The top three teams after dressage have held on to their positions after a very influential cross-country. View Hill Red leads on a score of 117.4, after adding nothing to the dressage scores, with five of the team posting clear rounds under the time.
Nga Tawa is second on a team score of 129.1 with four riders adding nothing to their dressage scores. The other team from View Hill pony club, the White team, is in third place on a score of 130.9, breathing right down Nga Tawa’s neck!
Last year’s winning team, Eyreton Navy, is fourth on 138.3 with five clear rounds. Clyde is fifth on 142.4, and Halswell sixth on 145.0. Two teams who had only the minimum number of riders are lying seventh and eighth. Pleasant Point Maroon and Rangiora All Stars had a great cross-country phase, with none of their riders adding anything to their dressage score. Greymouth Gold is ninth on 154.3 and right behind them on 154.9 is the composite team with riders from Tinwald, Methven, Waihora.
The cross-country wasn’t without its dramas, with many disappointed riders doing the ‘walk of shame’ home. There were a few falls as well, but from what we understand, no injuries except for pride. The going was perfect and while the weather was overcast, it was ideal for cross-country. The farm this was held on is magnificent. It’s owned by the Redwood family, who have gone out of their way to make the course one of the most special around. The neighbouring vineyards, the rolling country, the river down the hill, the mountains in the distance, not to mention the beautiful green grass, (even through the middle of a paddock planted in onions) all made this a real spectacle.
The fourth fence, a corner combination, caused a lot of issues for the Intermediate and Senior classes, as did the water jump. Many horses and ponies didn’t want to jump into this, even though they landed on dry ground before having to tackle the water. The Juniors were the stars of the show, with the least faults and some very classy young riders (14 and under) flying around.
The Senior section A is being still being led by Charlotte Edwards on Façade from Nga Tawa Gold, who added nothing to her dressage score. Jessie Fitzjohn moved up from sixth to second on What’s the Buzz, after a very classy round. Mikayla Green moved from 10th to third on Star’s Ransom, again with an accomplished round.
Brodie Roberts never looked like faulting and has held her lead in the Senior section B on SR Livingstone. Anya Johnston (Sweet Addition) moved from sixth to second, and Brittany Fowler on Concordia moved from seventh to third.
The Intermediate section A had a change of leaders with Zoe MacClure moving up from second to take the lead on Rednalhgih Hayman with Lucy Cochrane (Inspector Gadget) going from third to second. Abbey Baker and Retail Therapy were ninth after dressage and are now third after a good clear round.
In section B of the Intermediate, there is still a tie for the lead with both Jordan Shrimpton on Mister Puzzle and Grace Hyslop on Ace of Hearts having clear rounds under the time. Emma Van Vianen on Ka Pai Kiwi has retained her third place.
There are also no changes to the places after dressage for the Junior section A. Katherine Hadler (Hakuna Matata) leads, Charlotte Thomas (Picollo) is second, with Josefin Lerbs (Penelope) and Luca Swale (Holmslee Black Beauty) third equal.
In section B, there is no change for the highest placed two riders after dressage. Lucy Baker on Smart Spark and Laura Hare on Yandina both had good clear rounds under time. Mya Plotkin (Marco Polo) moved up from fourth to third, also incurring no more penalties.
The event now goes back to the Ward Domain for tomorrow’s show jumping.
Here’s a gallery of images for you to enjoy – captions still to come!
