PSI DJWTS - The Action Begins!

Despite the inclement weather there were plenty of stars to be seen on the first day of PSI Dressage & Jumping with the Stars, both equine and human!  A number of lovely horses captured the attention of judges and spectators in both the dressage and jumping classes.

Interstate riders dominated the first rounds of both the PSI AYDH 4yo Material Championship and the PSI AYDH 5yo Championship. South Australian young rider John Thompson riding Hollands Bend Santara was a clear winner in the 4yo class, ahead of Western Australia’s Deon Stokes with Lord Lamarque, and NSW’s Danielle Dierks and Sugarloaf Sirhara.   In the 5yo Championship it was an all NSW affair at the top: last year’s 4yo winner SS Sonata Hit (Rodney Martin) was again impressive and held the lead until the last group of the day, with Don De-Sandro and Matthew Dowsley emerging as the 1^st round winner.  Third to Judy Dierks and Diamond Star.

The Young Pony Dressage Championships attracted higher entries than in previous years, and an improvement in the standard and quality of the 4 year olds was evident.  The top 3 proceeding to the Final on Friday afternoon are the popular Penmain Posh (Justine Greer), Bellvale City Lights (Alexis Buckley) and Double S Dark Sun (Helena Shanal) who made the long trek from Queensland worthwhile.   In the 5 year old Championship, Baxters Grand Image and Georgia Welch were the only combination to score above 7.0 and they proceeded to win the first round, ahead of Burrabong Trent (Louise Hagedorn) and View Bank Barista (Nirrelle Somerville). The 6 year old Championship was won by Mithril Heros Return and Louise Maguire.

Maree Tomkinson and Diamantina IV continued their dominance of small tour classes with a win in the first leg of the Prix St Georges Cup, ahead of Adlanta Rose (Sara McDonald) and Wallmeyer (Gina Montgomery).   The top 12 placed combination now proceed to the Intermediate I Freestyle on Friday night.

The first round of the Young Jumping Horse Championships saw some excellent performances over an inviting track, with a clear improvement in the quality and standard of horses compared to the first few years of the event.  Last year’s Champion of Champions, Master Cognac and Melissa Froesch appear on track again this year, winning the first round of the 6yo Championship, although it was Tulara Balouch with Alex Rooney who gained the highest score of any horse in winning the first round of the 5yo Championship.  Ally Lamb and Diamond B Corsica were convincing winners of the first round of the 4yo Championship and Raylyns Eliza with Stuart Brennan took out the first round of the 7yo Championship. All young jumping horses compete in Round 2 on Friday, with the top 20 horses after both rounds, moving through to the Final on Saturday morning.

Two full days of action remain – don’t miss them !  Bronze tickets and a very limited number of silver tickets are available at the event.  Live scoring available via the event website.

More event information available from: www.equestrianvictoriaevents.com.au/DJWTS.      Enquiries:      Event Director - Caroline Coleby 0432 505 774     dwts@live.com.au