It's a family affair - Gemma and Stuart in Adelaide plus Harvey came along to his first ever big event!
Our October/November news featuring Lynton CIC, Albury CIC and Adelaide 4*
We took a team to Lynton Horse Trials CIC at Goulburn, NSW which is always a fabulous event. Gemma took Tim Game’s Diabolo to come 4th in the CIC2* and Leporis was 6th as well as the beautiful Celebration, owned by Elisabeth Brinton, was 6th in CIC3*.
The others all went well and completed their section, jumping round clear in the cross country and show jumping phases but taking it easy on XC with time for the younger horses.
Celebration at Lynton (above) and Leporis and War Hawk at Albury (below)
Two weeks later we were at Albury CIC with a smaller team (thankfully!).
Stuart took our own Raffles (War Hawk) and Gemma took Annapurna, both for a run prior to Adelaide and, with Annapurna running into some trouble on cross country with Gemma, it was a good chance to iron out any issues prior to their 4* debut a few weeks later.
Alice Wheller's Sir Pepper put on a show with some spooking getting a 20 and Elisabeth's Celebration was on a roll with 4th in the CIC3* and Raffles finished in 10th. Leporis took 2nd in the CIC2*, making for some mixed results but we’re certainly happy with how all our young horses are progressing.
It was then a long drive home to repack and get on the road to Adelaide for The Australian International 3 Day Event.
Our arrival in Adelaide saw the weather a fabulous 25 degrees and a good forecast for the week. As always, the Adelaide Organising Committee and their team, that are well oiled at running this event, made it pleasant and welcoming.
Gemma and Anna during their first ever 4* dressage test
I will try to keep this brief - Gemma and Anna did a super test for their first time in the main ring, finishing 12th on a score of 36. The cross country was tough, big, with lots of questions plus time was tight with so many technical lines (not one rider got the time) BUT, heeding advice from Stuart, Gemma rode accurately plus brilliantly, and Anna in return was honest (until the fourth last fence) where they incurred 20 penalties.
With only three clear rounds this was an exceptional result for them. The showjumping was not unlike previous years, so no surprises with this phase, with horses possibly feeling the rigours of the day before, and no-one jumped clear. So, two rails for Gemma and Anna kept them in 6th place
We thank John and Jane Pittard for their ongoing support, plus we thank Annapurna - we put all our trust in her to bring Gem home safely which she did 
Stuart and Leporis jump clear in Adelaide
Stuart entered two horses for Adelaide; Raffles (War Hawk) plus Leporis and he also was asked to be the AMBASSADOR, which was a huge honor for him. He did a Masterclass plus a course walk which fitted well into his schedule.
In brief, Leporis did a fab test for a score of 33 then was awesome on cross country as the CCI2* course was a test with some seriously narrow fences, however the time was achievable and only took out a third of the class!! (unlike the 4*)
The showjumping, again no surprises but only three clear rounds and Leo one of them, giving him second place.
Stuart and War Hawk
It was agreed that if Raffles had a problem early on the cross country that Stuart would retire him and go on to the 3* at Wallaby Hill. In hindsight, maybe should have kept going as a podium finisher still carried a 20! So, onto Wallaby Hill and we’ll keep you all posted! Our last event of the year!
Look out for our Christmas slide show and thanks for being there for us on this year’s journey, especially to our main sponsors CopRice, Bates, Horseland and Ceva plus Proteq and Ecomist and of course our owners, John and Jane Pittard, Elisabeth Brinton and Tim Game. Forever grateful.
Tinney Eventing
