Boys being boys. Aussie Olympian and all round larrikin, Shane Rose, ends up with mud on his face after deciding it would be a good idea to climb the fence and jump into the arena before his course walk!
From Caz:
Wow. What a big day, what a weekend! So many ups and downs with the leading riders pushed right to the end. After cross-country day, all classes were pretty tight at the pointy end and I am sure everyone was wondering how the showjumping phase would pan out. Course designer, John Vallance certainly didn’t disappoint the crowd, putting together some challenging courses that asked the difficult questions and pushed the riders to hold their nerve right to the very last fence.
In the CCI*, Wil Enzinger riding Wenlock Aquifer and Emma Mason riding Poker face had a bit of a buffer from the rest of the field. But don’t be mistaken; competition between this pair was still pretty fierce. Adding to the pressure, young rider Juana Andreou, sitting in third place, and Tim Boland and Shane Rose sitting in fourth and fifth rode some excellent double clears to stay within spitting distance of the leaders. Mason came out and rode a great round but unfortunately dropped a rail at the last. This gave Enzinger some breathing space, but with some expensive rounds earlier in the day, the crowd collectively held its breath as he presented to each jump. Enzinger held his neve and rode a flawless round, taking home the prize in this class and finishing on his dressage score of 41.50.
Wil Enzinger (L) wins the CCI* class with Emma Mason (R) close on his heels in second.
The two-star course presented a huge challenge, with ten out of the fourteen riders taking rails and some practically bringing down the entire course. After cross-country day, the top five riders were all sitting within one rail of each other, and accuracy and speed were required to get through safely and take the top prize. Shane Rose, riding two horses in this top five, presented his striking black 7-year-old Irish sport horse x warmblood stallion, Statford Neo, mid-field. Rose dropped two rails, indicating to the leading riders that this course would be tough.
Wil Enziger riding TS Jamiamo (L), Shane Rose riding Il Vici (middle) and Natalie Blundell riding Just a Blonde (R) in the CCI**.
After only one clear round so far, Wil Enzinger came out to deliver a blazing double clear on his two-star horse, TS Jamaimo. The challenge was set and Rose, Balcomb and Blundell needed to step up. Riding the gorgeous chestnut thoroughbred, Il Vici, Rose answered Enziger’s challenge with a double clear on this elastic and expressive gelding. With nerves of steel, 22-year-old Sydneysider Lauren Balcomb, came out on Kootoomootoo, the former ride of Boyd Martin, to ride a perfect round and show the boys how it’s done. Natalie Blundell had a huge challenge ahead of her and unfortunately her little palomino gelding, Just a Blonde, looked a bit flat and dropped two rails for fourth place, handing Balcomb the victory.
Lauren Balcomb riding Kootoomotoo – winners of the CCI** class at Sydney International 3-day Event.
After a great contest in the two-star, I was wondering what the feature CCI*** would hold. As the builders started creating the final course, I began to look at the jumps and think, oh my gosh these are huge! Continuing with his duties as Patron of Sydney International Eventing, Wayne Roycroft walked the course with builder, John Vallance, discussing the fences. Most jumps were at maximum height, maximum width or both. There were some tricky lines and tight turns; and the skinny was not only narrow, it had brown and white poles that almost seemed to blend into the background making it an extremely dangerous jump.
Christine Bates goes clear in the CCI***
Much like the two-star, the top five in the three-star were pretty tight, with only one pole separating them. The course was tough and by the time fifth placed Christine Bates came out, only one rider, Emma Dougall riding Kelecyn Ice Age, had made it through clear. Adelaide Hill is not known for giving the easiest of rides but today he seemed to know exactly what to do and Christine rode her heart out to come in clear and on time (and stay on the horse past the finish line!).
Craig Barrett was next out on Sandhills Brilliare. Watching the combination compete with owners, Julie and Keith Osborne was a tense affair and Craig did a super job on this talented mare, dropping just one rail and coming in under time.
Craig Barrett riding Sandhills Brilliare in the CCI*** at Sydney International 3-day Event
After incurring time penalties on the cross-country course and dropping from first to third, Boland was looking to redeem himself. Tim and GV Billy Elliot had a cracking clear round but much like the cross-country, was a bit slow and incurred some time penalties.
Tim Boland riding GV Billy Elliot incurs two time penalties in the CCI***.
Up and coming rider, Victoria Luxford was out next but the cross-country appeared to have taken its toll on the 15-year-old gelding and the pair dropped several rails on course. By the time they reached the final jump, Perfect Encounter looked spent, crashing through the fencing, causing Victoria to slip side-ways. With all her might, she tried to clamber back into the saddle but unfortunately she couldn’t quite make it, eventually dropping to the ground. Such a shame given how well she rode in the dressage and cross-country.
Victoria Luxford hangs on for dear life before finally dropping to the ground, resulting in elimination in the CCI***.
The final ride for the day was Olympian and World Equestrian Games representative, Stuart Tinney, riding the newly acquired Pluto Mio. I really love this horse and I think they have plenty of potential to go along way. But today was not their day and, with two rails, they dropped from first to fourth.
Stuart Tinney riding Pluto Mio knocks two rails, dropping from first to fourth place in the CCI***.
With Tinney incurring eight penalties, Luxford getting eliminated, Boland earning two time penalties and Barrett dropping one rail, this gave Christine Bates on Adelaide Hill the win, climbing from fifth place to first thanks to an incredible double clear round. Tim Boland on GV Billy Elliot was second, third place to Craig Barrett on Sandhills Brilliare, fourth to Stuart Tinney on Pluto Mio and fifth to Eleanor Osborne riding Mighty High.
What a great day with plenty of excitement in the showjumping phase of this event. With Christine Bates taking home the win at Sydney, Adelaide is going to be an interesting competition in November.
Congratulations to Christine Bates riding Adelaide Hill – victorious in the CCI*** at the Sydney International 3-day Event
A final note to say thank you to ESJ for giving me this opportunity to report from the Sydney International 3-day Event. It was great fun and I hope you’ve enjoyed my stories. As @franjurga pointed out the other day, with reports coming from Sydney, AEC and Blenheim this weekend, perhaps Eventing Nation should now be re-named Eventing Planet!
CAZ!
