Glennis and Eil were there at the beginning of the new artificial breeding technologies and probably predicted the impact that having access to the best stallions in the world would have on all equestrian sports but notably horses that would take Australia forward in the Olympic disciplines.

Glennis Dyason and Eil Kingma (right of picture)
Make a presentation at DWTS.

There were some truly beautiful young horses in this class and as with other duel class championships events, there were a number of great differences in the placings from one test to another.

The Novice Championships for 2008 went to Flora Freeman's outstanding mare Welton Fyne FF. The 8 YO mare won the Novice 2.3 on 70% and came 4th in the 2.4 event with a score of 67.067%. This huge (177 cms) powerful moving mare was beautifully ridden by Matthew Dowsley who has recently returned from two years of back and forth to Europe training and competing. Welton Fyne is a half sister to another horse in the Dowsley stable and bred by Flora, so their association goes back a generation of quality horses. Here is a link to a recent story that appeared in Cyberhorse, about Matthew.

I was not able to get pictures of all of the contestants as the layout of the Sydney International Equestrian does not really lend well to following the tests up and down the rings. I hope the ones in this report help to give a feel for the quality of horses at the 2008 Horseland National Dressage Championships. Please follow the link at the bottom of the page for detailed full results from both Novice classes.

Matthew DOWSLEY 435 Welton Fyne (above) FF Flora FREEMAN,
M/0/BA/177/AUS/HANN/(Weltmeyer x Mosella)

Jessica GREELISH 3751 Riverndell Romeo (above) Owned by Jessica GREELISH,G/0/Ch/166/AUS/WB/(Rasputin x XX) Rasputin (below) was owned and campaigned by Emma Youngman who purchased the wonderful natured stallion through Olympic rider Kyra Kyrkund when shw was based in Flyinge in Sweden. Rasputin came to Australia and took Emma right to the top and selection in the Australian Dressage team that took part in the 2003 European Championships at Goodwood. Emma did a great job and has been off the scene for a while - a great loss to the sport - and hopefully we'll see her back again with another star like Rasputin. Rasputin did not return to Australia after this competition as he was sold in Europe.

Jessica did well with both horses that she took to the Nationals and everyone raved about Romeo's winning Novice test. Unfortunately he was a casualty of youthful lack of consistency and he failed to produce the same sparkle in both tests. He is definitely one to watch.

Gitte DONVIG 1003 Shiraz Black (above) Owned by Gitte's mum Mary and Rob Hanna.

S/3/Blk/163/GER/old/(Sandro Hit x ) This lovely young son of the well respected German sire Sandro Hit has made waves ever since he was the Champion of Champions at Dressage with the Stars in April 2008. Mary Hanna told me that despite qualifying, the horse will not go to Europe to contest the World Championships for young horses. "He has not had the experience and we do not want to risk anything by overfacing him in his early days of training."

This lovely young horse was second in one test and failed to produce his best in both tests. He was not alone in this and I am sure that a talented rider like Gitte will rally and address the issues to see him continuing his championship style.

Shiraz Black is standing his first season at stud at Mary and Rob beautiful Bellarine Peninsula property. Take a look at his web site.

Queensland rider Gary LUNG has done some travelling with his outstanding young horse GB Winchester (pictured at DWTS in Melbourne) Bred by his trainer Glennis Barrey this lovely young chestnut has had a fantastic couple of seasons in Young Horse events up and down the Eastcoast of Australia. Beautifully bred he has proven performance on both sides of his pedigree. By Weltmeyer he is out of Glennis' dressage mare GB Saffron. Gary has loved his his journey up the ranks with Winchester and deserves full credit as he manages his riding as a non-professional. He gained a 2nd and 5th at this event and I am sure Gary will be seen again in the future.

Gary LUNG 3788 GB Winchester. Owned by Gary LUNG,
G/3/CH/163/AUS/WB/(Weltmeyer x GB Saffron)

Nicholas FYFFE and Rococo (above) performed nicely for a 5th and 7th in the Novice classes It is great to see new generations of the horses out there at higher levels, coming up the ranks and proving the depth of the pedigrees that attracted people to them in the first place. Rococo is by Heath Ryans CDI-W winner Regardez Moi, who is by the legendary German performance sire Rubenstein. Nick has proven himself a capable rider and trainer and is also a popular clinician. Rococo is a mare owned by Mervyn Collingwood and is sure to be an asset to the Australian performance horse gene pool when she goes ton stud.

Kim MCDONALD 3523 Reveller - Unfortunately I did not get a picture.
Lynelle JOHNSON,G/3/Blk/161/AUS/WB/(Rotspon x Neversfelde Fonteyn)

Kim MCDONALD on Reveller deserves a mention - even though I missed a picture. Kim gained a 4th on her Rotspon gelding (out of Neversfelde Fonetyne) also seem to have failed to keep the momentum going for both tests. I feel sure that all of the riders who had these problems will look to address their preparation and warm up to rectify the weak areas for next time.

Lizzie WILSON_FELLOWS on Susan Fidler's Let's Entertain, did well for 3rd and 7th. Lizzie and Susan and formed a strong partnership that goes beyond just a professional association. They travel together and share the good times and bad and I am sure that this lovely loose moving horse will be seen in winners circles soon.

Lizzie WILSON-FELLOWS 2138 Lets Entertain.
G/3/BR/173/AUS/WB/(Gracefield Klaus x Springfield Ava.

Kate WILSON riding Dallas a brown mare that she owned in partnership was another with good prospects for the future having gained a 3rd and 11th place at this event. We will see these riders of the lovely collection of Novice horses look for ways to ride every step and improve the consistency of their performances.

Dallas is owned by Marion & Kate/Perry OVERTON & WILSON,
M/3/Brn/167/AUS/HAN Dicaprio x Chanel

Another pleasing results was achieved by hard working, rider, vet, stud proprietor, instructor and horse trainer Amanda SHOOBRIDGE (left) who rode her lovely chestnut Hanoverian mare, Revelwood World Class (by Worldly from Madagascar).

Amanda rode a very well prepared test and is sure to build on the 7th and 10th place as this young mare gains in experience and confidence. World Class is beautifully conformed and with Amanda's professional expertise as a vet working in the area of AI and ET, World class is set to make a difference to the breeding program at Revelwood Stud.

Amanda SHOOBRIDGE 442 Revelwood World Class Owned by REVELWOOD WARMBLOOD STUD, M/2/Ch/166/GER/HANN/(Worldly x Madagscar)

Queensland rider Tammy STEPHENS on River Range Carolina (left) ended in 11th place in the Novice 2.4 and 25th in the 2.3. I watched their better test and saw lots of potential in this lovely chestnut mare.

Tammy STEPHENS 3309 River Range Carolina. Owner Tammy STEPHENS,
M/1/Ch/170/AUS/WBxTB/(Northern Classic x River Range Catherine)

One of my special favourites is the Friesian stallion Jacana TK ridden by Jeremy JANJIC from NSW. They are pictured above at DWTS in Melbourne earlier this year. Jacana TK is the 'stable mate; of Django of Cacharel another Friesian who is also trained and competed by Jeremy. Jacana is a beautiful tall modern type and a fine representative of this beautiful baroque breed and of the finer style that is so suitable for dressage. Friesians have wonderfully expressive movement and the breed is gathering lots of fans in Australia. Jacana finished in 12th & 13th place and this is a great result so early in the competition career for this 6 YO stallion.

Jeremy JANJIC 905 Jacana TK. Jacana TK is owned by Tashkent Fiesians, Lynn & Richard JENKIN,. S/3/BL/173/NED/Fries/(Ulke x YMKJE 2) He was imported iiu and is now standing at stud.

Cornelia O'MAHONEY and Jive Talking BP (left) had a pleasing result in the 2.4 and would have been very pleased with an 8h finish in this company. I did not see the second test but am assuming that Cornelia experienced a few problems as the 2.3 was disappointing. Like all combinations at this competition, they have worked hard to qualify and will look to use the lessons learned to improve future performances.

Cornelia O'MAHONY 2164 Jive Talkin BP. Owned by Cornelia O'MAHONY,
G/3/Ch/163/AUS/WB/(Jive Magic x Donna Karan)

Gitte Donvig also rode her strikingly marked mare Reidel in this class (left). Bred "in the purple", Reidel is by Rituel (Weltmeyer ll) from Olanie imported iiu, by the very successful and popular Dutch stallion, Olympic Ferro who took part in the Sydney Olympic Games and ridden by Coby van Balen from The Netherlands.

Gitta and Reidel were 9th in the 2.3 test and 17th in the 2.4. Gitte is the daughter of Grand Prix winner Mary Hanna and has developed into a very good rider and trainer in her own right. I felt that the 2.3 test that I saw was well prepared and error free, perhaps the judges wanted to see a little more energy for the top marks. I am sure that the comments will be taken on board and implemented in future performances, I can see that Reidel will be a lovely type to breed to Gitte's other Novice ride - Shiraz Black.

Gitte DONVIG 157 Riedel 65.600 (11) Owned by Gitte DONVIG,
M/2/Brn/170/AUS/WB/(Rituel x Olanie)

Ruth WHITE from Queensland and Lincoln Alexis (above) a 4 YO brown mare by the Grand Prix star of this event Jaybee Alabaster.

Anne-Catherine KRUPS 1879 Reverence F (above). Owned by Anne-Catherine KRUPS, G/3/CH/163/AUS/WB/(Regardez Moi x Stirling Storm)

Catherine CHITTENDEN 2100 Solletico (above) Owned by Cathy CHITTENDEN,
G/2/Ch/170/AUS/WB/(Domingo x Shakedown Lass)

Kristen CLOSSON and Weltblitz (above) a 7 YO Grey gelding by Weltmeyer from TS Median.

Paul PUDNER on Don Pietro (above) an 8 YO gelding by Don Ramiro (Dec) from Contacts Capri.