Dressage riders have given the Dome Arena at the Equestrian Grand Final a big tick of approval, as day one of competition gets underway. New Zealand's Louisa Hill and her Antonello led the way by winning the Grand Prix. Held as part of Equitana Sydney, thousands of people have rolled through the gates to catch a glimpse of some of the country’s best athletes as well as enjoy everything equine.
Australian Olympian Heath Ryan narrowly missed taking the top honours finishing second to Louisa Hill who scored an impressive 68.468%. Heath together with Regardez Moi recorded a 66.319% with Chantal Wigan and Ferero rounding out the podium on 65.553%.
Competitors marvelled at the European style venue and Heath said he is excited for tomorrow. “I’m going to go out there and give it my best shot and hope I can go one better,” he said. “This is a great event. The surface is good…the arena gives us a feel for how they compete in Europe and the northern hemisphere which is what we need as riders. Tomorrow night when they have a packed house, with the lighting and the big arena it’s going to be great,” he said.
Sixth place rider Tor Van Den Berge and Fishermans Friend was very pleased to have finished with such a strong result for his young horse.
“He (Fishermans Friend) is relatively new at riding at a Grand Prix level so I’m really happy with the result. After the Nationals where we did well, we travelled back to Brisbane and then back for this event. It’s a really good arena and I’m looking forward to tomorrow night,” he said.
New Zealand Riders Aiming for Olympic MES
Hill and Way have two (MES – Minimum Eligibility Score) qualifying scores each already, and Pope tried to achieve her first. Any combination seeking to represent New Zealand at the London Olympics must also meet strict standards set by ESNZ and the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Hamerton says the trio are still riding a high after their efforts at the Olympic qualifier, and are now “looking at the bigger picture”. “This is probably no longer their major goal – they'll all be thinking beyond Equitana.”
The fourth member of the New Zealand team Shiwon Green (Cambridge) and Gosh were very keen to compete at Equitana but were told there were no more spaces. Unfortunately less than 24 hours after Gosh disembarked from his plane in Auckland she got the call to say she could have started. “She was incredibly disappointed,” said Hamerton. Green competed at Equitana last year but under a different format.
Photo © Franz Venhaus
Related Links
Scores 2011 CDI-W Sydney
History Made for New Zealand Dressage as Team Qualifies for 2012 London Olympics
