Rose Alfeld is New Zealand’s new National Grand Prix Champion with her big-jumping, home-bred My Super Nova.
The final two rounds of the Bayleys Real Estate Grand Prix Horse Championship, sponsored by Wilcox Perlas Potatoes, were held today in a cloud of dust whipped up by the locally infamous Nor’wester, and in front of a good crowd, including many of Rose’s relations.
While the field was small, with just three in it, Rose performed very well over the entire show, with the only faults on her scoresheet incurred on the first day in the speed class. She posted two clear rounds on Friday, and today she jumped the huge fences well, verbally encouraging My Super Nova (‘Case’) through the treble in the first round, to be the only clear. She repeated the performance again in the shortened last round. Chris Harris and Glenbrooke Archie Bunker improved to finish second after having one rail and a time fault in today’s first round, and one time fault in the last. Kimberleigh McCabe collected a few rails on her rounds, and was third on Kace.
Rose enjoyed riding the John Vallance courses. “They have been really nice all weekend – challenging enough, though!” After recording the biggest win of her career so far, she had no great plans for celebrating and was more concerned with getting ready for the next shows. “We are heading to the North Island on Tuesday, and going to Masterton show, then on to Tauranga and then to the Horse of the Year Show.”
NRM NZ National 1.30 Championship – June Cresswell Memorial
Katie Meredith triumphed in the 1.30 Championship on her striking Westgrove GNZ. She won the speed class on the first day, and had lost the lead when dropping a rail in the second round on day two. Today she was back on top, producing two beautiful clear rounds.
Lucinda Askin had been very consistent all through the show, and was the overnight leader, but had a rail in the first round. Her show finished in style, though, with a lovely clear in the last to take second place on Portofino.
Susie Hayward and the 15-year-old stallion Andretti had one rail in the first round but showed their class with a super clear in the last round and finished third.
Sally Spicer had won the second day of the competition on Queen of Dance WHS but unfortunately had to pull out today as her horse had over-reached and she was keen to get her right in time for HOY. However, she finished fourth on her other horse, Bella Vi, jumping clear in today’s first round but incurring 9 faults in the second.
Rounding out the placings were Kelly Evans on Hammertime (fifth), Nicole White on LC Samson (sixth) and Jaimee Bird on Wenrose Vertigo (seventh).
Katie was quite emotional after her win. “It’s been a long way to get here. He has been a high-energy young horse who’s always loved his jumping, and it is so cool to come out and do this.” She, too, was full of praise for John Vallance’s course, which suited her young horse. “The jumps came up quite fast, and so he couldn’t think about anything else, he had to keep his mind on the job.”
Katie, a full-time rider, is also heading to the Horse of the Year show, and will then return to McLeans Island for the Canterbury Championships in late March.
Mainland Coachwork Limited NZ National 1.20 Horse Championship
Awatuna Jonesy was a horse who impressed many at this show after producing two faultless rounds on Friday, and then winning the Junior Rider class yesterday with Todd Magner. The pair came out again today and never looked like faulting, putting in two fantastic rounds to be the clear winners.
Coming into the last round, Katie Meredith and Lakota were the leaders, having won the speed class and jumped two clears in Friday’s competition but a pesky rail in the first round today meant they had to relinquish their lead to Todd and even a clear round in the last round couldn’t restore their winning position. Amanda Roy and Rumours NZPH were the only other double clear rounds today and came up to third place as a result.
Lucinda Askin didn’t have a great round first up, but somewhat redeemed her and IQ’s reputation with another lovely clear in the last round. They finished fourth. Gail Richardson on Eireann Bandoola was fifth, Kate Beattie on Smartymarty sixth, Rik Van Miltenburg and Truly Unique sevent, with Jayne Beattie and Midnight Magic Rumble eight.
Todd, not one to get excited, said he felt “pretty good” after his big win. He didn’t have time to celebrate either, he was planning on travelling back to his home near Hokitika on the South Island’s West Coast and has an early start tomorrow morning as they are herd testing on the farm. Todd isn’t heading to the Horse of the Year Show. “We decided to go to the Pony Club Championships this year instead of going to the Horse of the Year. With the champs being in Whangarei, we couldn’t do both.” He will event his other horse but plans on having Awatuna Jonesy back at the Canterbury Championships in late March.
Penny Jones bred and still owns Jonesy, who is by Littorio. The well-respected coach thought Todd did a great job on her horse and has no plans of selling him. “Todd can have him until he is sick of him!” Given the pair’s performance this weekend, that could be some time away.
Equissage NZ National Open Pony Championship in Association with Fiber Fresh
Sophie Scott had been targeting this competition all year, “it was the main one I wanted to win!” She didn’t just win it on Benrose Playtime, she was also second on her other pony, Waiotahi Belle. The Wellington based rider who has just turned 15 rode beautifully, recording two clear rounds in the first round. She had one time fault in the second round on Waiotahi Belle, and then had one rail on Benrose Playtime and we had to wait a few minutes before the judges could confirm just which horse she had won on!
It was the Northland bred horse, Benrose Playtime (aka ‘Lizzie’) that had enough of a lead to get the win. Sophie’s mother, Tania had found Lizzie on Trade Me as a three year old. She is now 9 years old and her next big show will be the Horse of the Year where she is entered in the Pony of the Year.
Annabel Francis and Te Mata Miss also had one rail in the last round after recording a good clear round in the first so had to settle for third. Steffi Whittaker had a bit of an unusual (for her) disaster in the treble in today’s first round but recovered well and didn’t incur any other faults to finish in fourth place overall. Grace Manera on Rednalhgih (Highlander spelled backwards) finished in fifth, with Gretchen Anderson in sixth. Rosa Buist-Brown on Junior Disco was the only rider to record two clear rounds today but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to see her improve beyond seventh. WPS Tonka and Peita Milne were eighth.
Brough Equestrian National Champion Junior Show Hunter
Sophie also won the junior show hunter title, this time on Benrose Rockstar. Casey Smith was second on Tequila Sunrise NZPH with Sophie Westgarth third on Tikity Tok. Unfortunately Sophie isn’t taking this horse to the Horse of the Year show, she will just have her Grand Prix ponies there. “It’s too expensive,” she said!
Newstalk ZB National 1.10 Horse Championship
Leading after the speed class on day one, Tayler Nalder and Icebreaker II didn’t held on and claimed the trophy. With a number of other riders putting the pressure on, Tayler couldn’t afford to have any faults. Harriet Gardner had been right behind her all the way with four clear rounds on Arctic Invader, but had to be happy with second.
Amy McMullan and Silversmith were third, with Michelle Marais and Steffields Raven fourth. Molly Buist-Brown and her handsome young horse Prestige finished in fifth place, and Genevieve Kirwan on Ariados was sixth. Kate Perry and Casiraghi were seventh, with Galaxy Supernova and Chelsea McPhail eighth.
There were some great performances in this class and Tayler was delighted with her clear jumping record. “This is my second season on him. We’ve done some Junior Rider classes too. He is actually Dad’s hunter,” she says. She plans on taking the Irish draught-Percheron cross to HOY to compete in the Junior and 1.20m classes, before handing his reins back to her dad, Mark, who is a member of the Brackenfield Hunt.
T & M Nurseries National 1.10 Pony Championship
Again, a good result in day one’s speed class proved to be the key to winning the whole event. Jordan van Miltenburg and Harrison James were a handy second after the first day and didn’t add another penalty all weekend, although a number of other combinations had also put in great rounds.
This meant the pressure was really on when Jordan entered the arena, the last to go with the reverse-order draw. Taryn Hume and Demi Quaver had added nothing to their score, and nor had Sophie Townsend on Tallyho Neptune, but they had to settle for second and third respectively. Day one’s speed class winner, Rebecca Wardle on Dingmac Disco King, had a costly rail but should be proud of finishing fourth. Ella Wylie and MF Spot Me were fifth, with Grace Manera and Tallyho Scoundrel sixth. Tallyho Scoundrel was sired by the Connemara Tallyho Neptune, who stood at stud for a couple of years before being gelded and turning to show jumping.
Jordan is only 12 years old and is based just outside Winton. It will take him about nine hours to get home. ‘Harry’ is just seven, and Jordan finished 11th on him in this class last year. “We had him on trial here last year and then decided to buy him. We’ve been getting better and better and think we might go to the Horse of the Year next year.”
Moore’s Riding Wear NZ National Amateur Show Hunter
Rebecca Kerr was the winner of this title on the lovely Dorofino. Katie Flett and Tribute OL were second, Helen Ensor and Zactac Night n Day third, and Claudia Wilson fourth on Shapeshifter II.
NZ Horse & Pony Magazine NZ National Category B Pony Championship
For the second year in a row, the lovely bay gelding Acclaim, ridden by Anna Nalder, won this class . Acclaim is also known as Spud, “because that’s his name!” explains Anna pragmatically. The pair looked a picture together.
Harriet Laing was second on Triple Star Picture Puzzle, with Georgia Allison on Pioneer High Jinx third.
Mitavite National Cat C Pony Championship & Rising Star Classic Championship
Sweet Cappuccino and Olivia Adams were the winners of both of these titles. Nicknamed Bounce, the pony is one of two that Olivia owns. “She’s my favourite today,” she admitted.
Georgia Allison was second on Pioneer High Jinx, with Samantha Gillies on Moccochino third.
McMillan Equine Feeds Open Show Hunter Championship
Devon van Til was the successful rider in this class, on Katie Flett’s Tribute OL.
National Category A Championship
Ben Gillies and Amberfield Golden won the title, just beating Ben’s older sister, Emma!
Canterbury Saddlery NZ National Rising Star Championship
Emily Cammock’s six-year-old Impeccable was the winner of this class.
NRM Terrier Race
This was won by Ruby, an experienced racer, owned by Amy Evans.
Results:
Final Competition Bayleys Real Estate Horse Grand Prix Championship in association with Wilcox Perlas Potatoes: Rose Alfeld (Leeston) My Super Nova 1, Chris Harris (West Melton) Glenbrooke Archie Bunker 2, Kimberleigh McKabe (Invercargill) Kace 3.
Final Competition Equissage NZ National 1.20m Open Pony Championship in association with Fiber Fresh: Sophie Scott (Wellington) Benrose Playtime 1, Sophie Scott (Wellington) Waiotahi Belle 2, Annabel Francis (Darfield) Te Mata Miss 3, Steffi Whittaker (Springston) Moonlight Glow 4, Grace Manera (West Melton) Rednalhgih Cowan 5, Gretchen Anderson (West Coast) Tallyho Cleopatra 6.
Final Competition NRM NZ National 1.30m Horse Championship, June Creswell Memorial: Katie Meredith (Ohoka) Westgrove GNZ 1, Lucinda Askin (Ashburton) Portofino 2, Susie Hayward (Ashburton) Andretti 3, Sally Spicer (West Melton) Bella Vi 4, Kelly Evans (Cave) Hammertime 5, Nicole White (Invercargill) LC Samson 6.
Final Competition Mainland Coachwork Ltd NZ National 1.20m Horse Championship: Todd Magner (West Coast) Awatuna Jonesy 1, Katie Meredith (Ohoka) Lakota. 2, Amanda Roy (Gore) Rumours NZPH 3, Lucinda Askin (Ashburton) I.Q 4, Gail Richardson (Southland) Eireann Bandoola 5, Kate Beattie (Dunedin) Smartymarty 6.
Final Competition Newstalk ZB NZ National 1.10m Horse Championship: Tayler Nalder (Cust) Icebreaker ll 1, Harriet Gardiner (Timaru) Artic Invader 2, Amy McMullan (Timaru) Silversmith 3, Michelle Marais (Christchurch) Steffields Raven 4, Molly Buist-Brown (Burnham) Prestige 5, Genevieve Kirwan (Ashburton) Ariados 6.
Final Competition T&M Nurseries NZ National 1.10m Pony Championship: Jordan van Miltenburg (Southland) Harrison James 1, Eloise Beattie (Dunedin) Demi Quaver 2, Sophie Townsend (West Melton) Tallyho Neptune 3, Rebecca Wardle (Hokitika) Dingmac Disco King 4, Ella Wylie (Invercargill) MF Spot Me 5, Grace Manera (West Melton) Tallyho Scoundrel 6.
If you would like to purchase any photos from the event, you can head to this link.
