Hazel Shannon and WillingaPark Clifford on their way to a fourth Adelaide CCI5*L win. Image by Michelle Terlato Photography.
Hazel Shannon and WillingaPark Clifford made world history in winning their fourth Adelaide CCI5*L event this year. Totally remarkable, unbelievable, almost impossible. All of that and more!
In a nutshell, Hazel was second in the dressage with a good test and a score of 30.3 penalties at the prestigious Adelaide Equestrian Festival held over 2-4 May. That was a good score for the sometimes-fiery chestnut thoroughbred WillingaPark Clifford! Hazel and Clifford then galloped around the cross country with poise and experience and a deftness that disguised a difficult track. The track did cause a lot of trouble with less than half the field of 20 going clear. Only three went under time. Actually, in years gone by the attrition rate on the Adelaide cross country course has been considerably more savage and Clifford and Hazel have prevailed where few others could go. This is a Clifford and Hazel thing! This year Clifford and Hazel incurred 11.6 time penalties, which lowered them into third place.
Hazel Shannon and WillingaPark Clifford are Australian eventing legends. Image by Michelle Terlato Photography.
“Clifford and Hazel
have prevailed where
few others could go…”
In years gone by, Clifford has done Adelaide with no time penalties. Just maybe people thought that Clifford at 19 years of age (rising 20 this year) was slowing down a little bit! Certainly, Clifford in his old age does seem to get stronger and stronger in the back half of the cross country course and this does make the whole thing of control and accuracy a little bit more difficult and as a result slower.
Show jumping – historically the Achillies heel for Hazel and Clifford – was run in reverse order and the scores of the top three riders were super close. Shane Rose was leading on thoroughbred The Bandit with 36.3 penalties after the cross country. Sophia Hill and Humble Glory were 41.2 penalties and Hazel Shannon and WillingaPark Clifford 41.9 penalties. So Hazel and Clifford were first to go of these final three competitors. Not one single combination of the 10 riders who had already show jumped before Hazel and Clifford managed to jump a clear round. Clearly the show jumping course was tough. Hazel and Clifford did a great round and had one fence down only. Under the circumstances great, and keeping in mind Clifford and his Achillies heel, it was better than great. You had to be happy, but it did take the pressure off the final two riders.
Sophia Hill was next in on her brilliant, brilliant thoroughbred Humble Glory. They have a brilliant show jumping record and had not had a rail down in international competition since 2022. That is something to boast about. Anyway, Sophia and Humble Glory did have an unexpected rail down early in the course but were still in front of Hazel and Clifford and then inexplicably Sophia had one of those worst moments of her life and mistakenly left a show jump fence out. Elimination! What do you say? “Bad luck” seems like two words that go nowhere near reaching out and expressing absolutely everybody’s horror and sorrow at such a heartbreaking moment in a glorious performance. Damn! There was just stunned silence from the crowd! Poor Sophia and poor Humble Glory. I don’t think Sophia will be able to bear even reading this paragraph. Sorry.
So that moved WillingaPark Clifford and Hazel up to second! In came Shane Rose and The Bandit as the last to jump with victory within reach. In terms of a more experienced rider, it would be difficult to find anyone anywhere in the world steadier under pressure and more capable in the show jump arena. The Bandit had two rails up his sleeve, and he would still win. Shane and The Bandit had to have three rails down to let Hazel and Clifford take the lead. Three rails down was not something to think about. For the astute onlooker they would have been aware that The Bandit has had the odd rail down and indeed in 2023 did have three rails down in a CC3*L in Sydney. That was two years ago. Surely not.
Shane Rose and The Bandit led after the cross country phase and ultimately placed second overall. Image by Michelle Terlato Photography.
The Bandit has had a lot of clear rounds since then, so most of us thought that Shane was about to win yet another CCI5*L. Shane has won Adelaide CCI5*L on three occasions on three different horses – Virgil (2023), CP Qualified (2015), and Beauford Miss Dior (2004). Well, not to be. The Bandit had two rails down earlier in the round and then survived until the second-last fence and then had that down as well. Three rails down! Oh my goodness, I don’t think I have ever watched a final show jumping phase at Adelaide in the CCI5*L which was so packed with drama and tears and the unexpected emergence of one of the greatest eventing partnerships that has ever graced Australia in recent times. WillingaPark Clifford and Hazel Shannon won Adelaide CCI5*L for the fourth time. I don’t think any CCI5*L in the world has ever been won four times by the same horse. Also, I don’t think Adelaide CCI5*L has been won four times by any individual rider. What a moment to remember! WillingaPark Clifford won his first Adelaide CCI5*L in 2016. Nine years later in 2025, Clifford has won his fourth Adelaide title. What an amazing accomplishment.
THE WOMAN FROM SNOWY RIVER?
So, the question begs asking, how do WillingaPark Clifford and Hazel do it? How do they win the Adelaide International CCI5*L four out of six starts? WillingaPark Clifford is pretty good in all three disciplines. The reason he is such a winner in Adelaide, in my opinion, is WillingaPark Clifford is really tough, always tries his hardest, always fronts up for work every day, and has the heart of a lion. Hazel is very similar as a person and that is the magic. This is a partnership made in heaven. This is a partnership that would rank right up there with The Man From Snowy River.
“He was hard and tough and wiry — just the sort that won’t say die,”
“And the stockhorse snuffs the battle with delight.”
You know Hazel’s dad was the chair of the Stock Horse Society in the Gulf Country in North Queensland!
MISSED FLAG OR MISJUDGMENT?
As an onlooker at Adelaide and somebody who really loves the sport, I do have to make an unrelated comment that I think everyone is trying not to address. David Middleton on his mare WEC In The Breeze is also a freak combination. David and WEC In The Breeze were pulled up for dangerous riding just before Fence 29. So, three fences from home. There were 31 cross country fences in all. This can be verified by watching the replay of the CCI5*L cross country at Adelaide on Horse and Country.
Peculiarly, the official scoring for Adelaide CCI5* cross country has David and WEC In The Breeze not jumping any fences after 18b. Very weird. I have just yet again watched the replays of David getting pulled up just before Fence 29, having jumped clear up until there. On the official scoring it says that David missed a flag (MF) on Fence 18a. Watching the video you can see the mare WEC In The Breeze drifting to the right quite badly on take-off and hitting the red flag. It does however look like that could have been successfully protested and taken away.
David Middleton and WEC In The Breeze, pictured here competing in the CCI5*L at Adelaide in 2024. Image by Julia Murch Photography.
These missed flags can be protested; Shane Rose on Matrixx also got a missed flag at the same water, albeit the direct route as opposed to David who took the slow route, and Shane successfully protested and removed this as a penalty. Anyway, at the next fence for David, which was 18b, he and WEC In The Breeze are recorded as being eliminated for dangerous riding (DR). Let me make it very clear that on studying the 18b video footage there is not even the slightest suggestion or hint that there is any dangerous riding in any way over 18b. I can only guess that 18b and the dangerous riding elimination penalty has been wrongly recorded. I am definitely confused. 18a also does not look like dangerous riding to me, so it is hard to think that David was eliminated at 18a. Definitely David hit the red flag, and I can understand it being recorded as a missed flag, which can be sorted out on video at a later time.
David so nearly did fall off at Fence 23, which was a big roll top where WEC In The Breeze just boomed over and basically jumped David out of the saddle. Again, I would not have called this dangerous riding but maybe a reflection of David being an older rider and struggling to stay on a super exuberant jumping mare. Actually, a super brilliant, brilliant jumping mare. Of course, the problem with that theory is why were the fences after 18b up to Fence 23 not recorded on the scoring?
Personally, I think this elimination of David Middleton was incorrect.
MORE TO THIS STORY
There is perhaps more to this story, however, and it needs addressing. The weekend before Adelaide the Kentucky CCI5*L was on in the USA. Rider No. 17 Calvin Böckmann had an incident at Pete’s Hollow which was a triple bar, arrowhead going down a steepish decline. The horse stood off and then struggled to stay upright on the uphill, landing on the other side. The rider managed to stay centred and did not fall and the horse struggled but then regained its feet and galloped on. This was momentarily a real struggle. The Ground Jury did not penalise the rider. It was just a moment where everyone caught their breath. The horse did gallop home with only 10 time penalties. The horse did pass the trot-up, however it was held and had to re-present. In the show jumping, the horse did jump clear. A clear round show jumping is a pretty good indication that a horse is recovered and in really good health – of course, we do now have the benefit of hindsight here. The Kentucky Ground Jury was really, really taken to task by the FEI and also social media was outraged.
Quite frankly, I think the Ground Jury at Adelaide were traumatised by:
- the threat of being grilled by the FEI; and
- the threat of being targeted by social media as indeed was the Ground Jury at Kentucky.
Bearing this in mind, I still think the Adelaide Ground Jury made a mistake with David Middleton, but I am very sympathetic to their concerns as a result of what happened at Kentucky. The Adelaide Ground Jury definitely needed reassurance from the FEI and Equestrian Australia (EA) that they would be supported in every way. Only then would they perhaps have weighed the David Middleton situation up more carefully. I think it was a decision made without being weighed up properly in terms of what was the best for the sport. With the threat of social media and repercussions from the FEI, ground juries are placed in a difficult position.
DRESSING DOWN THE DRESSAGE JUDGES
The Sydney CDI was on the same weekend as Adelaide Equestrian Festival, taking place over 30 April-3 May. How could we in Australia clash with the biggest three-day event in the southern hemisphere on the same weekend as one of the biggest – if not the biggest – international dressage show in Australia?
Anyway, getting back to my dressage point is that the overseas dressage judges brought in for international dressage events are scoring harder and harder and harder. Depressing. The scores today are much lower than they were two years ago. What? Does that mean as a country we are getting worse and worse?
New Zealand’s Wendi Williamson and Don Vito MH, who won the CDI3* Grand Prix, Special and Freestyle at the Sydney CDI. Image by Amy-Sue Alston Photography.
The Australians in general are good horsemen and women and the Australian dressage horses have a lifestyle second to none in the world. We as Australian dressage riders are absolutely under no illusions as to our standing in the dressage world. We are indeed geographically challenged and considered “exotic” by visiting dressage judges and visiting dressage coaches. Dressage is different to eventing in that Australian eventers are recognised as being capable of winning Olympic medals, and so we do have some credibility with visiting dressage judges and ground jury members for the eventing discipline.
The Australian dressage world is working as hard as we can in the current Australian development programs to be as good as we can and to try and close the gaps between our standards and the international standards. Presently we are a long way away from winning Olympic dressage medals and some overseas judges, I think, feel licensed to feel superior.
Honestly, we here in Australia are realistic. The Australian riders are serious about dressage and serious in their desire to improve.
EVERYONE IS RUNNING SCARED
The international dressage judges appear as if they have been given a brief somewhere in the world to lower the scores! I mean on the world stage, not just here in Australia. However, when these judges come to Australia, judging the “exotics”, these scores are really, really dropping. What possible good does it do for the sport? It certainly doesn’t help the horses or the riders or the development of the sport, and it doesn’t help the spectators. Who does it help? The FEI seems to be kowtowing to social media comments, and everyone is running scared.
Some judges are inclined to be very ambitious for their own careers and have an eye on Olympic and World Championship appointments, which is fair. To do this successfully they do need to stay clear of any social media controversies. The answer is perhaps to not endorse “exotics” who may inadvertently stumble into some sort of social media controversy and unwittingly drag judges who were trying to be encouraging into a reputation-damaging situation.
This exact situation happens a lot with a video displayed on a social media platform with commentary from people who have no idea demanding “how in God’s name did the judges see that score with that performance”? I think some judges – like eventing ground juries – are running scared due to the threat of social media, which is really damaging our sport. I think we need really positive people judging who are interested in a positive and developing sport.
The FEI does already have some social media restrictions when it comes to certain FEI-named events, but it perhaps needs to go further. Image by FEI/Benjamin Clark.
NO EASY ANSWER
Social media is a new influential dynamic which is now part of our sport, and there is no easy answer to dealing with it.
The FEI does have its ‘Non-Rights Holder Guidelines for Posting Videos from FEI-Named Events’ that does restrict production and dissemination of certain content to an extent, however this only applies to FEI World Cups, FEI Nations Cups, FEI World/European Championships and Longines League of Nations. Personally, I think the FEI needs to restructure its policies further. The EA does already have a social media policy, but this also needs updating and endorsing by the integrity division.
Things need to change, and this has to become a priority in our sport. There needs to be strong leadership from the FEI and EA in protecting its members and having social media policies which absolutely distances our members in the first instance from social media commentary.
The FEI and EA have to work towards absolutely protecting all of their members from social media. This includes our horses, our riders, our judges, our stewards, our technical delegates, our organisers and all of the officials that are a part of our wonderful sport. The influence of social media on our sport has to be shut down.
Now, I realise this is much easier said than done – but we do need to address it. Of course, tightening policies around social media does impact freedom of speech and the highlighting of what are sometimes genuine welfare concerns. From a horse welfare perspective, there would need to be full confidence in EA and the FEI that genuine welfare concerns are identified and addressed both quickly and effectively. Protecting the sport from social media does not need to come at the expense of horse welfare; these two points can coexist.
This second half of the column basically on social media definitely needs to be thought through by all of us a lot more, and this is really just the first painful draft. It was actually unpleasant writing this; however, I think this is exactly why it has not been properly dealt with and I think it must be one of the most critical considerations to be dealt with in our sport today. It is ruining our sport.
I know some of this sure makes me look like a bit of a hypocrite. Nevertheless, I think the sooner we evolve some sort of social media policy, legislation and then its policing, the sooner we can look forward to everyone within the sport pulling together and giving the sport their best shot.
Cheers,
Heath
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