Leading showjumpers descend on Dannevirke

It’s step-up time for New Zealand’s top showjumpers as they head into the penultimate round of the World Cup New Zealand series in Dannevirke this weekend.

There are 19 combinations on the card for the prestigious class at the three-day Central and Southern Hawke’s Bay Showjumping and Show Hunter Championships at the Dannevirke A and P Showgrounds.

Sunday’s World Cup is the fifth in the New Zealand series, which culminates later this month with the final in Auckland.

So far, each of the four rounds has been won by a different combination, making it for a tight battle on the leaderboard where just the four best scores count.

Series leader Helen Mcnaughtmcfarlane (Taupo) has entered this weekend aboard her Polish import Carnutelabryere, who is the current Olympic Cup holder, as showjumper of the year.

Keen to topple her will be Lucy Fell (Opiki) aboard Tinapai, who is just a single point adrift of the leader, Natasha Brooks (Cambridge) on Kapattack and Samantha Morrison (Tauranga) on Biarritz – each of whom has won a round this season.

Both Tinapai and Kapattack are former racehorses, who have proven to be faster over showjumps than on a track.

Also in the mix on Sunday are former series winners Katie Laurie (Mystery Creek) aboard her stunning grey stallion Dunstan Casebrooke Lomond and Dunstan On The Point Eve, along with Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) with Mandalay Cove.

The New Zealand World Cup series runs over six rounds, with the best four to count for each rider. It started in Hawke’s Bay in October, and was followed by indoor competitions at Mystery Creek and Feilding, before the fourth round in Taupo. The grand final is at Waitemata from January 14.

The winner of the series has the chance to represent New Zealand at the FEI World Cup Jumping 2016/17 final in Omaha, Nebraska, from March 29-April 1.