Champions of the Sydney CDI 3-Star Dressage

This year's Sydney CDI 3-Star will be held from the 28 - 30 April at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre.  Looking back on this wonderful event, which first started in 1992 and was originally held at the NSW Equestrian Centre at Lochinvar, it is obvious that horse and rider combinations have improved over the 18 years of the Sydney CDI.

In saying that, there were some outstanding performances along the way. In 2005, Ricky McMillan and her Olympic mount, Crisp, scored 75.25 for the Grand Prix Freestyle. This score is yet to be beaten. It’s no wonder Ricky did so well when you consider that for the previous 7 years she had represented Australia at 2 Olympic Games, 2 World Championships and twice at the World Cup Dressage finals. Ricky still holds clinics throughout Australia.

The longest standing record for the Sydney CDI was by Claire Seidl (nee Wickins) for the Prix St Georges CDI. It was in the year 2000, on her beautiful grey horse, H.R.H. (pictured left) that she scored a whopping 71.83. The closest score to date is by Tor van den Berge. In 2008 he scored 69.050 on Kaye Sutherland’s imported mare Florett. Both these riders are still fiercely competitive and will hopefully be competing at this year's Sydney CDI. In 2005, Rachael Sanna (nee Downs) did score 70.900 but that was in the Prix St George CDN which is a national event not an International.

Rachael Sanna holds the record of winning an amazing 20 individual classes over the history of the Sydney CDI (these do not include the Young Horse classes). Rozzie Ryan comes in second having won 16 individual competitions. I have to mention that Heath Ryan is very close behind with 15 wins.

In the Young Horse Classes, the only horse to have won 3 years consecutively, meaning the 4yo, 5yo and 6yo class was the magic stallion Northern Simba. Unfortunately, he’s no longer in Australia and is in training in Germany.

The CDI-Y Young Rider class has only been going since 2007. It is obvious that the judges made the correct decision when you consider that the winners were:
- 2010 Megan Bryant
- 2009 Robbie Soster
- 2008 Jayden Brown
- 2007 Alycia Targa
... And haven’t these four flourished?

By the end of April, another Sydney CDI will have been and gone. It will be interesting to see if any new records are made? If not, we're sure many personal bests for both horses and riders will be. This in itself is a huge achievement!

All details for the Sydney CDI are available at www.sydneycdi.com