We all enjoyed a good weekend at Wallaby Hill
It has been a very busy few weeks with a competition every weekend. In mid-September the Bimbadeen truck headed to Berrima CIC. Shane had a good weekend with APH Moritz winning the CIC3*, Moritz has had a great season and we hope this form will continue through to the Adelaide 4* later in the year. Virgil was having his first 3* start and went very well, Shane was a little concerned about Virgil overjumping into the water as it was already a very big drop so he under rode it a little and Virgil ground to a halt, but on second presentation he jumped in well. Shane was still pleased with Virgil's performance.
Shane pulled off the quinella in the CIC1* with the Wischer families CP Qualified winning again, making it two wins from as many starts. Shane's homebred Shanghai Joe was second in the CIC1*.
Mirrabooka CNC was next on the agenda where CP Qualified and Shanghai Joe both stepped up to the challenge of 2* level placing first and fourth respectively.
Two of our homebred babies, Pumpkin and Fantastic Mr Fox enjoyed the Mirrabooka outing with Pumpkin winning the preliminary and Fantastic Mr Fox placing seventh in the same class. Gordy rode Matthew and Melissa Smith’s lovely off the track gelding Cagey to finish eighth in the preliminary. Cagey is a nice horse for the future. Rachel rounded out the weekend with a top ten finish in the Pre Novice with her own Bureaucratic.
Niki has had couple of dressage outings with Wallstrasse in the past month, at Clarendon dressage they won the 5C and put together a solid Prix St Georges. At Bowral dressage they placed third in the Prix St Georges and took part in their first Intermediate I where they finished in fifth. They will now head to the Australian Dressage Championship at SIEC.
Goulburn CIC was once again the venue for the NSW State Eventing Championships. Heavy snow on Thursday night led to extra warm clothes and horse rugs being packed. Thankfully the sun came out and the weekend was warm and very enjoyable. Shane was very pleased with APH Moritz and Virgil who placed second and third respectively in the CIC3* - both horses are in very good form. Soigne and her reliable partner Gold performed very well all weekend and placed fourth just behind Shane. Soigne is preparing for Adelaide CCI4* and is well on track for a good performance there. Below is a picture of Virgil giving the 3* table into the water at Lynton plenty of air. This photo is thanks to Equiscape photography.
Virgil is such an over-achiever
Shane was leading the CIC2* with CP Qualified after the Dressage and showjumping and was hoping to make it four wins from four starts, however CP Qualified became very tired toward the end of the cross country so Shane elected to retire just two fences from home. CP Qualified has since incorporated a few more fitness gallops in his program to ensure he is fit and ready to run for Canberra CIC and Adelaide CCI. Young star Shanghai Joe went well in the CIC2* to finish in seventh position.
Meanwhile our homebred Another Warrior gelding Fantastic Mr Fox placed eighth in the preliminary. Fantastic Mr Fox or Henry as he is known at home now has new owners with Lee and Bill Brydon purchasing a share in this exciting young horse. Lee and Bill owned a share in Il Vici when he was a racehorse and continued to support Vici when he was eventing with us, following the sale of Vici last year they wanted to find another horse to support and they have selected Henry. We welcome Lee and Bill as owners and hope that Henry will provide them with much success and enjoyment in the future.
Niki was very disappointed when her ride Wisteria Lane sustained an injury that will sideline her for the remained of the year. Kerry French kindly offered her the ride on her horse Monty Who as Kerry is currently unable to ride due to an injury. Niki rode Monty in the Pre Novice and really enjoyed the weekend and placed sixth with just cross country time faults keeping them out of the top spot.
Michelle rode her young star Capone in the preliminary, Capone is a very exciting horse for the future with talent to burn and Michelle just needs to work out how to harness and contain all his talent and enthusiasm. Watch out for this combination.
An Eventful Life has captured all the horses cross country and they can be viewed by going to the results page (link below) and clicking on the watch icon.
http://www.an-eventful-life.com.au/eventing-news/lynton-horse-trials-goulburn-2012/resultsthe-baxter-boots-nsw-state-eventing
Niki and Olivia at the prize giving for the eventers V show jumpers
Last weekend the team competed at the Jumping with the Wallabies show at the stunning Wallaby Hill Farm. It was a fantastic weekend of jumping at the beautiful property. On the Sunday there was an eventers verses showjumpers derby, the course contained a combination of 1.2m showjumps and 2* cross country fences. Riders had options at several fences so they could choose to jump the cross country fences or the showjumps. It was a great fun event, the crowd really got behind the riders cheering though the rounds. Niki rode Monty Who and had a great round just having a rail at the last fence to place sixth. Shane looked like the class winner until the last fences fell for him too, which added four seconds to his time which was still good enough to place 2nd. Thankfully the eventers dominated the placing’s, with only a couple of showjumpers in the top ten.
I am pleased to hear that Ariat has become a sponsorship partner with the Australian International Three Day Event. It is sure to be a great event, make sure you check out the Ariat trade stand at the Event. Shane will also be at his sponsors trade stands at Equitana in November. Over the next few weeks you will find us at:
26 Oct National Dressage Championships Niki: Wallstrasse
27-28 Oct Canberra CIC Shane: Moritz, Virgil, Shanghai Joe, CP Qualified & Bereaucratic. Michelle: Capone Sogine: Gold Niki: Monty Who
16 Nov Equitana – Exhibition Eventing Shane: Virgil
23-25 Nov Australian (Adelaide) CCI Shane: APH Moritz & CP Qualified Soigne: Gold
