Rain, suspense, sun and fun at Equidays!

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Lucy not only won $10,000 thanks to Hyundai, she also had a lovely bottle of bubbles to celebrate with!

The second day of Equidays certainly had all the variety. As well as the extensive number of clinics, seminars and trade stands, the competition was hot and the weather was “varied.”

In the main class, the Hyundai 1.35m Derby, the sun shone through and the horses and riders responded with some great demonstrations of jumping. The course was a real challenge, however; it was long, it was technical and there was only one clear in the first round: Lucy Olphert and Eve Saint Laurent.

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Vicki Wilson was a fierce competitor but had to settle for second

Lucy had to withstand a lot of pressure from Vicki Wilson in the second round when Vicki produced a lovely clear on Ngahiwi Showtym Premier. Lucy, last to go, got everyone gasping at the second to last fence: we all thought it was going to be the Wilson show, with Vicki adding this trophy to sister Amanda’s GP win last night. Lucy hung on, though (in every sense of the word) and recovered to jump the last fence clear and win.
The Cambridge-based rider was especially proud of the fact that Eve was bred and produced by herself and her family.  Lucy has stuck by the mare.  “It is just a very special and rewarding feeling when hard work and patience pay off. It has been a tough road and a lot of people have asked me why I have hung on to her. She has not been easy, but I think the good ones have those quirks and that is what makes them so special.”

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All smiles from Lucy over the last fence!

In the lead-up to Equidays, Lucy hadn’t thought much about winning the competition, but a conversation with sponsors a few weeks ago gave her a fresh perspective. “I said to them, ‘Oh, if I win, if I win,’ and they said, ‘You have to stop talking like that, you are going to win it.’  So I went in today with a really positive mindset that we had prepared for this as best as we could. I have a very special horse and at the end of the day, you just have to ride your heart out and she jumped her heart out.

For her efforts, Lucy won $10,000 this afternoon, thanks to the generous prize-money on offer from Hyundai. So what is she going to spend it on? “To be honest, as much as I would like to go out and splurge on something, I think I have to be sensible. My horses, the equipment I use, their nutrition and those sensible items – those are the things I need to put the money towards. Maybe I will upgrade my tow vehicle!”

Another smiling winner from today was Emma Watson, after her victory in the Pony Grand Prix on Fun House. We caught up with her afterwards.

Emma gave her 12-year-old part-Appaloosa pony, who goes by the nickname of ‘Pink’, a lot of the credit. “The competition was very tight, there were some really fast clear rounds. I am lucky enough to have Pink and we took an inside turn that no one else did and so we came away with the best time!” Emma was last to go in the jump-off, so she knew what she had to do. “It was either make it or break it with that inside turn.”

Pink, who Emma has had for about two seasons now, was originally bred for games but apparently her jump was too good. “She’s got the coolest attitude, she’s grumpy and she will bite and kick if she doesn’t get her way. She loves jumping, her jump is just phenomonal.”

There were only two clear rounds in the Wade Equine Derby 1.10 – 1.15m. Charlotte Amos took the win on Kabo Marmite, from Tessa Ranger on Alezan Chablis.

This lovely young horse impressed the judges in the Beyond the Barriers Dunstan X Factory Challenge
This lovely young horse impressed the judges in the Beyond the Barriers Dunstan X Factors Challenge

In the Beyond the Barriers Freestyle competition today as part of the Dunstan X Factors Challenge, Kate Herdson had a good win on Seamless, a five-year old mare by Master Craftsman. Joanne Bridgman from Quality New Zealand Horses was one of the judges, and was very impressed with the mare. “I would be very happy to show this horse to some of my international clients as a real eventing prospect. She was lovely, soft, a great mover, willing, and a beautiful jumper. She just took everything in her stride.”

Jo also commented that the top three horses were of a very high standard. “Any of them could have been a well-deserved winner.”

There are more classes to be judged before the overall winner is announced, and at this stage it is still anyone’s competition.

Sunday is going to be well worth heading out to Equidays for. One of the interesting classes will be the Isuzu D-Max Cross-Country & Show Jumping Challenge, where there is a top field entered.

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