There have been big changes in the leaderboard in the main classes at the Prydes EasiFeed PGG Wrightson NZ Pony Club Teams Eventing Championships in North Canterbury. Robbie McLean’s cross-country certainly sorted them out. While there were plenty of faults all around the course, there were also some really good displays of jumping.
The team competition is now led by the Marlborough Nelson West Coast (MNWC) team, with a total score of 139.4, well in front of Canterbury on 176.7. Waitemata Rodney are third on 200.9 with dressage leaders Franklin-Thames Valley down to fourth place on 275.3.
The boys are dominating the A1 class, jumping the 1.10 cm cross-country track in fine form.
Aiden Viviers and Giselle II from Wairarapa-Wellington have leapt into first place, albeit by a slim margin from MNWC’s Todd Magner on Kawhaka Concorde, and right behind them is Will Moffett and Mustang’s Edition from Hawke’s Bay.
Overnight leader Zephania Steele and her horse Javari JS had a bad fall while warming up and had to withdraw. Both are fine now, albeit a bit sore.
Last year’s winner, Jessie Fitzjohn, had a very unexpected runout at the tricky third fence, which was a three-element combination with tight turns. Waikato’s Dayna Fox followed suit but both riders finished the round in great style. Another who was tipped to do well, Brodie Roberts, was tipped off at the last fence but again, walked away unharmed.
When we caught up with Aiden, who is from the Hutt Valley, he hadn’t realised he was in the lead. Once he stopped “whoop whooping” he said that his mare had flown around with no problems with the tough course. “It was a good challenge and had people talking. She went really well, there was only ever one plan for me and that was Plan A. No options.”
The Belmont Pony Club member has done quite a lot of show jumping this season, doing very well. “We’ve jumped clear rounds all season and won the show jumping series in our area, jumping tracks of up to 1.30m.” Even with this good show jumping form going into the final phase, Aiden anticipated he would get a bit nervous before his round.
In the DC section, the leaderboard also changed considerably. Rebecca Wardle and Sponge Bob were second after dressage, but with a good clear round took over the lead. Beth Wilson and Alto et Audax from Franklin Thames Valley are in second place, improving on their third place after dressage. Local rider Elizabeth Wylaars and Wairoa Ruby have moved from sixth to third, continuing the good form they have been showing lately in ESNZ events. Samantha Maguire, who had the lead after dressage, had some time faults, dropping to fourth place, but still within touch of the leaders.
In the Mark Todd Trophy, local Lucy Cochrane held on to her dressage lead on Inspector Gadget with a lovely clear round. The rest of the leaderboard changed quite a lot with Kirk Magner (MNWC) putting in a great round to pull up to second, and team mate Gretchen Anderson on Tallyho Cleopatra followed suit, moving into third.
The smaller classes concluded today, and there were plenty of changes in the leaderboard after dressage and show jumping, which took place yesterday. In the Equissage NZPC 105, Charlotte Grey took the win on Coup Perfectly Done, with a considerable margin from Tyla Clearwater on Rumbling Thunder and Maddy Tait on Island Road.
In the Equissage NZPC 95, Sophie Ware led from the dressage phase right through. Abriele Morse on Wembleybrook O Driscoll was second, and Brittany Fowler on Apsley Backchat Kid finished on her dressage score to be in third place.
Danielle Wallace moved from third to first in the Equissage 80cm class, adding nothing to her dressage score on Velazquez. Grace O’Sullivan on Cosmopolitan and Sophie Jarvis on Illy also added nothing to their dressage scores to finish second and third respectively.
Results at the conclusion of today’s action:
AI Cup
| Giselle II (Wairarapa Wellington) | Aiden Viviers | 32.2 | 1 |
| Kawhaka Concorde (MNWC) | Todd Magner | 34.7 | 2 |
| Mustang’s Edition (Hawkes Bay) | Will Moffett | 37.6 | 3 |
| Mac Black (Waitemata Rodney) | Brody Goodmon-Preddle | 38.6 | 4 |
DC Championships
| Sponge Bob (MNWC) | Rebecca Wardle | 30.5 | 1 |
| Alto et Audax (Franklin Thames Valley) | Beth Wilson | 30.8 | 2 |
| Wairoa Ruby (Canterbury) | Elizabeth Wylaars | 33.3 | 3 |
| Starlight Daytona (Franklin Thames Valley) | Samantha Maguire | 34 | 4 |
MT Championships
| Inspector Gadget (Canterbury) | Lucy Cochrane | 32.8 | 1 | ||
| Marsden Magic (MNWC) | Kirk Magner | 36.3 | 2 | ||
| Tallyho Cleopatra (MNWC) | Gretchen Anderson | 37.9 | 3 | ||
| Rhapsody II (Manawatu West Coast/Hawkes Bay) | Kaitlyn Freeman | 41.5 | 4 | ||
| Equissage 105 Final Results
Coup Perfectly Done |
Charlotte Gray | 35.8 | 1 | ||
| Rumbling Thunder | Tyla Clearwater | 43.5 | 2 | ||
| Island Road | Maddy Tait | 67.1 | 3 | ||
| Esperanza Power Trip | Cameron Boon | 76.7 | 4 | ||
Equissage NZPC 95 Final Results
| Hallmark Command | Sophie Ware | 32.5 | 1 |
| Wembleybrook O Driscoll | Abriele Morse | 35.2 | 2 |
| Apsley Backchat Kid | Brittany Fowler | 36.3 | 3 |
| Missing Pieces | Jackie Giesen | 38 | 4 |
Equissage NZPC 80 Final Results
| Velazquez | Danielle Wallace | 32.9 | 1 |
| Cosmopolitan | Grace O’Sullivan | 36.1 | 2 |
| Illy | Sophie Jarvis | 36.1 | 3 |
| Papillon | Georgia Hague | 36.1 | 4 |
