For years the Sydney CDI has hosted a Derby competition between Australia and visiting countries. Most of the riders from overseas have ridden on borrowed horses. This is the first year, this won’t be happening, mainly because finding horses to borrow and ensuring they are of a certain standard has been more difficult over the years.
Instead of this very popular competition, the Sydney CDI organising committee has created a friendly Team competition (Dressage Duel Down Under) to take place between Australia and New Zealand. This competition will consist of two small tour and one CDI-Y horse and rider combinations from each country.
New Zealand’s Dressage Sport Manager, Wendy Hamerton, is pleased with the new competition. “I just want to thank Toni Venhaus & the Organising Committee who I believe were the "drivers" for the Down Under Duel Competition. NZL is pleased there is a replacement competition for the Derby on Borrowed horses and it is great for NZL riders to compete against Australia on their own horses.”
The trip from New Zealand to Australia takes a huge amount of work and money to coordinate. “It costs approximately $9,200 for each horse,” says Wendy. “The transport company largely sorts the paperwork and makes sure testing & vaccinations are up to speed. There have recently been new testing & vaccination requirements for stallions entering Australia. Everyone has become much more cautious since the equine influenza outbreak.”
"I’ve always been fascinated how travelling a horse by air actually works. The Transporter supplies professional grooms (not per horse) and sometimes one rider can also go,” explains Wendy. “This policy has got tighter in recent years because of increased security after 9/11. Also the grooms are professionals. They need to be very experienced so if something goes wrong they have the skills to handle it. Believe me it’s not that glamorous to go with the horses – it’s quite cool in the hold, not very comfortable at all for the people (but good for the horses that it is cool) ... oh, and they don’t serve wine!” Wendy laughs.
The three horse and rider combinations to represent New Zealand for the 2013 Sydney CDI are Andrea Bank riding Northern Fortuous, Britta Pedersen riding Upendo (both in small tour) and Catherine Tobin riding Riverndell Romeo in the CDI-Y competitions. The team reserve is John Thompson who has a NZL passport but resides in South Australia. His horse, Astute, is a NZ bred horse by Anamour.
New Zealand always looks forward to the Sydney CDI. “The main reason for coming," says Wendy, “is so the horse and riders are exposed to different international judges and a number of different riders at their own level. It’s also great for them to get to gauge themselves against riders from another nation - a nation who’s made huge strides internationally in recent years.
The NZL Team will be supported by Jeremy Steinberg who is currently the Youth Coach for the USEF and has been travelling to NZL for clinics since 2011 when he was a key note presenter at the Dressage NZ Forum. Karen Trotter, Chair of Dressage NZ and Helen Hughes-Keen, Chair of Selectors will also be there supporting this young NZL team
With over 600,000 New Zealanders living in Australia, I’m sure there will be a number of fans at the CDI, barracking for their favourite dressage rider – Go the Kiwis!
by Scott Pollock
Related Links
Friendly Trans Tasman Dressage Duel at 2013 CDI Sydney
2013 CDI Sydney to Hold Dressage Education Workshop