Quirindi Eventing hosted their International One Day Event from 12-13 October, with 26-year-old Sam Woods claiming two of the three CCI classes.
Riding his own 11-year-old gelding SS Eight Count, Sam claimed the CCI4*S on 49.8, ahead of Gordon Bishop and his mare Advantage Hill on 51.4. Hazel Shannon and the evergreen WillingaPark Clifford finished third on 51.5.
Sam and SS Eight Count (Hamlet x Ajoutez la mère), who finished fourth in the CCI3*L at Adelaide in April, stepped up to four-star level and contested the CCN4*S at Tamworth in July followed by the CCN4*S at Sydney last month. Quirindi was the combination’s first international-level four-star and they’ll no doubt be exciting to watch progress at the level.
“Quirindi was a great run for Eight Count, as it was another four-star run under his belt and the cross country had a variety of combinations throughout the course that were very answerable for the horses – yet were enough of a question,” says Sam. “It was a great preparation event for him in the lead up to our big goal, which is the CCI4*L at Sydney 3DE (22-24 November).”
Sam has been competing Eight Count – known at home as ‘Lloyd’ – for around two and half years now. “He was actually given to me by a lovely lady called Nicola Gilbert, who bred him,” explains Sam. “Unfortunately for Nicola, he was quite the bucker and got a fair few people off, which of course worked in my favour when I got a phone call asking if I wanted to try him. He definitely tried with me but wasn’t successful, so he soon realised that wasn’t the aim of the game and away he went.
“He’s a beautiful strong type by Hamlet,” continues Sam, adding this his scope and trainability are the horse’s biggest strengths. “There is still lots to learn between the two of us, but he has the ability to master all three phases. He is ticking all the boxes so far and I’m very excited about him.”
The CCI3*S went to Christine Bates riding Nicola Rockwell’s eight-year-old warmblood Bloomfield Findon, with the pair finishing on their dressage score of 29.7. In second place was Hannah Deegan and HK Hawthorn on 35.9, while Andrew Barnett and Oscar Park Deluge finished third on 36.1.
In the CCI2*S, the success continued for Sam Woods – this time with El Dorado, a nine-year-old gelding by JB Evolution out of Equus Grace, and owned by Bruce Buswell and Tekira Wilde. Sam and El Dorado led throughout to finish on their dressage score of 32.6.
“I’ve only ridden El Dorado for the past two weeks, so this win was definitely a bonus this weekend!” says Sam. “Unfortunately, Teki has had some trouble cross country on him, so we thought I could be a good suit to get things rolling. He is a lovely horse and gave me a great feel so we will see where things go.”
Second In the CCI2*S went to Judith Clarke and Oaks Quasimodo on their dressage score of 35.1, while third went to Stuart Tinney and Fernhill Aisling Star on 36.3.
