Adelaide put on a beautiful day for competitors and spectators at the Bates Saddles CCI2*, though the sunny conditions left some with a bit of a glow this evening. The first combination out, Andrew Barnett and Bradgate Park Dante, set a high standard which wasn’t beaten until after lunch.
Jessica Rae then took the lead on Rascal. He had showed his beautiful trot at the first horse inspection yesterday and was well received by the judges in today’s test.
However, she was pipped a bit later by 19-year-old Gemma Tinney, who is competing in the Young Rider competition in the two-star class.
Gemma is the daughter of the three-time Olympian, Stuart, and certainly showed she has the riding genes, as she produced a beautiful test on a horse that has previously been competed on by her father. Stuart rode the mare in last year’s four-star but retired her on cross-country and Gemma took over the ride shortly afterwards, competing at one- and two-star level. They won the Melbourne CCI1* in June this year.
Shenae Lowings on Venture Sky High, from Western Australia, is in third position. She was part of the Oceania YR competition at the Taupo Three-day Event in 2015. They finished 19th in the CCI2* there, and recently won a CIC2* in Wooroloo, Western Australia.
The early leader, Andrew Barnett, was very happy with his test. “It was always going to be hard going first but it is good to get it out of the way. Doing a couple of oops in the pirouette right in front of the judges wasn’t great, but generally it was safe and controlled.” Andrew was very grateful for the work that his partner, Tasha Hammond, had been doing with the horse, who used to get quite tense.
Laura Wallace and Van Heck, both originally from New Zealand, scored 63.9 and 30th.
NZ-bred and -produced Clifton Tasman, ridden by Emma Sullivan, scored 62.1 for 26th place.
The three-star dressage in the CIC is on in the morning with Samantha Felton the first to go on Ricker Ridge Pico Boo at 10 am (Adelaide time).
The four-star is due to start at 2:20pm (Adelaide time) with Andy Daines on Spring Panorama the third horse out at 2.36pm (5.06pm NZT). There are ten in the class.
Andy and Spring Panorama (Pete) had a good lesson with Performance Director Penny Castle this morning. Penny has worked with Andy since he was named in the Performance Squad over a year ago. She was pleased with the pair’s work this morning, saying they looked very professional. “Love that canter, you’re not doing much wrong,” she called from the sideline.
Results after Dressage
| 1 | ANNAPURNA | GEMMA TINNEY (YR) | 72.78% | 40.8 |
| 2 | RASCAL | JESSICA RAE | 72.15% | 41.8 |
| 3 | VENTURE SKY HIGH | SHENAE LOWINGS (YR) | 71.32% | 43 |
| 4 | BP ESCAPADE | KATJA WEIMANN | 70.28% | 44.6 |
| 5 | BRADGATE PARK DANTE | ANDREW BARNETT | 69.38% | 45.9 |
| 6 | VENGEANCE | SIMON TAINSH | 68.19% | 47.7 |
| 7 | APH MERLIN | CARLENE BARTON | 66.60% | 50.1 |
| 7 | EQUUS SPENCER | JESSICA GROSMANN | 66.60% | 50.1 |
| 9 | CURRABEHA | EMMA MASON | 65.63% | 51.6 |
| 10 | VERETTI | HANNAH LEWINDON (YR) | 65.14% | 52.3 |
