Height Record to be Challenged at 'Ride the Rhythm'

The standing New Zealand Height Record will be fair game during the GJ Gardner Homes Puissance as riders soar for new heights chasing $70,000 at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, as part of Ride The Rhythm on 1 February 2013.

Not only will riders be vying for $5000 in prize money, but if any rider can successfully beat the New Zealand Height Record by 8cm, clearing 2.21m, they’ll receive a $70,000 bonus. Currently held by Goodall, the record was set back in 1984 at the Highland Games in Hasting when he cleared 2.13m riding Skud, in doing so breaking Stuart Mitchell’s 14-year record of 2.12 metres set at the Tomoana Showgrounds aboard Jatent in 1970.

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Ride The Rhythm equestrian programme, the puissance will see a star-studded line up of Australasia’s top jumpers put aside their fears as they jump into the unknown. Recognised worldwide as the most famous show jumping competition, it’s often the forgotten hero of the New Zealand equestrian scene, says Kevin Hansen.

Puissance competitions were commonplace during the 1970s and 80s, but now they are rarely seen in New Zealand. Translated from French, “puissance” means power, and that’s exactly what’s going to be needed if Goodall’s record is to tumble, he adds.

“I love a puissance. The whole night at the stadium is set to entertain the crowd, and the puissance is part of that. No matter where you go in the world, the puissance is a crowd favourite. There is no competition like them. When the height starts getting up over 2m you’ll be able to hear a pin drop. The atmosphere in the stadium will be electric.”

Horse and rider combinations will begin by attempting a course of four to six fences ranging in height upwards from 1.4metres which will include the GJ Gardner wall. As the rounds of the competition progress, the jumps will be raised higher until just two obstacles, including the wall, remain. Only the horse or horses that clear the final round will be eligible to try for the $70,000 and ultimately write their way into the history books, Hansen explains.

Although 2.21m (7ft 31/2 in) is seemingly unobtainable it is well short of the current world indoor puissance record, which is held by German rider Frankie Sloothaak, who jumped 2.4m (7 ft 10 in) aboard Optiebeurs Golo in Belgium in 1991, breaking his previous record set on Leonardo.

At last year’s British Horse of the Year Show two riders – Nottinghamshire's Joe Clayton, with Nick Ward's Leonardo, and Scotland's Douglas Duffin, riding Julie McLellend's Volcano – shared the honours after clearing a whopping 2.20m (7ft 3in) in the fifth and final round.

Quick Link

• Visit the Ride the Rhythm website for more information and to order tickets