It was South Africa all the way, in the Dressage Tri-Nations Series at the Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Show in Hastings, New Zealand. From day one, South Africa retained its lead, setting the pace for other countries to follow.
New Zealand supporters held out hope that the Kiwis would catch up from second place. Instead Australia nudged NZ out on the final day, leaving the host country trailing in third place.
The Tri-Nations Series sees two riders each from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand compete on borrowed horses. Riders have just 30 minutes to acquaint themselves with their mount, drawn at random.
South Africa’s Andrea Harrison managed an impressive three from three record, winning each day’s competition with consistent scores of 62.302 on Knavish Trick, 62.222 on JD Wainui and 62.540 on Maple Thorpe.
Fellow South African Jaco Fourie had a mixed bag of success. His first ride was explosive in parts, with Roulette SW reacting to outbursts of cheering from the showjumping arena next door. However Fourie held on and managed fourth place, keeping South Africa in the lead.
A keen advocate of the Tri-Nations Series, Fourie said it plays an important role for countries such as his, New Zealand and Australia.
“With our three nations all isolated from European competition, the Tri-Nations is so important to the sport. It’s a great chance to meet other competitors, ride different horses and share ideas.”
Fourie’s following rides on Monsieur Brown and Aviator earned him a fourth and sixth place, but team mate Harrison’s winning rides were enough to keep the top spot.
Nineteen year old Australian Jayden Brown achieved two seconds and a fourth, coaxing solid tests out of each of his mounts and keeping Australia in the running, while team mate Alycia Targa scored a sixth, fifth and third. Despite her best efforts, Targa was also affected by horses reacting to the show jumping ring next door and managed well to contain some of the exuberance her mounts offered.
New Zealand riders had mixed success also, with Rotorua’s Debbie Barke producing calm effective tests. Well in the running with two third places, her final test on Monsieur Brown was just a couple of marks behind the leaders but only earning a fifth place.
Cambridge rider Charlott Bayliss had some of the most exciting rides of the competition. Riding the least experienced of all the horses in this competition, Aviator was distracted and tense in the arena, giving Charlott a tough base to work from. Their sixth place for 56.439 was a disappointing result, as the pair produced some nice work in the warm up arena.
Bayliss’ second ride was also difficult, reacting strongly to applause and music, giving something of a bronco experience, both before and during the test. However Bayliss managed to pull a workable test out, ending up with a fifth and keeping New Zealand in second place on day two.
Despite a great ride on JD Waiunui for second place in her final test, New Zealand could not draw ahead of South Africa and slipped to third place overall.
While disappointed with the outcome, both Bayliss and Barke agreed the Tri-Nations is a fun competition and a great chance to meet other international riders.
All competitors expressed thanks to the riders who loaned their horses for the Derby: Hayley Pickmere (Monsieur Brown); Anna McIntyre (Maple Thorpe); Cassandra Dally (JD Wainui); Liz Hutson (Knavish Trick); Scott McKenna (Aviator) and Janelle Sangster-Ward (Roulette SW).
Text and photo by Lisa Potter
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