Ritchie – from Rio to ‘Welcome’ home at Woodhill Sands

It was a good weekend at Woodhill Sands for Olympian Clarke Johnstone. First there was the great excitement of having Balmoral Sensation out again, his first time since Rio, and winning the Eventers’ prize in the Welcome Stakes. Then, on Sunday, Clarke and Quainton Labyrinth won the Country TV-Alltech Auckland Championship Premier Horse Grand Prix! These two are an exciting combination and it was great to see them claim what could be the first of many Grand Prix victories.

Emma Watson also had a good show, winning the Pony Grand Prix on Fun House and finishing fourth on Phantom Warrior.

We understand this is Shelley and Chris Ross’s last time running an event at Woodhill Sands, and we would like to say a big thank you to them. They have certainly put in a lot of hard work over the years to develop this property and we look forward to seeing what happens with it next.

The weather played havoc leading up the event, but came out shining (though very humid) for the weekend. It did mean that the main arena wasn’t used, and the show hunter classes were cancelled, but the sand arenas were in full use.

Libby Law was there for the first day, and captured some great photos for us.

Alltech Horse 1.25m Welcome Stakes
1 – CARETINO JEWEL & Vicki Wilson
2 – GRAND CABALLO & Mikayla Herbert
3 – CAPATINO GNZ & Kate Hewlett
4 – FIBER FRESH VEROANA & Briar Burnett-Grant
5 – WAITANGI SURF & Oliver Croucher
6 – COCO & James Jackson

Horse 1.15m
1 – GURTEEN FLEMMINGHGO & Kate Hewlett
2 – LADY BUG & Emma Gaze
3 – KOWHAI BUG & Emma Gaze
4 – MF AMORE MIO & Kristi Solanius
5 – LETANO & Ally Carson
6 – APPLETON & Olivia Dalton

PEL Horse 1.40m
1 – SHOWTYM CASSANOVA & Amanda Wilson
2 – NGAHIWI SHOWTYM PREMIER & Vicki Wilson
3 – ULYSSES NZPH & Lily Tootill
4 – DUNSTAN EYE CATCHER & Katie Laurie
5 – WAITANGI WI FI & Oliver Croucher
6 – DUNSTAN ON THE POINT SANDY & Katie Laurie

Horse 95cm
1 – BLUE FLAME & Sarah Cullen
2 – REDCLIFFS CHOCOLATE BOX & Cerene Marsh
3 – ALMOST SPOTLESS & Anna Ellis
4 – BESS & Kate Ramsey
5 – DELTA ROUGH DIAMOND & Cindy Page

Horse 90cm
1 – BLUE FLAME & Sarah Cullen
2 – ALMOST SPOTLESS & Anna Ellis
3 – TELEX & Devon Finlayson
4 – BOUNCE & Molly Ormsby
5 – KOWHAIELO & Amelia Clark

Horse 1.10m
1 – JITTERBUG II & Emma Gaze
2 – GURTEEN FLEMMINGHGO & Kate Hewlett
3 – SPRINGWOOD MISS LILLY & Ben Weir
4 – NGAHIWI INDIGO & Bryony Smith
5 – MF AMORE NIO & Kristi Solanius
6 – STARLIGHT DAYTONA & Samantha Maguire
7 – CABANA & Lauren Whyte

Pony 80-90
1 – STARLIGHT INDRANI & Samantha Maguire
2 – MANGAKARAA BYRON & Charli Forsyth
3 – MR SAXOBEAT & Maddison Smith
4 – STARLIGHT SMARDA & Samantha Maguire

Country TV/ Alltech Auckland Championship Premier Horse Grand Prix 

1. QUAINTON LABYRINTH & Clarke Johnstone (Waikato)
2. DUNSTAN ON THE POINT SANDY & Katie Laurie (Waikato)
3. SHOWTYM CASSANOVA & Amanda Wilson (Northland)
4. A P NINJA & Emily Hayward Morgan (Waikato)
5. SINATRA II & Tessa Clark (Gisborne)
6. DUNSTAN BREEZE & Katie Laurie (Waikato)

Equissage/ Prydes EasiFeed Auckland Champion Premier Pony Grand Prix

1. FUN HOUSE & Emma Watson (Waikato)
2. TONY THE PONY & Ally Carson (Waikato)
3. SIMPLY SAMANTHA HH & Olivia Dalton (Waitemata)
4. PHANTOM WARRIOR & Emma Watson (Waikato)
5. TAYLOR MADE GIFT & Billie Mae Mentzer (Northland)
6. REDCLIFFS BILL & Georgia Bouzaid (Northland)

East Coast Performance Horses/ The Hits 5 yr old Series

• LOTTE & Rosie Commons (Waitemata)
• BMW NUMERO UNO & Michelle Wakeling (Waitemata)

Mitavite / T & M Nurseries 6 yr old series 

1 –  LETANO & Ally Carson

Cortaflex/Prydes EasiFeed 7yr old series

1. GRAND CABALLO & Mikayla Herbert (Bay of Plenty)
2. CAPATINO GNZ & Kate Hewlett (Northland)
3. WOODBINE LEGACY ST & Amanda Wilson (Northland)
4. BELISCHI HM & Emily Hayward Morgan (Waikato)
5. ABSOLUTE NZPH & Natasha  Imeson (Northland)
6. S.K. HALO & Alyvia James (Waikato)

FMG / Alltech Young Rider

1. CARLO I & Nicola Hammond (Auckland)
2. equal: S.K. HALO & Alyvia James (Waikato) and LC UNDERBERG & Laura Hilhorst (Auckland)
3. YANDOO LADY GOLD & Emily Hayward Morgan (Waikato)
4. FIBER FRESH VEROANA & Briar Burnett-Grant (Taupo)
5. AMARULA MVNZ & Keean Cooper (Waikato)

Lets Bale/The Tractor Centre Pro Am

1. TENNESSEE WALTZ & Carol Stewart (Waikato)
2. WOODLAND BUG & Emma Gaze (Auckland)
3. MOSAIC II & Vicki Ridley (Auckland)
4. ATHENA GNZ & Rosie Commons (Waitemata)
5. MATAWAI SENTANA & Jacqui Wright (Auckland)
6. TELE-STAR & Natasha  Imeson (Northland)
7. CAPATINO GNZ & Kate Hewlett (Northland)

Caledonian Holdings /Fiber Fresh Feeds Amateur Rider

1. GOLDEN GIRL MVNZ & Catherine Fawcett-McNaughton (Auckland)
2. CADENZA & Mark Weedon (Waitemata)
3. MIRROBELLA MOLLY & Chloe van den Boorn (Auckland)
4. SAMUEL SOMETHING & Samantha Bult (Waitemata)
5. LC TANGO & Alexa Randall (Auckland)
6. CORPUS K & Jane Burmester (Waitemata)

Lincoln University / Pacific Motor Group Junior Rider

1. NGAHIWI BEST WISHES & Keean Cooper (Waitemata)
2. FIBER FRESH CORMINA OBOLENSKY & Briar Burnett-Grant (Taupo)
3. BJORKING & Emma-Kate Wilson (Waikato)
4. AIRBORNE MVNZ & Tristan Thomas (Bay of Plenty)
5. LINKS HOT GOSSIP & Nicola Hammond (Waikato)
6. LC VICTORIEUSE & Alyvia James (Waikato)