Crosscountry phase of horse trials highly competitive

The Reyna Equestrian CIC1* class saw four of the 16 starters withdraw, with Kelsey Leahy winning on former stakes-winning racehorse Showcause. They held third place overnight and were the only combination to complete inside the time allowed.

Relentless rain resulted in many withdrawals before the crosscountry phase of the Bay of Plenty Horse Trials last Sunday.

Most of those who did run their horses treated the inclement weather with due respect and rode accordingly.

Fortune favours the brave, with the only competitor in the Pub Charity CNC2* Plus class to go crosscountry reaping the rewards.

Jake Barham had 20 penalties for a run-out with Atlan, and incurred 32 time penalties, finishing with total penalties of 102.5, but took the spoils, and will smile all the way home to Hawke’s Bay.

Seven withdrawals were registered before the crosscountry in the Dunstan Feeds CIC2* class, with one retirement on course, but the 18 competitors who finished deserve credit for the way they handled the conditions.

Shannon Galloway, who was seventh overnight on Day Walker, jumped clear with 10 time penalties to win on a score of 46.3. Fleur Rohleder, on The Alchemist, and Nick Brooks, on For Fame, both finished with final scores of 49.4 penalties, second place going to The Alchemist whose 10.8 time penalties were closer to the optimum time than For Fame, who had 17.6 time penalties for third place. Beth Wilson was a close fourth on Alto et Audax, producing the fastest round with 7.2 time penalties for a final score of 49.5 penalties.

The Reyna Equestrian CIC1* class saw four of the 16 starters withdraw, with Kelsey Leahy winning on former stakes-winning racehorse Showcause.

They held third place overnight and were the only combination to complete inside the time allowed to finish on their dressage score of 31.3 penalties.

Samantha Mynott was second on Ipso Facto having added 1.2 time penalties to their sixth place overnight for a final score of 34.6 penalties, with Greer Caddigan third on Gymnastik Showdown having added 6.4 time penalties to their fourth place overnight to finish on 38 penalties.

Both Greer Caddigan and Beth Wilson are Young Riders who have rocketed up the Mitavite Young Rider Series leaderboard to hold second equal positions on Gymnastik Showdown and Alto et Audax respectively with 34 points — thereby overtaking Lucy Turner and Carbon by one point.

Shannon Galloway’s win on Day Walker in the Dunstan Feeds CIC2* class has seen them move into second place in the Amateur Rider Series, but Susan Le Mesurier’s third place on Sparky Malarkey in the Marks & Ewen CNC1* has moved them to the top of the table.

Kelsey Leahy’s win on Showcause sees them take top spot in the ProAm Rider series, with Samantha Mynott moving into second place with Ipso Facto after placing second behind them in the Reyna Equestrian CIC1* class.