Samantha Felton was the first competitor into the ring this morning at Adelaide in the CIC3* competition on her Ricker Ridge Pico Boo.
The pair looked very professional and apart from one small mistake with the canter work, the test was very pleasing. Their score was 49.2, and at this point, is in the lead after the first few competitors, including Shenae Lowings on one of the favourites, Ballyhoo.
“I was really happy with it, he was a little excited about the boxes and flowers and everything but he held it together. I just made one mistake when I tried a little too hard to get an 8 instead of a 6, and he changed. It was a risk and it didn’t pay off that time but it did the second time.”
When asked how that rated in all the tests the horse has done, Sam thought it was one of the better ones. “It is in the top bunch. He did a really good test in Goulburn a few weeks ago but I made more mistakes. I think he was a little more tense here but I rode more accurately.”
Sam now has to head off to prepare her next horse, Ricker Ridge Escada. “Number two is all about staying uphill for the whole test so I will just try to keep him with me the whole time. This is a new atmosphere for him too so we will work on a calm and consistent test. I might watch one or two now and then go and get ready.”
There is a big group of New Zealanders here to watch the event, which Sam found very encouraging. “It is so nice, so lovely to have everyone here, it makes it a really special event.”
Samantha’s sister, Nicola, is her groom and her parents are also on hand to see their daughter compete at this elite event.
You can see the live scoring on this link.
