Jessie O’ Connell, Jasmine Denison and Brooke Langerbecker on the Young Rider podium.
© Suzannah Willis
By Suzannah Willis
Friday and Saturday at Aquis Champions Tour has involved sunshine, hot weather and lots of jumping. Fridays classes were highly competitive for most of the tour riders, who were trying to secure their spot in their respective finals. The day began with the first of the Junior Qualifiers in the Greg Grant Saddlery Arena. The course was set at 1.20m and was a Two-Phase competition. Only six combinations managed to jump double clear however, Sally Simmonds from Bourke in New South Wales won the class by beating the nearest time by more than 4 seconds, followed by Izabella Dobson and Tulara Corango in 2nd and Jess Rice-Ward and new ride Dusky Farm Cavalier.
Katie Laurie and Casebrooke Lomond after winning the Gold qualifier 2.
© Suzannah Willis
The second qualifier for the Gold Tour, incorporated the new Teams League Challenge. Show organizers Michelle Lang-Mchmahon and Peter McMahon devised the new initiative to encourage the growth of the sport. The teams idea is loosely based off the Global Champions League in Europe and offers up $20,000 for the class.
Junior lineup.
© Suzannah Willis
The teams were made up of three riders, each with a Chef de Equipe and associated with a corporate sponsor. The idea is to get riders use to riding in teams more often and create a more televisable event. The corporate sponsors included Prydes Easifeed, Kolora Lodge, Mazda, Trailrace, New Zealand Performance Horses (NZPH), Coolmoore Stud, International Racehorse Transport (IRT), Magic Millions and Aquis. As there were only three riders on each team, it meant that there was no drop score and created pressure for each rider. In the end, the all girls team for NZPH were victorious ahead of Team Aquis and Team Trailrace came in third.
For the individuals, Katie Laurie and Casebrooke Lomond won the class, followed by local favourite Billy Raymont and Anton, with Kate Hinschen continuing her great form to pick up third.
Progressive Rider winner Alyssa Ho.
© Suzannah Willis
The final class in the main ring on Friday was the Silver Tour Second Qualifier. International course builder Klaus-Wilhelm Holle built a complicated track for the Two-Phase event. Chris Chugg and PSS Levilensky took out the win, followed by Rhys Stones on Tulara Colmar and young rider Madeline Sinderberry and Oaks Cosmo in third. ?
Next, Saturday made up the 8th day of competition held at the Aquis Champions Tour and involved some of the major finals. First up was the Young Rider Final which incorporated the first round of the Stal Tops Australian Young Rider Series. It was a fantastic class to watch with two clear in the first round, however only Jessie O’Connell could produce the double clear to take out the win on her Cassis Ten Halven Z. This was followed by Victorian Jasmine Dennison in second and then local rider Brooke Langbecker in third.?
The next class in the Greg Grant Saddlery Arena was the Silver Final, which took the top 30 riders into the class and had a course set at 145-150cm. After the first round, they took 8 back; 7 clear rounds and Katie Laurie who was on one time penalty. In the end, Stephen Dingwall on Cavalier Du Rouet won in the quickest time, followed by Tom McDermott and Elegance De La Charmille and then Katie Laurie and On the Point Eve in third. ?
In the Fiber Fresh arena, the Junior Second Qualifer was held to determine who will go through to the final on Sunday. Sally Simonds continued her great form with Oaks Chifley to take the win, followed by Libby James and then Sarah West. The final class for the arena on Saturday afternoon was the Progressive Rider Final, which was taken out by Alyssa Ho and her long-time partner Along Came Polly. ?
Sunday is the final day of competition which will see the Gold Final go ahead; which has $125,000 in prize money on offer and will attract riders from all over Australia. There will be a livestream available for the classes tomorrow which is on the Elysian Fields facebook page. ?
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