The Importance of the Sydney CDI

Heath Ryan (photos: Franz Venhaus)

Jayden Brown & Furst Frederich

Kerry Mack & Mayfield Pzazz

By: Scott Pollock

In six weeks time the Sydney CDI will be once again be hosted at the impressive Sydney International Equestrian Centre. This event has been running since 1992 and is heralded by many as Australia’s most prestigious Dressage competition.I managed to catch up with three top riders to gather their thoughts on the event - One of Australia’s best spokesman for many equestrian pursuits, Heath Ryan, the passionate professional and breeder Dr Kerry Mack, and Jayden Brown who has become one of the most respected and sort after riders throughout Australia. 

Heath considers the Sydney CDI to be one of the most important dressage competitions in Australia. “The Sydney CDI is always in my mind the biggest of the international shows in Australia. The invited international judges for the Sydney CDI will often represent the best the world has to offer and so it is on this weekend that Australian rider needs to put their best foot forward and so gain a score that is often referred back to by the Australian judges for the rest of the year. Progress is always so subtle once a rider has reached Grand Prix that those immediately around them perhaps fail to discern this progress and so subtly adjust the scores. Of course the opposite can happen and you can have perhaps pursued a training idea that is not quite so healthy and again this is much more likely to be picked up by confident international judges. Certainly the scores a rider receives at the Sydney CDI are significant and will reflect, progress, a plateauing, or a decline in the standard of Grand Prix presentation. It is also a moment where those of us who are Australian based will compare our scores with those being received by fellow Australians based in the Northern Hemisphere. All of us operating at Grand Prix here in Australia are desperate to start scoring through the seventy percent mark.”

Dressage can be quite an insular sport – once in the arena, the concentration is intense. It is solely about the horse and rider at this stage; everything else vanishes in the background. It’s about communicating with a prey animal that weighs in the vicinity of 700 kilos.  It’s not always about winning; it’s about digging deep inside trying to produce a ‘Personal Best’. At competitions like the Sydney CDI, the pressure is intense and the personal goals are paramount. Kerry Mack is no different. “The goal I always set is a personal best, and I love to get into the top three (which I haven't yet achieved in Sydney yet). The personal best goal makes sense to me as I cannot control what the other riders achieve. Perhaps someone will have a fabulous new horse, perhaps someone will do the test of their lives. Dressage is not a sport that you can set out to beat someone else. In the Grand Prix my goal is always to ride a mistake free test. It is so easy to canter in the passage when you try to make more energy. It is easy to over rotate a pirouette when you have to finish it exactly on the centreline. These easy mistakes are very expensive in the marks. Consistency is rewarded but it is hard to get 7s for everything in the GP.”

As most dressage enthusiasts would know, it is a long and arduous road to get to the elite level of Grand Prix. Developing a healthy, strong and happy ‘Big Tour’ horse is like a balancing act – everything has to be taken into account – training, feeding, mental stability, warm up method, exposure to outside influencers and the list goes on.  Heath elaborated. "Riding at the top levels is a reflection of just so much hard work, study, soul searching and pure torture that when you can perform in front of a crowd and they show their appreciation at the end of a performance it is a really nice thing."

Over the years, the Sydney CDI has attracted thousands of spectators – many who have returned each year to see their favourite horse and rider combinations steadily climb through the ranks. Although the program is generally the same, with a few new inclusions here and there, the champions (both horse and rider) change on a regular basis. There’s nothing like seeing these athletes in the flesh. It is important that these events keep attracting a significant crowd not only for the enjoyment of the spectator but also for the education of the horse. Jayden Brown couldn't agree more. "We have some very talented horses and riders in Australia and it would be great for them to have exposure to competitions with a bigger atmosphere. Watching from home is great but you miss out on the fun of being at a competition.  Watching the warm up or the talented younger horses being trained is always interesting. I also enjoy the social aspect of the CDI – it’s a lot of fun!”

So what will be different at this year’s CDI? Jayden and his beautiful gelding Furst Friedrich who last year started in the U25 Grand Prix division will be stepping up to the Open classes this year. “The competition will be a little tougher,” said Jayden, “but I don't think there will be any more pressure than any other competition.”

By the sounds of it, Heath Ryan’s program will also be a bit different. “Hopefully I will have three Grand Prix horses in Regardez Moi, Utopian Cardinal and Johnny Depp. Regardez Moi is in the evening of his Grand Prix career now being 18 years of age and I am on a program that involves a conservative preparation. Funnily enough Regardez Moi is doing some of his best work ever and I know if I am really clever he can still step up and win. Utopian Cardinal is young and just starting to flex muscle. I think he is really exciting however although his dad is Regardez Moi he is a very different horse and I am still trying to work out how best to present him in a Grand Prix competition. Johnny Depp is the baby of the team being just 8 years of age. Johnny was born mega mega powerful however encouraging him to be light and delicate and artistic is a project in progress. I doubt I will ever have three Grand Prix horses on the go at the same time ever again so I will be enjoying the moment.”

Like all previous years, the 2014 Sydney CDI will have plenty to offer. The competition runs from the 1^st to the 3^rd May. The Saturday evening which is the highlight of the event and includes a thrilling Jumping Competition this year books out quickly so visit www.sydneycdi.com to get your tickets and plan your 2014 Sydney CDI.

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