Sydney CDI 3* Highlights – Day One

After a successful vet inspection (Trot Up) on Wednesday afternoon, all horse and rider combinations bedded down to ensure they were well prepared for three days of intense competition. Early Thursday morning, the weather was perfect for riding (I must say this didn’t last for long) – about 20 degrees, overcast and no wind. Although the sun wasn’t shining, the quality of horse and riders were.

The first round of the NSW Young Dressage Horse Championships (sponsored by the Hanoverian Horse Society of Australia) was held today. In the Six-Year-Old competition the top scoring horse for the first round was Bellario (stallion) ridden by Deon Stokes. Deon was on first and floated around the arena with ease. This beautiful moving stallion is by Belissimo M out of a Wolkenstein mare. His score of 7.76 managed to keep him in the lead for the entire class.  Second was, Pacific Eclipse ridden by Nicola Paff with a score of 7.70 and third was Revelwood Donatella ridden by Daniella Dierks with 7.58.

They say that part of the Young Horse competition is to accustom the horses to different atmospheres and conditions. Well, the four and five year Old horses had a chance to get used to heavy rain and lots of water. This didn’t stop some outstanding scores. In the Five-Year-Old Young Horse Qualifier, Diamond Star ridden by Judy Dierks won this round with 8.60. Chatham Parl Albert with Rachael Sanna on top came second with 7.74 and Don de Sandro was just behind with a score of 7.68. In the Four-Year-Old competition Whispering Wizard won his round with Deborah Carr on board. They scored 7.82. Second was Bloomfield Sorrento being ridden by Harvey Besley (7.80) and third went to Lady Sinatra with Tor Van Den Berge scoring a 7.70. The top ten horses in each class will advance into the second round tomorrow morning.

In the indoor arena the ‘Needs for Steeds’ International Prix St Georges Competition started early in the morning. The quality of horse was exciting – many of these horse and rider combinations flowed from movement to movement with little effort. As the day got longer, the tests got better. Sally Goodwin-Davies from Great Britain did extremely well on a borrowed horse finishing in the top 10.  There was only .3 of a point between first three placegetters. Megan Bryant on Donnabella came first with 66.342, Anjanette Harten on UQG Alladin with 66.184 and third went to Maree Tomkinson on her beautiful mare Diamantina with a score of 66.026.

Outside in the Wagners Saddlery Prix St Georges (CDN), two of Australia’s most accomplished riders showed all how it should be done. Matthew Dowsley and Judy Dierks have both represented Australia numerous times and their ability to engage the power of their mounts was obvious. Matthew on Falstermeyer won with a score of 70.789 and Judy cam second with 67.632. Just behind them was Linda Foster on Intrinsique with a score of 65.000.

The Grand Prix CDI 3*, supported by the Australian Sports Commission, was always going to be the one to watch. This competition was the first time that Both Brett Parbery and Rachael Sanna would have competed since representing Australia at the 2010 Kentucky World Equestrian Games. Since then a number of riders have been proving they are the ones to beat. Heath Ryan and Regardez Moi won the Bates Australian  National Dressage Championships in 2010. Since then, Chantal Wigan and her horse Ferero have won nearly all the Grand Prix competitions they have entered. Australian Olympian, Mary Hanna and her horses Umbro and Sancette have also been doing very well.  The Grand Prix CDI 3* was held outdoors and within half an hour of the competition starting, the heavens opened and this kept repeating itself throughout the competition. By the end of the class, Brett Parbery on Victory Salute won with a great score of 71.306 which is a new record for the Sydney CDI 3* Grand Prix competition (and possibly a record score in Australia). Second was Rachael Sanna on Jaybee Alabaster with 70.106. This was an amazing ride as Rachael had a back injury only weeks ago and has been in a lot of pain. Third place went to Mary Hanna on Sancette with a score of 66.766.

Although the weather was not in our favour, it was not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of all who attended. With raincoats on and umbrellas in hand the supporters moved from arena to arena to see their favourite horse and riders. Tomorrow the competition will heat up in not only the Young Horse competitions but all the way up the ranks. One of the big questions is will the placegetters of the International Grand Prix Special differ greatly from today’s results. There’s only two ways to find out – come and join us or visit www.sydneycdi.com for all the results.

Press Conference Comments

• Brett Parberry "A mistake free test was my aim for the test and although we didn't achieve that I was happy with our score. He felt better than Kentucky and after the CDI our aim is to keep him fit and sound for the Nationals, Equitana and the World Cup Qualifier in Melbourne where we can hopefully get a ticket to the final in Europe. In the leadup to London, I'll stay and train in Holland with Edward Gal and aim to take Victory Salute to Hicksted as well as the horse we have over there in training as I'm not sure if we'll qualify for Aachen."
• Rachel Sanna "I'm recovering from a back injury I suffered while clipping my daughter's pony two weeks ago. The injury meant I couldn't ride every stride had to let him do more of the work. He coped really well and it's a good lesson that I can trust him and treat him as more of a seasoned campaigner." Leading into an Olympic year, Rachel commented on her plans "At the moment I'm going to wait and see what strategy Equestrian Australia come up with in terms of funding and what the qualifying shows will be." Rachel also commented that Jaybee Alabaster also felt better than he did in Kentucky.
• Mary Hanna  "I'm happy with both of my rides (Umbro and Sancette). They are both young Grand Prix horses with not a lot of experience at that level. I have had Sancette for less than a year and we're still getting to know each other. I'm lucky having two horses as riding Umbro first I was able to have my mind sharp for Sancette by loosening up and getting rid of the nerves in the first test." Soon after the CDI Mary and her two horses will be heading to England to be train with Kyra Kyrklund in the leadup to London 2012 "I would have liked to head to train with Steffan Peters in America, who I purchased Sancette from, however having already lost a horse to travel sickness I'm not taking the risk of extra travel".
• We asked the two European judges, Mrs Mariette Whittages and Dr. Dieter Schuele what they thought of the introduction of half marks and how it affects their judging. Dr Schuele commented on his view on the use of the half mark "They are helpful in some cases but are not to be used as an excuse not to make a judgement for specific movements. I find them more helpful in the case of coefficients and collective marks."

Source: Scott Pollock, Media Officer  Photos: Franz Venhas