Sydney Three Day Event Dressage

From Caz:

Sydney International Equestrian Centre is a place dear to my heart. I don’t think there are too many people in the world who can say they got to go to an Olympic Games in their home town and witness their sporting heroes bring home the gold. To be there in those stands and to sing the Australian National Anthem – a moment like this, to quote a certain credit card company, is, well, priceless. I’ve been back to this venue on numerous occasions since the 2000 games but it still makes me smile, driving through the gates and seeing the iconic final jump at the entrance (I’ll get a photo of that tomorrow!).

Sydney International three-day is historically held every September each year, based around the dates of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. September was chosen as the date for the Olympics for a number of reasons: it was closest to the northern hemisphere summer, which suited the flagship sports such as athletics; the temperatures are historically pleasant; and, apparently, September is the driest month of the year. In 2000, the weather was out of this world spectacular – somewhere around 26-30°C (79-86°F) each day with beautiful, clear blue skies.

Unfortunately, the Sydney International Three-day Event appears to be cursed. I don’t know what it is but it seems like every year the weekend chosen for this event is both unseasonably cold and wet. And this year has not bucked this trend. Today we got four seasons in one day, with the rain tumbling during the young horse classes and the sun finally poking it’s nose out during the CCI*** dressage, phew! Like any good competition, there were ups and downs, with the day ending on a bang (see the temperature ‘spike’ at 3pm) but I think I would have preferred a sunny day instead.

Now that I’ve grumbled and moaned about the terrible, English-like weather, I should get down to telling you about the competition!

The day started with the Telstra Australian Young Event Horse Championships for 5-year-old, 6-year-old and 7-year-old event horses. The competition was pretty tight in all classes and it was wonderful to watch some well prepared, well educated young horses that I hope to see coming through the levels in the next few years. All were extremely well behaved, especially considering the poor weather including torrential rain and swimming pool like conditions in the main arena. I really enjoyed watching the horses go straight from he dressage arena into showjumping ring and I must congratulate all the riders for doing do such a great job. Jessamy Walsh, riding the striking chestnut warmblood/thoroughbred cross, Mr Walker, were victorious in the 5-year-old class. Claudia Graham, riding my favourite young horse for the day and overall young horse supreme champion, Double Vision, were victorious in the 6-year-old class. And Victoria Luxford riding the aptly named Little Miss Perfect, took home the title in the 7-year-old class.

The weather cleared just in time for the Harbour IT CCI*** class and the small crowd of spectators flocked to the main arena to watch the action. Shane Rose started off with a lovely test ride (what a shame he wasn’t competing) before Emma Dougall kicked off the competition. Unfortunately her horse, Kelecyn Ice Age, was not impressed with the water and never really settled into the canter. While all riders put in a fine effort considering the poor conditions, the top five were all very professional and put in some polished rides.

Tim Boland has plenty to prove riding GV Billy Elliot after a disappointing ride at Melbourne and came out on song today. He demonstrated true professionalism, with an expressive yet controlled test and showed one of the calmest free walks I think I have ever seen on an event horse. He should be extremely happy, sitting first with a score of 44.80.

Stuart Tinney only recently took over the ride of Pluto Mio in May of this year and this horse is all class with plenty of presence and a great way of going. I think horse and rider are still figuring each other out and unfortunately there were a few minor hiccups along the way. However, overall the test was very smart and the pair scored a well-deserved 45.60.

George Sheridan and Victoria Luxford are close on the heels of the leaders, both sitting in third place with a score of 46.00. Victoria started competing at the three star level in late 2009 and has been consistently improving her dressage score from one event to the next. She should be very happy with her 16-year-old thoroughbred gelding, Perfect Encounter, riding a smooth and obedient test. Likewise, George rode a similarly obedient and polished test on his lovely cool, calm and collected gelding, Woznme.

Craig Barrett, riding the lovely 9-year-old thoroughbred/warmblood mare, Sandhills Brilliare rounds off the top five with a score of 47.50. I spoke with owner, Julie Osborne just after the test and she was proud as punch with this mare. Sandhills Brilliare has a soft, no-fuss way of going with some fancy, powerful movement and a great hind-end. And with less than one rail between first and fifth, this pair is still well and truly in the running.

Tomorrow’s forecast looks to be a bit kinder on riders with only a 30 per cent chance of rain, but the going will still be pretty slick. Fingers crossed it stays clear and we get some great cross-country action.

Don’t forget you can also catch me attempting to live tweet from the event @Cazdrop. After today, I now have an increased level of respect for Samantha Clark for her amazing ability to multi-task writing stories, recording videos and live tweeting.

Signing off for tonight, ready to get some beauty sleep before a big day tomorrow.

Caz