Record 480 combinations compete to find age group champions
It’s billed as the biggest showcase of New Zealand’s young showjumping talent and on Saturday the East Coast Performance Horses National Young Horse Show lived up to its reputation.
Champions were crowned across the four, five, six and seven-year-old age groups, with a record 480 combinations entered for the threeday event which was held at the Hawke’s Bay A&P Showgrounds in Hastings.
New Zealand Performance Horses were the top breeders of the championships with Sharleen Workman’s Corofino II awarded best overall, Dani Maurer (Kaukapakapa) and Madam Coco taking the honours in the mare class and Takapoto Estate’s Jaime Campbell the leading rider.
National series classes were included, however the focus of the show on Saturday was the age group crowns, decided over Heather McDonald’s courses.
In the Matthews Hanoverians/ Gemco Seven-Year-Old Championship, victor Sam Peters (Cambridge) knew her self-produced Cadillac NZPH was more than capable of taking the crown . . . as long as she held it together.
Twenty-eight-year-old Peters has had the horse since he was four and enjoyed plenty of success with the dark bay gelding, including winning the North Island Six-Year-Old Championship, placing second in the Horse of the Year Six-Year-Old class and two seven-year-old wins already in the series so far this season.
“This is our biggest win together,” said the fulltime horsewoman. “It has been a pretty stressful three days but he just ate it. You have to win your way through those three days with a clean slate.”
As it was, they were the only combination to finish with a clean slate.
“I think he is an absolute superstar. It was definitely my goal to win this — I knew we could if I kept it all together. Anything can happen. He just felt amazing today.”
Cadillac NZPH is by Jokus Latour out of Untouched NZPH, who is by Cabdula du Tillard. Peters bought him on the recommendation of horseman Tui Teka and former NZPH rider Daniel Blundell.
“It was just meant to be. I had lost my grand prix horse and was looking for a young horse. Tui and Daniel said Cadillac was one of the best at NZPH,” said Peters. “He is just outstanding.”
Eleven of the original 30 starters, all with 12 faults or less, came through to the final where just Peters and Amanda Wilson (Hikurangi) aboard Showtym Burrow had zero faults.
Internationally-celebrated horsewoman Vicki Wilson (Hawke’s Bay) and her stallion Daminos TWS took out the Mitavite Speedi-Beet/Redcliffs Equestrian Six-Year-Old Championship after a hotly-contested fourstrong jump-off.
Vicki and her sisters Kelly and Amanda imported the classified Holsteiner Daminos TWS from Europe as a three-and-a-half-year-old. The stallion was “a bit of a wild animal” when freejumping but caught the eye of the Wilsons.
“He is the bravest horse I have ever met in my life,” says Vicki.
Forty-five combinations started the six-year-old class, with four progressing to the jump-off today where just Vicki and runner-up Kim Best (Hawke’s Bay) aboard LT Holst Teacher’s Pet were clear. Vicki’s time of 35.4 seconds edged out Best’s 36.72.
Rose Alfeld’s Eye Catcher NZPH lived up to his name in the East Coast Performance Horses/NZ Hanoverian Society Five-Year-Old Championship. The Leeston combination edged out a 47-strong rather classy field to take the top honours.