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Centaur ridden for New South Wales by Ann Williams is such a bright horse that appears to have a great personality. The shoulder in work was spoilt by some head tilting, but Centaur made up for the lost marks with a really great extended walk. The walk half pirouettes lost some energy, which spoils them. The canter half pirouettes were too lacking in energy the second being better than the first. Anne rode a neat test and I am sure that Centaur will improve as his confidence and strength develop, They scored 60.75%.
A personal favourite of mine is Avoca Black Saint ridden for Victoria by Leanne Williams. This horse is just lovely black with four white stockings – not your usual breed for dressage – he is Clydesdale/thoroughbred cross. Black Saint has a fantastic canter, he can really sit and engage. A few months ago I thought that his trot was the weak link in his Prix St. George work, but Leanne was telling me after the competition that she took this comment on board and has worked to bring the trot up to the standard of the canter. The extended and medium trot work was even and engaged, as was the shoulder in and trot half passes which showed lovely self carriage. Black Saint seemed to become distracted in the canter work which had a bad effect on the half pirouettes. The 4 times changes were great but the 3’s were lacking expression. Leanne was thrilled to have the chance to participate in this prestigious competition and very pleased with her horse and his score of 60.63%
New South Wales young rider Gill Rogers on her thoroughbred gelding Marakoopa were next to go. This big finely built horse seemed a little tense from the start, and this was confirmed when he broke in the medium trot down the long side. The judges boxes seemed to cause him some anxious moments, and as these are not commonplace at Australian competitions, it is understandable. Much of the canter work was very well done and the half pirouettes were nicely centred and lifting. There was a mistake in the 4 times changes but the quality of the pace was very nice. Overall the test was of good quality and the judges rewarded their efforts with 61.38%.
Riding for Western Australia was Victoria Hamilton on her lovely Aachen stallion Asaachen. Now based in Gisborne, Victoria, this combination did not have to endure the 4000 km trip across the Nullabor to participate today. Victoria is a very focused rider, having won this event in 1998 on her now retired FEI horse Ardito. Asaachen hardly made any mistakes in his work today but marks would have been deducted here and there, for the slight loss of self carriage and lightness which occurred at times, in some of the more difficult movements. Vicky rode very well and should be congratulated for her great score of 66.25%. The good news is, she will be able to add between 5 and 10 percent to this score, as the horse develops in strength and balance. Well done Vicky and Asaachen.
Samantha Hain from New South Wales riding Dabrijo Merlin were next to go. I felt that this rider stood in the stirrips particularly in the medium and extended trot, but she rode the movements accurately and in accordance with the directives. Samantha would have been distracted when a gust of wind blew off her hat. Merlin behaved like a real gentleman and did not react to this strange object that had appeared on the arena. They did very well on a score of 61.50% I am sure that we will see more of this combination.
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About the Competition & FEI Code of Conduct | The Judges |
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Victorian champion ‘allrounder’
Mighty Heights was next, capably ridden by riding instructor Karin Davis. Fresh from his
Gold Medal victory at the Para Olympics, Mighty Heights produced a foot perfect test for
Karin. There was just a little tightness in the trot work which slightly spoilt the
extended paces and the half passes. There was great horse/rider harmony and a pleasing
mark of 63.13% for a third place.
