Australian Young Riders Elliot Patterson from QLD and Stephanie Spencer from WA attended the 2011 New Zealand Young Rider and Pony Championships over the past two days as part of the Australian Team for the Young Riders Derby at the Championships at Manfeild Events Centre in Feilding, New Zealand, on 19 - 20 January 2010.
The impressive indoor arena facilities at Manfeild gave competitors and spectators a welcome respite from the wind. The Australian Young Riders performed extremely well on borrowed horses and finished in first place.
Australia managed to head off New Zealand to take the Championship, with all four riders demonstrating their ability to adapt to a new mount. However the closeness of the competition meant that every mistake proved costly and Australia’s determination in riding bold tests, aiming for a mark of 10 in each movement, gave them the edge. The Kiwi riders rode a little more safely but still pulled out some impressive work – however not enough to catch the Aussies.
The final results were:
Round 1
Elliot Patterson - Flamenco G - 64.706% 1st place
Stephanie Spencer - Jalapeno Man - 57.206% 3rd place
Round 2
Stephanie Spencer - Knavish Trick - 64.559% 1st place
Elliot Patterson - Papanui Don Juan - 62.206% 2nd place
Total Individual
- 1. Elliot Patterson - 126.91 1st place
- 2. Stephanie Spencer - 121.77 2nd place
- 3. Kelly Van Dyk - 116.90 3rd place
- 4. Kate Welten - 115.88 4th place
Total Team
- AUS - 248.68 1st place
- NZL - 232.78 2nd place
Related Links
Van Dyk and Welten to Represent New Zealand at the 2011 Trans Tasman Young Riders Derby
Patterson and Spencer to Represent Australia at the 2011 Trans Tasman Young Riders Derby
