Classy showjumping at Shongweni
VETERAN rider Jonathan Clarke showed there is nothing to beat experience after he won the premier event at last weekend’s Shongweni Showjumping Festival, the 1.50 metre Land Rover Durban Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Cup qualifier, in front of an appreciative crowd of over 300 spectators at the Durban Shongweni Club.
There were 25 riders in contention for the first round of the two-round event with only three managing to achieve clear rounds which automatically qualified them for a place in the jump-off along with five of the next best-placed riders, the first two clear being Marlene Sinclair riding Camaro and Cathryn Neil riding Clyde Z in a time of 81.57 seconds.
First in the arena for the jump-off where riders had to complete the course in under 55 seconds was young Samantha McIntosh, who has competed in the Youth Olympics. She posted a time of 41,20 seconds with one penalty for knocking a pole down.
KZN rider Jodi Pieters started well but lost a stride which cost her dearly and Grant Langley, another top KZN contestant, also had a good round but was just not good enough to take a podium position while Chad Cunningham on Dino gave it all he had in his first World Cup Qualifier.
But at the end of the day it was Clarke who took the top honours on Data Sciences Hummer Van Het Bevrrijdthof with a double clear in a winning time of 44.64 seconds.
Clarke was the only rider to ride two different horses in the jump-off, his other mount being Data Sciences Felix Van De Mispelaere which was placed seventh overall.
Runner-up was Sinclair from New York, but living in Johannesburg, riding Camaro and also with a double clear and only marginally behind Clarke in a time of 45.54 while third place went to Neill on Clyde Z, also putting on a fine performance.
The last day featured the 1.00m, 1.10m, 1.20m and 1.30m Championship Classes, the 1.30m Kawena Championship won by Lauren Pretorius of Hartebeespoort Dam riding Capital Calenoid while the 1.40m FNB Rider’s Grand Prix Tour was won by Hayley Preen (Gauteng) on Voitskirch Dunmore providing a fitting finish to the five-day extravaganza which attracted an entry of over 300 riders and 500 horses from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The tempo in the 1.40m FNB Rider’s Grand Prix just kept mounting, Oliver Bishop throwing down the gauntlet and going into the lead with style from Tamara Reuda who had beaten him in the 1.50m Hausberger Financial Services Cup two days earlier.
But the pace was relentless until Nicole Horwood on Mark White Nissan Capital Look At Me seemed impossible to beat, that was until Cape Town’s Hayley Preen swept the crowd away with an impressive performance on Voightskirkch Dunmore.