It was a close-fought battle in the dressage, but John Thompson and Antonello took out the Grand Prix Special, at the 2017 New Zealand Horse of the Year Show in Hastings on Saturday 11 March 2017, again cracking into the 70s. Unrelenting overnight rain ground most of the Saturday HOY action to a halt, including the showjumping and eventing, which were cancelled in the interests of rider and horse safety.
However, dressage was able to continue in the oval and the Grand Prix Special went down to the wire, with Thompson (Gordonton) and Antonello again rising to the top of the seven-strong field, with a winning test of 70.235%.
“He’s feeling the best he’s ever felt,” said Thompson. “We made a few easy mistakes that can be corrected.”
He didn’t have it all his way though. Abbie Deken (Taranaki) and KH Ambrose were on fire and it was a tense wait for scores as she chased him all the way, coming in second place, just one percent behind on 69.216%.
“He was much more rideable today,” Deken says. “I was a bit disappointed with myself, I was off balance going into the one [time changes] but overall I’m happy with how we went – much more settled.”
Waikato’s William Millar and Raukura Satori MH took third place with 66.118%, while Portuguese stallion Ali Baba and Jody Hartstone were just behind them for fourth.
Penny Castle dropped to fifth today; Magnus Spero had a few new moves to experiment with instead of getting on with his piaffe, but Castle’s polished ringcraft and accuracy meant she never dropped marks elsewhere to score 65.549. That in turn left Vanessa Way occupying fifth spot by a whisker-splitting fraction of a percent (65.471), and the youngest rider in the class, 24-year-old Kate Tobin, finished on 59.765 with I Like It.
All combinations progress to tomorrow’s musical freestyle, which, along with today’s special, counts toward the coveted Dressage Horse of the Year title. At this point Thompson and the experienced Antonello have it in hand, but if today is anything to go by, he won’t be letting his guard down until the scores are up. The pair are looking to post qualifying scores toward the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon next year.
For the Young Riders division, FEI notification arrived late last night giving Hannah Van Der Horst permission to continue to the CDI-Y Young Rider Individual test after her unfortunate elimination yesterday. She was one of only two starters and finished second, just shy of the 60% needed to start in the Freestyle tomorrow. She still finished with a smile: “For us, it was really good, an awesome experience. And he was awesome for me.” Caitlin Benzie and Rosari Royal Gem rode a beautiful test to win on 66.211%.
Text by Jess Roberts and Diana Dobson - Photo © Libby Law
Related Links
Scores: 2017 CDI Hastings
Thompson On His Way to New Zealand HOYS Title after Winning 2017 CDI Hastings Grand Prix