Hawke’s Bay rider joins NZ team
Pottinger to follow in family hoofprints in representing NZ
World-ranked eventers Tim and Jonelle Price will be joined by Olympian and former world champs representative Clarke Johnstone, and debutants Monica Spencer and Havelock North rider Amanda Pottinger at the FEI World Eventing Championships in Italy next month.
Equestrian Sports New Zealand general manager of highperformance Jock Paget says it is an exciting team to name as the nation also looks towards the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“It’s encouraging to have the combination of championship debutants and experienced campaigners such as Tim, Jonelle and Clarke in the team,” he said.
“This is our qualifying opportunity for Paris, and we are hopeful of contesting the medals.
“We’ve had a good build-up in terms of training and have invested into more team competition this year — hopefully, this pays dividends on the day,” Paget said.
Two-time Olympian Tim will compete aboard 13-year-old Falco, a German-bred gelding who in 2021 won the 5* at Pau.
Tim has twice ridden at world championships, with an eighth in 2018 at Tryon his best effort.
Jonelle is in on McClaren, a 15-yearold gelding who last year was third in the 5* at Pau and in 2018 contested the world champs with Sir Mark Todd.
Jonelle was New Zealand’s best at the 2014 Caen World Champs, earning the moniker of the world’s fastest woman with her fourth placing. She has previously competed at three Olympic Games and two world championships.
Clarke Johnstone was New Zealand’s best at the Rio Olympic Games with his sixth-placed effort.
Clarke, who rode at the 2010 world champs, has been named on Menlo Park, a Brit-bred 12-year-old who joined his stable late last year.
Monica Spencer and Artist are about to board a plane to wing their way to Europe in preparation for the world champs.
Monica, from Taupo, was third in the CCI4*-L at Werribee this year and has previously won at Puhinui.
Rounding out the team is Amanda Pottinger from Havelock North and her 16-year-old New Zealand-bred thoroughbred Just Kidding.
Amanda — Muzi — is following in her mother Tinks Pottingers’ footsteps. Tinks rode at the top level for New Zealand and was part of the bronze medal-winning team at the Seoul Olympic Games. Her grandmother, the late Tiny White OBE (nee Groome), who lived in Otane CHB, also represented New Zealand in dressage.
The reserves for the 2022 world champs are Jesse Campbell aboard Diachello, Samantha Lissington with Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ, Matthew Grayling on Trudeau, and Dan Jocelyn with Cooley One To Many.
New Zealand has twice won team gold at world champs, once at Stockholm in 1990 and once at Rome in 1998.
The last time the team was on the podium was in 2010 in Kentucky when Andrew Nicholson, Sir Mark Todd, Caroline Powell and Clarke Johnstone won bronze, and Andrew and Nereo also won an individual bronze that year.
Individually, golds have been won by Blyth Tait and Messiah in 1998, Vaughn Jefferis and Bounce in 1994, and Blyth and Ready Teddy in 1998, the same year that Sir Mark and Broadcast News won silver.
The Kiwi eventer was seventh at the last worlds in Tryon in 2018.
The championships are being held at Pratoni, near Rome, in Italy.
The first horse inspection is on Wednesday, September 14, with the dressage running the next two days, followed by the Giuseppe Della Chiesa-designed cross country and the Uliano Vezzani-designed showjumping.
The venue has previously hosted the cross country for the 1960 Olympic Games along with the world champs in 1998 and European championships. The best three scores from the team will count towards the final score.