning.

New Zealand has contested the final twice, John Cottle and Arturo taking a highly creditable eighteenth place at Vienna in 1983. Alan Goodall and Double Brown Skud competed at Berlin in 1985. Kiwi Lager New Zealand rounds will be held at Hastings, on October 23; at Masterton, on October 26; at the Isola Equestrian centre, Waiuku, on November 15; Rotorua, on December 6, and indoors at Palmerston North on December 12. To some extent New Zealanders are at a disadvantage because, being a winter competition in the Northern hemisphere, all the qualifying rounds are held in indoor arenas.

New Zealand horses will have only one opportunity to adjust to this environment, which is very different to outdoor competition. The audience is close to the arena, which creates an atmosphere that can unsettle horses. The courses are big and tight, demanding increased accuracy and athletic ability.

Because it is a rider competition rather than one for a rider and horse, most of the overseas riders can nominate/ at the last possible moment, their form horse. The costs make it unlikely that any New Zealand rider, not actually based in Europe, will have more than one horse.

Nevertheless, Cottle, with a first-equal placing in the final competition at Vienna, demonstrated that a Kiwi can take on the world’s best on equal terms. The Kiwi Lager World Cup series will provide an exciting start to the 1987-88 showjumping season, and a buildup to the Olympic trials. It is hoped that a team will travel to the Seoul Olympics in September. The courses for the series will reflect the international character of the competition and the demands on competitors will be considerable. The aim, of course, is to send the top scorers to the Australian finals in January, but bearing in mind the Olympics, this will happen only if the showjumping selectors are convinced that the combinations have the potential to qualify for the final in Europe in April.

All interested are invited to attend a C certificate seminar at the Kaiapoi Pony Club grounds bn Saturday from 9.36 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. En-

qulries to Mrs Sue Graham/ Amberley (telephone 48-847) . Entries for the Unisys Line . Labour Day week-end jump-" ing show will now close on October 14 at 5.00 p.m. with the secretary, Mrs J. Mclver,— Main North Road, R.D. Kalai»l. - Entries for the Bell Tea -; South Island three-day event 1 at the National Equestrians Centre, McLeans Island, from--November 7-9, will close on October 17 with the secre-, tary, Mr C. Winder, P. O. Box--27, Belfast -• » » The Mill Creek Pony Club’ non-grading jumping day; resulted: ■■ 5 -• Beginners:— Hunters, under 127.5 cm: S.„ Bebblngton’s Tammy 1; A., Pearce's Clifton Toi Toi 2; S. Cornwall’s Crystal Star 3. Under 137.5 cm: N. O’Sullivan’s Flair 1; A. Hendry’s Chico 2; N. Doig’s Chawton Piper and C. Glass's Candy Tuft equal 3. Under 147.5 cm: B. Winn’s Cheyenne and N. O’Sullivan’s Shamus- z eqtiu®l; S. Rawland's Castle QUeen and D. Woods’ Kipka, equal .2. A.M.5 under 127.5 cm: Crystal Star 1; Clifton Toi Toi 2; Tammy 3. Under 137.5 cm:. Flair 1; Chawton Piper 2; Candy Tuft 3. Under 147.5 cm: V. Woods Highlight 1; Kipka 2; Cheyenne 3. > ’ T.Y.0.L., under 127.5 cm: Clifton Toi Toi 1; Crystal Star 2; K. Donaldson’s Crystal Cascade 3. Under 137.5 cm: Flair 1; Chawton Piper 2; Nicola Roger’s Ted 3. Under 147.5 cm: Desert Mist 1; Cheyenne 2; T. Morrison’s Silhouette 3. Novice:— ’ ; \ ; Hunters, beginner hack: A. Scammell’s -Blue Sparkle 1; M. Letham’s Tin Mate 2; A. Laing’s Tilly 3. Under 137.5 cm; S. Cretney’s Shamilar Sasha 1; M. Jamison’s Red Legend 2; K. Shaw’s Wellington 3. Under 147.5 cm: J. Jamison’s Taffy 1; L. McMahon’s Razamataz 2; D. Cretney’s La-Mirage 3. Novice hack: J. Jamison’s Tintullen 1; I. Bell's Boston 2; S. Morrison’s Gingko 3. A.M.5 beginner hack: Blue Sparkle 1; S. McDonnell’s Idaho War Cloud 2; D. Wilson’s Night Guy 3. Under 137.5 cm: M. Smeath’s Murfre Albright 1; G. Ross 2; J. Ross’s Grey Magic 3. Under 147.5 cm: Taffy 1; La-Mirage 2; F. Middleton's Diplomat 3. Novice hack: Boston 1; N. Rogers’ Morning Cloud 2; L. O'Neill’s Sir Blue 3. T.Y.OL. beginner hack: Idaho War Cloud 1; C. Harrison’s Queen Leigh 2. Under 137.5 cm: Murfre Albright 1; Red Legend- 2; Grey Magic 3. Under 147.5 cm: Taffy, 1; La-Mirage 2; Razamataz 3. Novice hack: K. Fitzgibbon’s Ben Duffy 1; Boston 2; Tintullen 3.