New Zealand Dressage is riding a high with more international success, this time in the FEI World Dressage Challenge after a nail-biting finish at Taupo on Tuesday. New Zealand, comprising Anna McIntyre (Tauranga) on Cavort, Victoria Wall (Albany) on Astek Gymnast, Susan Tomlin (Palmerston North) Giusto MH and Abbie Deken (Taranaki) on KH Ambrose, won the zone 9 teams competition, heading off determined challenges from China, Chinese Taipei, the Phillipines and Hong Kong, and made a clean sweep of all seven sections.
It is believed to be the best New Zealand has ever done in the event, although they have consistently done well in past years.
Dressage New Zealand sport manager Wendy Hamerton is over the moon.
“Everyone is still riding a high from the success our top girls had in qualifying a team for the London Olympics and their fantastic performances at Equitana,” she says. “This just shows there is an increasing depth in the sport at lower levels, quality imported horses and quality home grown horses.”
The judges at the event in Taupo this afternoon (Tuesday) were “very complimentary” about both the standard of presentation and the quality of the horses.
The FEI World Challenge is a global event that sees more than 50 countries divided into nine zones. Two judges are chosen for each zone and they travel to the events where competitors ride the same tests.
“This was a particularly tough year,” says Hamerton. “China had three very good scores at Prix St George level, so the pressure was really on to do well.”
China’s total score was 200.6, and it all came down to the Deken, who was the last rider to go.
“She had to score over 68.68%. She had scored around that mark in the two warm-up days, so we knew the horse was capable of doing it, but the question was whether they could pull it off under such pressure.”
Deken and her horse KH Ambrose scored 68.94%, giving team New Zealand victory by less than half a percent ahead of China. Deken is a member of the international development squad, just a notch down from the elite riders, while McIntyre and Wall are both on the senior newcomer development squad.
Others winning the various sections were Kayley Ryan (Waikato) on Storm Magic who won the children’s preliminary with 66%, Caitlin Benzie (Auckland) on Green Downs Laredo who won the children’s elementary with 67%, Chanelle Walsh (Auckland) on Vollrath Wanted won won the adult’s preliminary with 67%, NZ team member Anna McIntyre (Tauranga) who won the adult’s elementary on Cavort with 65%, team mate Victoria Wall (Albany) won won the medium with 66% on Astek Gymnast, Andrea Bank (Albany) who won the advanced with her stunning black stallion Doringcourt with 68.784%, and Julie Brougham (Palmerston North) who took out the advanced prix St George on Von Feinsten with 70.72%.
“It’s just such a marvelous result for New Zealand dressage,” says Hamerton.
Two days of qualifying competition whittled the original 80 entries down to a field of 40 for the final day.
Related Links
History Made for New Zealand Dressage as Team Qualifies for 2012 London Olympics
First FEI World Dressage Challenge in Indonesia
Asian Dressage Riders Set New Standards at the 2007 South East Asian Championships
