New Zealand dressage riders have produced a trifecta of quinellas at the Sydney CDI3* in Australia with Melissa Galloway and Wendi Williamson dominating the competition.
The duo rounded out a stunning weekend with the quinella in the 3* Freestyle to Music late last night, backing up the same results in both the 3* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special.
Hattrick for Galloway
Galloway and Windermere J’Obei (by Johnson x Pompeii Court xx) won all three starts, scoring 70.891% in the Grand Prix, 72.511% in the Special, and 76.33% in the Kur to Music.
Melissa was full of praise for her horse who bred by Rania Todd in partnership with David Woolley. “It is just so overwhelming,” she said. “I am so happy with Joey (J’Obei). He is one in a million and I owe him the world for what he does for me.”
She never dared dream she would win all three crowns at an event she had so long wanted to compete at. “It has always been a bucket list show for me. It is quite unreal to believe we won all three titles. It will probably take a little while to really sink in," she said
Williamson Second Thrice
Wendi and the 11-year old NZL Hanoverian bred gelding Don Vito MH (by Don Frederico x Anamour)were second in each with 70.435% in the Grand Prix, 67.128% in the Special, and 74.825% in the Freestyle.
Wendi was also over the moon. “I have had quite a few trips to Aussie over the years but this one was next level in terms of support and camaraderie,” she said. “Our team of support both here (in Sydney) and online made it seem so much more than just a personal journey.”
She was rapt to finish the event on a high in the Freestyle. “Don Vito is still fairly new to this level and the Special is a marathon of a test," said Wendi.
The small improvements the combination have made since the Nationals in March were a huge boost. “It is amazing to have that next-level combination (in Melissa) to chase.”
Australian Attempt
Three different Australian riders ranked third in the three Grand Prix tests.
In the Grand Prix, Altina Veenvliet and the 12-year old Hanoverian mare D'Esperanza (by Desperados x Sandro Hit) had a successful international show debut and came closest to the Kiwi duo, scoring 67.717%. Veevliet hails from Perth.
In the Grand Prix Special Sue Hearn and the 14-year old KWPN gelding Eminent (by Santano x Gribaldi) landed third place with 65.362%. It was the pair's second CDI in their partnership. Eminent was bred by Miranda Weijermans and competed in The Netherlands by Emma van den Hooven. He sold to Australia as a 7-year old in 2016 and first landed down under with a student of Brett Parbery.
In the Kur to Music it was Pacific League World Cup winner Charlotte Phillips and CP Dresden who were third with 72.830%
In Review
New Zealand still needs to focus on continually raising that bar.
“The Australians are talking about bringing a team over to Takapoto (CDI) which will be very exciting and another step forward for Dressage New Zealand and our riders. To enable and encourage this rivalry will really help," said ESNZ dressage high performance manager Penny Pearce was very pleased with all three combinations.
There was a lot of pressure at CDI3* level and both women had ridden well. “They got every mark they could out of their horses and I can see there is still more to come," Penny added.
Penny had debriefed with top international judge Peter Storr (GBR) who had given her plenty of positive and constructive feedback.
“It is little bit by little bit (that makes the difference),” said Penny. “Both athletes are consistently performing and continuing to up their games. As the three days went on they continued to improve. It shows we are certainly going in the right direction.”
Text by Diana Dobsen, expanded by Eurodressage
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