The Grand Prix test which is the first part of the CDI-W - World Cup Australian Final, continues.  The enthusiastic crowd get it all this weekend.  The country's top Gtrand Prix horses along with the most promising youngsters.  For most,  it is a delightful and inspiring combination.

Formerly from Western Australia - but now a school teacher in Gisborne - Tracey Lee on her wonderfully elegant gelding Middleton Apollo.   He was bred by Diana Makaroff from NSW, who used to operate as Middleton Stud.   Tracy bought the horse through Ulrich Klatte who owned Apollo's sire Aachen.   His dam - Tallyho Madiera is by Kaliber - the beautiful imported Trakehner stallion who is owned by Robyn Smith.

Apollo is such an obliging horse with everything that is needed in a top Grand Prix competitor, but he was just not forward enough and too often on the forehand.  An instant 'fix' for these problems is easier said than done - the work is difficult and it is only when the horse becomes very confident that the rider can add the flair of a really forward test which will improve his posture.  There were a few little mistakes that Tracy could have well lived without such as losing the first extended trot, when Apollo broke.

I am sure that this combination will improve greatly with a little more time.  Today they scored 57.04%

On the left is the charming picture of Lesley-Ann Taylor from South Australia on her quite recently purchased HP Finagin, set against the huge Australiana mural - it was a special moment. 

This talented horse was bred by Gerhardt Quast in Queensland and showed his talent for Grand Prix at a very early age.   Finagin could do all of the Grand Prix movements as a 4 year old ... and impressed me at a judges clinic with Mr. Uwe Mechlem in Sydney 6 or 7 years ago, where his one times changes scored a hypothetical 8.

Finagin has been very well trained by Judy Dierks,  but is still to really settle and get it together with Lesley-Anne.  He became irregular in the piaffe and passage sequences and his hind legs became almost too underneath himself causing loss of balance.  This combination are sure to improve and be a force in the future, but the errors today were costly.   They scored 57.20%

Manhattan and Sue Hearn are great favourites as they are the combination that give all of the 'ordinary' riders hope that there is a chance to have success if you apply the principals of good training and good riding.  So often, Dressage is portrayed as a sport where ONLY the dollars count.

Sue has owned Manhattan since he was one year old and it was apparent that he would be too big to race.  She has trained him with her husband Andrew's help and they were short listed to represent Australia at the World Equestrian Games which were held in Jerez, Spain in September this year.

I felt that today's performance was a little less than their best as Manhattan broke in the first extended trot and also made a mistake in the number of canter strides in the zig-zag.  The one times changes were correct in sequence but quite tight. There were some lovely moments in this secure and polished test which scored 63.24% which gave them fourth place at this point in the CDI-W tally.

Tavistock Florenzo is a great type and ... dare I say ... almost too engaged with his hind legs as he got them too far under causing a loss of balance and inability to perform the work fluently.   I am quite sure this is a temporary misunderstanding which will be rectified with Janice's careful training and a little more ttime to establish this difficult work.

The horse seemed a little 'looky' which is to be expected in this huge atmosphere.  The work showed great promise for the future and scored 56.36%

The Trade Village was an
action place to be for the two days

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