Nina Boyd was all smiles after scoring 71.009% with her young mare Benicia to place third in the Advanced 5A

© Stephen Mowbray

By Equestrian Life

Day 2 of Event 1 at Willinga Park – what a day! Right from the very first class of the day, the scores were hot as horses and riders produced outstanding performances befitting the surrounds and facilities of this superb venue.

Jayden Brown and Quincy B score 78.114% to win the Advanced 5A

© Stephen Mowbray

In the first class of the day, the Advanced 5A, Jayden Brown and Quincy B were outstanding, scoring 78.114% to take the win. In second place it was Young Rider Layla Williams riding Ampersand on a score of 71.272%, just ahead of Nina Boyd and Benicia on 70.009%. This was a large class of 22 combinations and the standard was very high; it certainly will be exciting to see this field of horses progress to FEI level in coming years. 

Layla Williams and Ampersand place second in the Advanced 5A with a score of 71.272%

© Stephen Mowbray

In the indoor arena, Jessica Dertell and Zanzibar wowed the crowd and live stream viewers, scoring 68.103% in the Bay Coast Roofing Under 25 Grand Prix class to take the win. This supremely elegant combination work together with such fluidity and harmony, they are a wonderful reminder of how bright the future of Australian dressage truly is!

Under 25 Grand Prix winners Jessica Dertell and Zanzibar scored 68.103%

© Simon Scully Photography

In the Lennock Motors Intermediate I, Queensland’s Nicole Tough continued her successful week with a win riding the beautiful Ferragamo. Having placed =1st in Saturday’s Prix St Georges class, today Nicole was clearly thrilled with her 70.618% scoring test, which earned an outright win. Shanon McKimmie placed 2nd with Quebec 51 on 69.500%, while Caroline Wagner finished 3rd with 69.176% riding Penny Hill Park Sophia.

Winners of the Inter I, Nicole Tough and Ferragamo scoring 70.618%

© Simon Scully

The Cox Architecture Grand Prix class was the one everyone was waiting for, and it didn’t disappoint. As Roger Fitzhardinge, Kerry Mack and Rozzie Ryan discussed on the live stream commentary, it was quite a large Grand Prix class for Australia, with 16 combinations competing, and there were a range of horses and riders taking part. There were Olympians and likely Tokyo 2021 representatives competing alongside Young Riders having their first start at Grand Prix level, just as there were seasoned Grand Prix horses along with newcomers to this level. It made for exciting viewing, and with Roger’s insightful, positive, and educational commentary it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon; whether watching at Willinga Park, or on the live stream!

Mary Hanna and Syriana score 72.891% to win the Grand prix CDN class

© Stephen Mowbray

Mary Hanna rode polished, accurate and expressive tests on her two beautiful mares Syriana and Calanta to take first and second place in the class, scoring 72.891% with Syriana and 71.696% with Calanta. “World class” was a term used frequently to describe their performances, and it is very much hoped that Mary has a chance to represent Australia again on the world stage with these superb mares.

Mary Hanna and Calanta place second in the Grand Prix on a score of 71.696%

© Stephen Mowbray

John Thompson placed 3rd with the impressive young stallion JHT Chemistry scoring 69.304%, while the elegant combination of Sally Rizzuto and Diamond Star placed 4th with 68.739%. Michelle Baker and Puccini produced a great test to place 5th on a score of 67.609%, while Rozzie Ryan rounded out the top 6 with a score of 67.587% riding Jarrah R.   

JHT Chemistry, ridden by John Thompson, placed 3rd in the Grand Prix

© Simon Scully

The final class of the day in the Indoor Arena was the Pryde’s Easifeed Intermediate B, won by Linda Foster riding Neversfelde Samiro on a score of 64.973%.

The action continues tomorrow with Freestyle classes and Round 2 of the Young Horse/Pony classes.

Full results from today can be found here. 

You can find out more about the event, including draws, here.

The action continues tomorrow, with the live streaming schedule for the final day of Event 1 as follows:

Monday 21 February, 8am to 5:20pm:

Bay Coast Roofing Under 25 Grand Prix Freestyle - 8am-8.36am
Pryde’s EasiFeed Medium Tour Freestyle - 8.50am-9.38am
Kelato Animal Health Intermediate Freestyle - 10.10am-12.21pm
Cox Architecture Grand Prix Freestyle - 1.05pm-3.08pm
Lindon Farm CDN Young Rider Freestyle - 4pm-5.12pm

The Event 2 live steaming timetable is yet to be announced.

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