Shane Rose wins Canberra CCI4*S aboard The Bandit

Main image: Shane Rose and Bandit won the CCI4*S at Canberra International Horse Trials. Image by Britt Grovenor Photography.

Shane Rose absolutely blitzed the field in the Capital Asphalt CCI4*S on Sunday at Canberra International Horse Trials, thrilling the crowd with a fast and fluid cross country round to take the win aboard the awesome off the track Thoroughbred The Bandit.

Saturday afternoon saw Shane Rose in fifth position after the dressage phase, with the top spot being held by local young gun and former employee Hannah Klep riding Tulara Chicouve.

Sunday’s breezy overnight change then brought a leaderboard blow out in the class, with gale-force winds made competition tough for all. Shane and The Bandit delivered the only fault-free show jumping round of the CCI4* class, with clever building by Aran Ghafouri and hastily-arranged sandbags needed to kept the wings upright.

Shane then delivered the most incredible display of cross country riding around the Ewan Kellett-designed track, masterfully piloting The Bandit at a blistering pace and jumping a super clear inside the time.

Shane was absolutely thrilled by the horse’s performance. He explained that Bandit was in fact the horse he fell from in March – a fall that led to the most inspirational recovery ever seen to then compete for Australia at the Paris Olympics with Virgil in August.

The class had a fair amount of excitement. with Heath Ryan and Andy Daines both having unscheduled dismounts after looking fantastic through much of the course. The riders that did complete were amazing: the talented Jessica Rae and the gorgeous Fifth Avenue ran second, and tall man Chris Height riding Rossatin came third.

Wallaby Hill CCI3*S

Shane had three horses in the Wallaby Hill CCI3*S – where the cross country was designed by Grant Johnston – and he almost took out the trifecta in the class! However, it was legendary local Nat Blundell riding the diminutive JJ Flash who secured third place in the final standings, preventing Rose from completing the trifecta. Shane won the class with Holy Moses and placed second with Matrixx in class where no one made the time on cross country.

Completely Equine CCI2*S

Not to be out done, Niki Rose and Dreamrush took out the Completely Equine CCI2*S – where the cross country was designed by Ben Smith. Another star of the class was Tasmanian junior Chloe Daun riding PEC Fairytale, who posted the only clear and undertime cross country round to move up from eleventh and claim second. She also won the highest placed CCI2*S Junior award, sponsored by Wallaroo Equestrian. Jessica Rae had a costly rail show jumping riding Stakkino, taking her down to third place.

CCN1*S

Chloe Daun also took out the Horseland CCN1*S A riding PEC Willunga Royal Castana and also won the highest place junior award, sponsored by Hannah Klep Eventing. Chloe finished on her dressage score, moving up from fifth after dressage following double clears and no time in either jumping phase. The trip across from Tassie well worth it!

Georgia Elias riding Gairloch Astrum took second after a costly show jump rail, while junior Skye McCoullough riding Rockstar Rocky moved up to third from sixth after posting double clears.

The Abbey Animal Health CCN1*S B saw the top three riders all finish on their dressage score. The winner was Isabella O’Donnell-Fernando riding Courtier, who was just ahead of Skye Ramsay riding Vienna Dream, and Grace O’Toole riding Vesper Martini third in a nail-bitting finish.

EvA95 

The Rosemont EvA95 A was won by Sam Lyle riding Hoylonny, and the highest placed junior was Francesca Dennis riding Kalimna Ultimate Gift sponsored by Equissage.

The Assistance Dogs Australia EvA95 B class was won by Jane Raithby-Veall riding Revelwood F Next Hit, finishing on her dressage score.

EvA80

The High Voltage Eva80 A was won by Hannah Klep riding the very beautiful Callum Park Florentine; Hannah was the only rider over the weekend to hold top spot from start to finish in any class and she finished on her dressage score. The highest placed junior, sponsored by Britt Grovenor Photography, was Stephanie Brierley riding Ducati.

The Ranvet EvA80 B was won by the event’s cross country organiser, the amazing Kerrie Tanner riding her stunning Thoroughbred Overdane.

The Johnson’s Natural Formula EvA80 C was won by Sam Lyle riding Highlands Carnivale, finishing on his dressage score.

The Nearside Equine EvA80 D was won by Carlene Barton riding No Comparison; the pair climbed from tenth after the dressage to take out the class after posting a double clear and no time in the jumping phases.

The Tori Doak EvA 80 Junior was won by Tommie Parker riding Rotherfield Bijou, finishing on their dressage score.

A great three days of competition

An outstanding effort from all the competitors and their horses made for a great weekend of sport. A special thanks to the two young local equestrian professionals, Tori Doak and Hannah Klep, for sponsoring classes and doing course walks. Thank you to Eventing NSW for recognising the efforts made by our riding and club volunteers by donating special awards, this year won by Brianna Harris and D’Arcy Pether-McPhie for their extraordinary contribution to helping prepare for this event.

Competitors were given a wonderful Saturday evening line up of talks: Veterinarian Tash Webb spoke first, followed by Shane Rose who entertained the crowd talking about his road from rehab at the AIS to riding at this year’s international event via the Paris Olympics. He had the audience eating out of his hand and in fits of laughter as he demonstrated some of the things he had to overcome!

Competition organiser Kate Mackenzie and her team were very proud to present his top-class international event in the nation’s capital. Over 100 volunteers combined with local sponsors and equestrian clubs enabled the National Capital Horse Trials Association event committee to deliver another world-class event.

Full results can be found here via Nominate.

Written by Fiona Gruen of Wallaroo Equestrian: www.wallarooequestrian.com.au