Madison Seivwright and Waitaingi Pinterest. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
What day is it? Where am I? How is it already cross country tomorrow?
The action at Adelaide Equestrian Festival is nonstop in the best way possible. Care about the next generation coming through? Check out the Racing SA CCI3*-L. Care about senior team members making their bids for championship opportunities? Check out the Horseland CCI4*-S. Care about the pinnacle of accomplishment of horse and rider and the very elite levels of the sport? Say no more, there’s also a CCI5* for you.
May I also mention the guitar playing cowboy positively jamming while cantering bridleless who also has goats that stand on horses’ backs and sheepdogs that join them? Yes, Tom Curtain. I am talking about you and I am a fan.
Between the Oceania Championships and the Adelaide CCI5*, if you are not on the edge of your seat, allow me to list all the reasons why you should be (you’ll be on the edge of your seat for the cowboy too, not to worry):
The Racing SA CCI3*-L runs concurrently with the Young Rider Teams for the Oceania Championships. Thirty-five total riders contest this division and eight of them are representing Australia and New Zealand, four per squad. Charlotte Lalak, member of the Team Australia U25 team, leads not on Along Comes Lucy, but on her second ride in Fairbanks Casino with a 25.4. However, her fellow teammates sit directly behind her with second place going to Tahlia Pursell on a 28.8 and Georgie Elias holding third on a 29.4, allowing Australia’s U25 team to hold the top position heading into cross country. A double victory for Charlotte rests on how well the jumping phases go. She’ll ride her team horse first so will be bringing valuable information back to her second ride.
Four-time Olympian Stuart Tinney is a busy coach this week. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Coach extraordinare and sort of chef d’equipe for Team Australia Stuart Tinney (I truly lost track of just how many people he was coaching but it feels like more than 10, including acting as Chef d’Equipe for the two Australia teams) noted the atmosphere at Adelaide is unmatched and a big benefit of having the Oceania Championships here.
“What’s really good about this event and what we need [is that] we don’t get a lot where we can get into this sort of atmosphere, which is real and what we need for competition. We’re setting up a new program now with the [Australian] Institute of Sport, which is more a developing program heading towards Brisbane, and it’s really exciting. We’ve got some really good young riders and new combinations coming through. We’ve got the old core group that we’ve had in the past, and they’re getting exciting new horses coming through, but also we have a whole heap getting into the program and helping them [with] the opportunity to be on an Australian team and have that experience.”
Sophia Hill and Tulara Baltango. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
That core group of senior team members had a lot to live up to in the Horseland CCI4*-S and the stories and emotions did not stop all day. U.S. readers will have heard the name Sophia Hill multiple times this year as she crisscrosses her way across the globe to manage her business in Australia and keep her 5* partner, Humble Glory, in the U.SS to contest the Defender Kentucky CCI5* next week. But she brought forward a special horse in Tulara Baltango on the Australian Senior A Team, sitting in sixth with a 32.3.
“He’s from the Tulara Warmblood Stud that’s actually 20 minutes from us in Mansfield, Victoria. He was bred by the late Mark Fraser, who I was very close with, so it’s super special to have a horse at this level,” she said. “I’ve had him since 2020; I picked him out as a five-year-old. I saw him at an event cantering around, and I was like, I need to have that horse. He’s so athletic and so beautiful. [Mark] bred the Tulara’s for show jumping, but I always teased him that I was going to get one to the Olympics or WEG for eventing first.”
Rebecca Wardle and Dingmac Eccles. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Jumping down the list, Rebecca Wardle, representing New Zealand team, holds the 17th spot with her half pony partner Dingmac Eccles on a 40.1.
“I’m feeling pretty blessed to be here. It’s an amazing event. It’s an amazing atmosphere. I mean, I’m here with my wee pony, little old Eccles. He’s my ride or die,” she laughed. She kept a positive perspective despite the pressure she must be feeling about the team competition. “I do horses as a hobby. I work for my family business, where we’re beekeepers by trade. We make honey, and I also shoe horses. I’m here because [it’s] fun for me, and so I’ve got to make it fun. I can’t let myself get too up and too stressed, because I’ve got to enjoy the moment, right?”
Shenae Lowings and Bold Venture. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Finally, as we were approaching the end of the division, the leader arrived in the final three. Shenae Lowings and her veteran OTTB World Championships and CCI5* partner Bold Venture came out swinging and left nothing on the table for 25.6.
“[I’ve had him] around 10 years now. I purchased him off the track from Gino Paletti Racing,” she remembered. “I just saw a standing shot of him, and think I paid $1,000 for him or something. And, yeah, it’s been a wonderful journey, really that I could not have expected.”
The cross country track — designed by Mike Etherington-Smith for the CCI5* and Clayton Fredericks for the CCI4*-S and Michael Pineo for the CCI3*-L — is beefy with plenty of options but to be competitive, straight routes bring terrain and stamina challenges with no let up all the way around. Shenae plans to use her horse’s experience, and his talents, to stay at the top. “[The cross country] looks very good. There’s enough questions out there, and the time in the four-star is usually very difficult, so that adds a bit of extra risk to it. But it is a strength of ours, so I can’t wait to go out there.”
But wait! There’s more.
Samuel Jeffree and Santoro. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
The sole CCI5* in the Southern Hemisphere did not let the Oceania Championships outshine it. A field of 13 horses strutted in front of a ground jury made up of President Nikki Herbert (GBR), Jutta Koivula (FIN), and Amanda Miller (USA). The crowd rode every step with the riders and cheered and cried along with them. In particular, Samuel Jeffree won biggest groan when Santoro tripped into the final halt.
“He was quite rideable and didn’t pick up too much in the atmosphere so I’m very pleased with him,” Samuel laughed. “There’s things you can’t control and it is what it is. Unfortunate to happen in the ring but he didn’t do anything wrong there and I just smiled it off, gave him a pat, and saluted the judges.”
Andrew Cooper and Sharvalley Thunder. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Andrew Cooper and Sharvalley Thunder finished on the podium at the Luhmuhlen CCI4*-S and competed as part of the Australian team at CHIO Aachen last year. Holding the third spot on a 31.5 going into cross country, the careful and slow production of “Thunder” has had Andrew living in a dream today. “I was having such a good time in there that I fell asleep a little bit!” He remarked on a fault in the changes. “He was awesome. He stayed with me. He sometimes can get a little distracted, but, I mean, that’s sort of a thing of the past with him, so he’s now laying down some really solid tests.”
At home, Andrew works both on a racehorse farm and with his own string of performance horses so riding 20 horses a day is the usual. “I actually learned a lot about [Thunder] overseas. We have a lot of horses – we do racehorses, we do all the things here in Australia. So taking him and just having one horse overseas, I learned so much about him. Riding at Luhmühlen and Aachen, it was an unbelievable experience. I’m very fortunate that my wife supported this crazy idea. I’m very lucky for the people that I have around me.”
Andrew Cooper comes with a full family support crew this year. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Indeed he won the cutest support team award when his three children came running up to congratulate him after his ride.
In second lies 5* debutante Oliver Barrett with Sandhills Briar on a 30.6. He rides not one but two horses in the CCI5* who also are family homebreds. His parents, Australian Team riders Prue and Craig run the Sandhills Stud and carry the legacy of generations. The brand for Sandhills, a C diamond 1 brand, comes from Prue’s mother, Jennifer who began the Barolin Pony Stud when Prue was a child.
Oliver Barrett and Sandhills Briar. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
As the only rider with two horses, Oliver opened competition with Sandhills Gem and finished the competition with Sandhills Briar. “I’m really happy with how [Briar] went,” he remarked. “At Adelaide, there’s a whole lot of atmosphere and I was really impressed with the way he coped and stayed with me.”
But today’s real joy came from watching New Zealand’s Madison Seivwright and the 18-year-old mare, Waitangi Pinterest break the 30’s barrier to score a 27.0 to take the lead. A rhythmic and clean test, they earned 7 and 8’s almost across the board to earn their lead, showing that correct riding can overcome flash.
Madison Seivwright and Waitaingi Pinterest. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
“She was awesome. She’s very professional. She knows her job. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and she gets in there and she listens to everything I say. I’m very pleased with her!” Madison gushed. “I actually hunted her down many years ago, when she was a seven-year-old. I loved her expression going around, and it took me three months of begging my father. I said, we need to look at this little horse. And he said, But why? She’s kind of a small, dark bay, plain. I said, there’s nothing plain about her! There was just something about her expression, and you could tell that she loved her job, and she was a hearty little thing, and she’s been just that amazing.”
Madison has only run the mare when it counts, and it has paid dividends today. And she’ll enjoy it but not lose sight of what’s coming. “I know I’ve got to do my job to the best of my ability. There’s a lot to do. There’s a lot to do tomorrow, and there will be a lot to do on Sunday, so I just need to stay focused on what I’m up to and then see where that lands us.”
There’s a history of 18 years olds winning Adelaide. Clifford? Can we call you for some tips?
We’ll be back with you (in U.S. time) on Saturday evening with a concluding report from Adelaide. Be sure to tune in live this evening (again, speaking to our U.S. and UK/European readers) on Horse & Country for the cross country action. You can also catch a preview of all three cross country courses on CrossCountry App here.
Adelaide Equestrian Festival CCI5* & Oceania Championships (AUS): [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
