© Amanda Ross and the Fraser Brown owned Koko Popping Candy were all smiles at the presentation of the CIC3* - © Geoff McLean/Gone Riding Media
 

Ariat athletes ride into WEG contention at MI3DE

With WEG team selection on the horizon, Olympians Amanda Ross and Shane Rose both had successful outings at the 2018 Melbourne International Three-Day Event…  

The 2018 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, North Carolina, takes place in September this year, and with the event just months away the Australian selectors will soon be making their decisions across eight disciplines – including eventing. 

The Saddleworld Melbourne International Three-Day Event took place earlier this month and saw many of the nation’s top riders in action, including Ariat athletes Amanda Ross and Shane Rose. Both Amanda and Shane produced stunning performances in the CIC3* class, ultimately filling the top two places.

Amanda and her thoroughbred mare, Koko Popping Candy – aka Zara — scored an impressive win… not bad for a combination that stepped up to three-star level less than a year ago! Leading after the dressage on a score of 28.10, the pressure was on Amanda and Zara to maintain that lead throughout the jumping phase. With Shane and star performer Virgil breathing down their necks on 28.50 penalties, there certainly wasn’t much room for error. With the new FEI rule changes that abolished the dressage co-efficient (and therefore seeing lower dressage scores with a smaller spread), just a couple of time penalties on the cross country was enough to see the leaderboard change. Despite a brilliant clear round, Amanda and Zara took away 4.8 time penalties to Shane and Virgil’s 2.8 time penalties – and with just 0.40 penalties separating them leading into the cross country phase, it was enough for Shane to edge ahead.

And so it was all down to the showjumping. Amanda has spent a lot of time honing her skills in this area of late, and it paid off. A clear showjumping round on the final day saw the pair regain the lead after Shane and Virgil had a rail down. The final scores? Amanda and Zara on 32.90; Shane and Virgil on 35.30. Very, very close!

Amanda has been an Ariat athlete for a remarkable 20 years, and wouldn’t ride in any other boots. “I was first sponsored by them in 1998, so it’s been a very long partnership,” she says. Impressed from the first wear, she explains that the brand has always fit her well. One doesn’t stick with a boot maker for 20 years without good reason; Amanda has always been impressed by Ariat’s range, quality and comfort. 

“At the moment I’m wearing the Barnyard H2O boot, which is a waterproof short boot that I can go and get in the mud. And then I’ll put on my tall boots to ride in,” she notes. Amanda has a different pair of tall boots for each competition phase: the patent-topped Monaco for dressage, the Crowne Pro for cross country and then the lovely Divino for the showjumping phase. “(Ariat) do a variety of styles — they do something that’s suitable for a starter, and then they do the really beautiful boots like the Divino and the Monaco for competition. They cover everything, that’s what I find most useful; you can get something for every occasion and there’s a really good consistency in terms of quality.”

© Ariat International.

Amanda rode to victory on the final day in her Divino boots — and as she explains, in the jumping phases fit is everything. “I don’t have the capacity to endure boots that are going to dig into my legs and rub. When you’re jumping, you’re going to shorten your stirrups up — and you can’t have something that’s going to dig into you, as you won’t be able to perform!” 

Shane may have had to settle for second in the CIC3*, but in the CCI1* it was a different story with the mare Easy Turn. The pair was seventh after the dressage, but rose to the top after the jumping phases to score a win on 30.50. Shane has been an Ariat athlete for many years, with the Monaco Field Boot Zip being his competition must-have.

With the WEG eventing squad announced towards the end of July, we wish Amanda and Shane the best of luck!

© Ariat International.

Written in conjunction with Ariat Australia.

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