Eventing Australia - Tooradin 2004 Report and Pictures Page 2
TOORADIN HORSE TRIALS
6/7 November 2004
by Adam Fawcett - Page 2
Perfect conditions for a perfect event
– Tooradin 2004
Preliminary Showjumping on Saturday afternoon –
John Bird and Lockerby Lookout complete their round
A tip for punters travelling to Tooradin on a hot
day: Don’t leave the house without a hat, sunscreen and aeroguard! To do
so runs the risk of you returning from your travels one burnt, red, itchy
lobster.
Trust me, unfortunately the writer knows these
things.
Renowned state-wide for its sandy going, Tooradin
not only provided a safe run for lots of horses resuming their campaigns
but also eliminated any fears riders might have had about running them
hard over the ground.
And in the Settlement Hotel CNC** class, although
time was hard to come by – only 7 of 33 achieved it – two thirds of the
field managed to come home with under 10.0 time, showing that riders too
still had some adjustments to make on the clock.
That, or Tooradin’s winding bush tracks have once
again got in the way of a double clear!
Emily Anker, after lying in 4th and 7th
places following Saturday’s dressage, strikes disaster cross country when
she retires ESB Irish Endeavour from the competition during his round
while 4th placed ESB Irish Accent, having come home clear with
13.6 time, is pulled out of the competition prior to the show jumping.
With both horses heading for the long format Two
Star at Adelaide, we hope Emily will have them up and running again in
time. Our fingers are crossed.
9th placed Georgia Clifford gives Its
Monty an easy run around the Tooradin track to come home with 33.6,
putting them out of contention while Jenalle Duffy has one of the 7 double
clears with the scopey Jen Jan Butch Cassidy to move right contention and
the top ten.
Another who put himself into the top ten was Yona
Lloyd and Spenser Street who also came home with a double clear while
Clemmi Mann kept Irish Warrior ticking over nicely to have just the 2 time
penalties and a shot at the title.
Darren Green gave Torlea Merlin McOhl an easy run
ahead of his Adelaide run – he is doing the short course Two Star – coming
home clear jumping with 22.4 time while 10th placed Robyn Brown
kept her name near the top with just 9.6 time aboard Esperantan.
Top Ten finish for Clemmi Mann and Irish Warrior
Overnight 3rd placed Natalie Davies
has a cracking round with Abel Rex, a horse who finds the show jumping his
toughest task but who can really zoom cross country. Home clear jumping,
clear time sees them retain their 3rd place.
Tasmania’s Amanda Coulson, who has brought over
her top two steeds in the run up to Adelaide, has two great rounds with
both of them, LA Oasis outdoing his more experienced stablemate by 2.8
time penalties, Oasis home clear jumping with 63.9 while LA Confidential
has 9.2 marked next to his name.
Holly Parker’s Simity Sam does everything he is
asked – and even manages to make the water look easy – but Tooradin’s
track gets another scalp when Holly gallops through the flags with 7.2
time on the clock.
Despite the time the manage to retain their 6th
placing.
Holly’s other ride, class leader Secret Squirrel,
is much like Simity Sam, honest and economical, but with a difference:
He’s faster!
Home with no time and they keep their lead which
Janelle Pitts and Mr Showoff, despite their clear jumping and 3.2 time,
cannot catch.
Plenty of air for Holly Parker and Simity Sam
One of the more successful advanced eventers in
recent years, Armitage Downie Warlord is interestingly the only horse
entered here who will be competing in the Four Star at Adelaide, and his
cross country round shows enough to suggest he is peaking at the right
time.
Home clear with just 3.6 time to move into the
top five.
In the Tack Box CNC*, class leaders Jennifer
Hodgins and Lambourne Park Musendan retain their lead with a double clear
while equal fifth placed Hayley Smith and Minapre Que Sera has 31.2 time
to drop right out of contention.
Jumping into contention on the other hand was
Tracey Savage and Gambler Boy who had a double clear while second placed
Morten Haugaard had problems cross country with the lovely My Antony to
fall down the list.
Rohan Luxmoore and Benaloo Glance move up the
ladder with just 0.4 time while Seumas Marwood has just 3.2 on Mr
Snuffleupagus to enter the top five.
If Tooradin’s cross country course is twisty then
its show jumping arena is equally hilly, and course designer Laurie Lever
used the undulating ground to its best advantage, requiring a round that
showed lots of impulsion, bend and most importantly, balance.
In the Intermediate, only 9 of the combinations
managed a clear round and for one of the riders who didn’t, it was a
crucial misdemeanour that was to cost them dearly…
With two one stride combinations and fences
facings the crowds, the track wasn’t easy but certainly jumpable.
WOW – My Hamlet sure has the show jumping
covered!
Here with Danish rider Morten Haugaard
Clemmi Mann’s Irish Warrior had lost none of his
cope heading into the show jumping but left a leg on course to pull one
rail and end in 8th place, a great result for Clemmi considering
her other ride, Newsman, was the only combination to be eliminated cross
country earlier in the day.
Despite falling out of contention with time
penalties cross country, Darren Green got Torlea Merlin McOhl firing in
the ring, jumping a classy clear to finish his pre-Adelaide tune-up in 17th
place, a spot ahead of Amanda Howell and Zoom who showed why he is
destined for international level with one of the most scopiest rounds of
the day, taking home one of the 9 clear rounds.
Amanda Coulsen’s LA Oasis was the next horse to
get through the flags unscathed, jumping a double clear while Robyn Brown
consolidated her position to finish in 10th place with a double
clear.
Joanne Kinross, after adding just 0.4 time cross
country to her dressage score of 64.5, moved right up the ladder again
after her show jumping round with Judah produced a double clear to finish
in 9th place. Joanne and Judah will contest the long format Two
Star at Adelaide.
Yona Lloyd (Spenser Street) and Clemmi Mann
(Irish Warrior) each have a rail to finish in 7th and 8th
places respectively while the biggest shift in the placings comes from
Natalie Davies who has a disappointing 3 rails on AEA Abel Rex to shift
from 3rd place into eventual 6th on 62.4.
Holly Parker’s round with Simity Sam causes her
no trouble and they come home clear within the time to finish one place
above their dressage placing in 5th while Jenalle Duffy is the
only rider to finish on her dressage score (60.3) when Jen Jan Butch
Cassidy also passes the flags free from penalties. They head to Adelaide
with a 4th place.
Murray Lamperd and Lush, who had one rail to
finish in 11th place on 69.4
David Middleton, after remarking to me earlier in
the day that he wished his horse jumped like Sally Morrison’s In Your
Dreams, comes out on Armitage Downie Warlord and jumps a brilliant double
clear to cement 3rd place ahead of his four star run in two
weeks time. We wish them well.
With David out of the way, we are left with an
all female final…
Holly -v- Janelle
Tooradin Estate
3pm
Tickets at the Door
Well, maybe not quite the fist flying of boxing bout
but you get the picture.
And as Janelle enters the ring, you can see Mr Showoff
is not going to let go of his title without a fight.
Nice and forward, the pair have no trouble over the
first two and clear the first of the one stride combinations without so
much as a tap. After clearing the rainbow vertical – on a downhill slope –
the horse throws his head coming out of a sharp left hand turn but a quick
adjustment by Janelle and he meets the next fence on a perfect stride.
No more problems and Janelle and ‘Red’ breeze through
the flags with a double clear, putting the pressure back on Holly and
Secret Squirrel, who cannot afford a single rail.
This is the way a final phase should be!
So Holly enters with Secret Squirrel and he too looks a
picture, jumping confidently, until…
A rail comes down!
To her credit, Holly keeps it together and they finish
the round with just the one rail but it is enough to push her behind
Janelle by just 0.5 points.
With this win Janelle becomes the third rider to win
the Tooradin title twice – Ross Spalding and Speedy A Go Go won it in 1995
and 2000 and David Middleton with Willowbank Jack in 1998 and RUNVS in
2002.
By a 'cat's whisker'
– Janelle Pitts and
Mr Showoff win back to back titles at Tooradin
So as the floats leave Tooradin Estate and the grounds
are cleaned, we thank the organisers, the riders and most importantly, the
horses for providing another memorable event.
The final Top Ten in the CNC** was:
1.
Janelle Pitts & Mr Showoff (48.5)
2. Holly Parker
& Secret Squirrel (49.0)
3. David
Middleton & Armitage Downie Warlord (57.3)
4.
Jenalle Duffy & Jen Jan Butch Cassidy (60.3)
5.
Holly Parker & Simity Sam (60.3)
6.
Natalie Davies & AEA Abel Rex (62.4)
7.
Yona Lloyd & Spenser Street (62.6)
8.
Clemmi Mann & Irish Warrior (64.2)
9.
Joanne Kinross & Judah (64.9)
10.
Robyn Brown & Esperantan (65.4)
The final Top Ten in the CNC* was:
1.
Amanda Carroll & Royale Kingston (51.5)
2. Amy Ledger &
Humphrey II (56.2)
3. Jennifer
Hodgins & Lambourne Park Musendan (58.0)
4.
Tracey Savage & Gambler Boy (58.1)
5.
Seumas Marwood & Mr Snuffleupagus (58.7)
6.
Suzanne Heislers & Dargan’s Grey (58.9)
7.
Prue Wood & WD High Tide (63.3)
8.
Rohan Luxmoore & Benaloo Glance (63.8)
9.
Clemmi Mann & Sullivan (64.4)
10.
Jenny Peck & Hydrogen (67.5)
Pre-Novice A winners were Amanda Howell and her rising
star TS Suave Lover while David Middleton’s Mr Shirvington, already a
winner of the Wandin Young Event Horse this season, taking out the
Pre-Novice B in convincing style.
Laura Nankervis’ new star Call Me Classic and Katja
Weimann’s BP Gallantry, who is headed to Dressage and Jumping With the
Stars, both had convincing Preliminary wins.
Hope you all enjoyed the report. Stay tuned for the
latest news from Adelaide and around the globe…
