Alison Gill and Glenhill Mr. Hollywood, round one winners of the 5YO Young Pony Championship on Thursday. Image: Equisoul Photography.

DJWTS begins at Werribee

By Equestrian Life

Dressage & Jumping with the Stars began at Werribee on Thursday, with young horses stepping out for their first round classes across the disciplines of dressage, jumping and eventing.

One of Victoria’s premier equestrian events that is always highly anticipated, DJWTS not only showcases some of the best young horses in the country but also features a number of dressage and jumping classes for the more seasoned campaigners – including World Cup qualifiers.

With near-perfect conditions forecast throughout the three days of competition, there were many exciting performances yesterday – and no doubt many more to come between now and tomorrow evening!

DRESSAGE

Young Pony Championships

The qualifying round of the 4YO Young Pony Championship kicked off Thursday’s proceedings, and it was the mare Glenhill Divine Classic who claimed the win with 83.4%. Glenhill Divine Classic was ridden by Alison Gill and is owned by Christan Trainor of Glenhill Sporthorses. A German Riding Pony, she was bought as an embryo in utero by Numerus Clausus out of the mare Divine Essence that Vicki Chidgey imported. Known at home as ‘Peach’, the mare has just recently began her competition career; at Willinga Park’s Dressage by the Sea, she received the highest score in round one of the 4YO class, beating not only the ponies but also the horses on that occasion.

Second place in the 4YO Young Pony Championship yesterday was Freeman’s Lodge Global (Numerus Clausus 4 × Dreidimensional AT NRW), bred by Freemans Lodge and owned and ridden by Toni Webb, scoring 81.6%. In third on 73% was Dance On Air BHI 3 (Rainbow Dancer BHI × Budweiser), bred by Brockhurst Stud and ridden by Javais Ham for owner Anna Bridge.

The qualifying round of the 5YO Young Pony Championship saw another win for Glenhill Sporthorses, with their pony stallion Glenhill Mr Hollywood (Movie Star x Aester El Nino) scoring 76.2% for Alison Gill. Mr Hollywood, aka ‘Nacho’, is no stranger to success at DJWTS, having been crowned Champion 4YO Pony last year.

Speaking to Equestrian Life last year about Mr Hollywood, owner Christan Trainor explained that when she sourced an embryo in utero by Movie Star and from imported Dutch mare Nobis Juliette, she had no idea if she’d end up with a colt or a filly: “I never intended to have a stallion, but ‘Nacho’ was just always so laid back and I thought I’d keep him as a colt as long as he wasn’t being colty, just to develop his body type… and then he never got colty!”

Second place in the 5YO Young Pony Championship went to Brookside Willy Wonka (Hilkens Nougat Cream x Top Der Da) for breeder, owner and rider Leisha Salter, scoring 70.2%, while third was a tie on 69% between Jack Frost BSP (Del Estero NRW x Hilkens Denali) and Miss Holly Golightly BHI (FS Mr. Right x Fidertanz). Jack Frost BSP is ridden and owned by Kathleen Uniacke and was bred by Renee Brawata, while Miss Holly Golightly BHI was ridden by Steph Hann for owner and breeder Georgina Ray.

The 6YO Young Pony Championship saw yesterday’s qualifying round go to Wischoffs Caramba (Golden Grey NRW x High Flown’s Oxford) on 73%. Hailing from Queensland and bred and owned by Helmuth Klindworth, the mare was ridden by Nicole Magoffin.

Second place went to Weston Park Milan (Steehorst Kyro) on 72.8% for rider and owner Molly Farran, with the gelding bred by Janet Evans. Third place on 70.8% went to Mr Right Now (FS Mr Right x Fidertanz) for Caitlyn Porter, with the stallion bred and owned by Claire Graham.

Young Horse Championships

The qualifying round of the 4YO Young Horse Championship took place Thursday afternoon, with Remi Vintage Star (Remi Vigneron x Wolkenstein II) scoring 86.2% to win the class. The gelding was bred and owned by Cheryl O’Brien of Remi Stud in Queensland and was ridden by Matthew Lord.

Second place went to another Queensland combination in mare GT For The Boys (Follow Me x Cantango) and Elliot Patterson, with the pair scoring 84.4%. GT For The Boys was bred by GT Sporthorses and is owned by Anna Fullarton. Springside Marconi (Morricone x Sandro Hit), ridden by Shanon McKimmie, finished third on 80%, with the gelding bred by Springside Warmbloods and owned by Daniel Ash.

Caitlin Scott and Furstenglanz, round one winners of the 7YO Young Horse Championship on Thursday. Image: Equisoul Photography.

The qualifying round of the 7YO Young Horse Championship went to last year’s 6YO Champion, Furstenglanz (Fürsten-Look x Frühlingstrunk), ridden by Caitlin Scott to a score of 72.036%. The gelding is bred and owned by Moya Jess.

In second place, Samantha Sidwell piloted her own Asgards Indico to 69.032% (Asgard's Ibiza × Rohdiamant), while Javais Ham and Mayfield Fez (Mayfield Pzazz x Flemmingh) were third on 66.190%. The gelding is owned by Javais Ham and Gayle Maule, and was bred by Mayfield Farm.

Small Tour

The Small Tour horses were in action Thursday for the Prix St Georges Cup, and it was 23-year-old Charlie Welsh who won the class on an impressive score of 72.5% with Dante Quando OLD (Dante Weltino OLD x Fidertanz). Robbie McKinnon and SPH Fortino (Bluefields Floreno x Dormello) – who is no stranger to DJWTS as the 2022 Champion of Champions and 2023 7YO Champion – finished second on 71.618%, while Riley Alexander and New Star LP (Negro x Di Maggio) continued the success for Glenhill Sporthorses with a score of 71.324%. Jessica Dertell and Zanzibar (San Remo x Montecristo) also cracked the 70% barrier today, scoring 70.589% for fourth.

The Aachen Challenge for young riders saw last year’s winner, Jessica Dertell, back in action again with Zanzibar. The pair claimed the win with 71.771%. The top three all finished over 70%, with Olivia Gillespie and Amsterdam scoring 70.521% and Felicity Sutherland aboard Estee scoring 70.365%. The top six from this class progress to the final, where the winning young rider is awarded a trip to the prestigious CHIO Aachen in Germany.

Full results and draws from the dressage can be found via Equestrian Hub.

SHOW JUMPING

In the jumping arena, the first round of the age classes took place today. In the 4YO class, Jess Kiernan placed first and second with Cera Cassius (Casall ASK x Clearway) and Glenara Argyle  (Diamant de Semilly x ASB Conquistador) – scoring 85.67 and 81.03 respectively.

The 5YO class went to Glory II PPH (Carpino Z) for Frida Lindgren on 81.87, with Frida also winning the 6YO class aboard Tulara Cascara (Cascadello 1) on 87.07.

The 7YO class was won by Jess Brown and Elysian Fields Oceanus (Higgins) on 86.2.

Full results and draws from the show jumping can be found via Equipe.

EVENTING

In the Young Event Horse Classes, the 4 & 5YO class was won by Bloomers Fearless Francis (Foundation x Bloomers Twinkletoes), ridden by Belle Morrow, while the 6 & 7 YO class went to Sharvalley Wild Thing (Wild Kard x Jeranium R) ridden by Amy Gotts-Wheeler.

Full results can be found via the DJWTS Facebook page.

Competition continues at DJWTS today and Saturday.

Published 22 March 2024.

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