Oliver Croucher, known far and wide as Oli, is one of the most popular young men on the New Zealand jumping circuit, and for good reason. He’s a beautiful rider, he’s friendly and polite, and he’s disarmingly humbled by his own success.
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So it was one out of the box today for the just-turned 20-year-old, who works for Takapoto Estate as their stable rider, to win one of the most prestigious classes in New Zealand show jumping, the Norwood Gold Cup at the Land Rover Horse of the Year Show, with his own mare Waitangi Surf.
“I was not expecting this! I just wanted to get around, and a clear was a bonus,” says Oli, utterly and thoroughly stoked with the win.
“It feels amazing, absolutely amazing, she’s just jumping insane and it couldn’t feel better,” he says.
Oli and ‘Paris’ put up one of just six clears in the first round, in sterling company, including the defending champion, Tom Tarver-Prieve and Equifibre Popeye, and current Olympic Cup holder, Briar Burnett-Grant and Fiber Fresh Veroana.
The combinations on four faults and fewer came back for round two, and Oli says at this stage, especially knowing the company he was in, ‘leaving the rails up’ was as much as he could hope for.
But he set out looking like he meant business, and despite a slight life at the double was riding for his life. “I felt the pressure, but was just happy for a clear round. When I heard the crowd cheering as I was going into the last, I actually dropped my reins!”
The fastest of all was Tom and the amazing Popeye, on 49.93 seconds, but they had the planks down, and Briar looked like she had it in the bag galloping into the final oxer, but the rail came down and they had to settle for fifth place, on four faults and 51.45 seconds.
Oliver, who hails from Rotorua, is from a non-equestrian family, though he says his mother always loved horses, and is the reason he started to ride. “We went to an after-school care place that was on a farm, and one thing lead to another,” he says.
His parents, Paul and Kirsty, own 11-year-old Waitangi Surf, who is by Cassiano and out of a TB mare called Whisper, and was bred by Jocelyn Bayly at Waitangi Stud in Northland. She came to Oli to sell on behalf, bucked him off on the first ride, and never left.
“She’s gone from strength to strength,” he says. “She tries so hard; she doesn’t know how to say no.”
Their biggest previous win was a 1.40m class at the Taupo Christmas Classic in 2017. For now, the focus is the Young Rider title class tomorrow, followed by the Premier Stakes. The Olympic Cup is not on the radar for this year, at least.