The 2026/27 FEI Jumping World Cup Australian League season began in Victoria over the weekend, with the NVSJC CSI1* World Cup Festival in Shepparton hosting the opening leg.
Two combinations jumped clear around the David Sheppard-designed track during round one of the Southern Cross Event Hire CSI1* World Cup Qualifier: Sarah McMillan riding Tyrone and Amber Fuller with Cadenza NZPH. A further eight combinations had a single rail.
Both combinations again produced faultless performances in the second round, with McMillan and Tyrone crossing the finish in 48.93 seconds to edge out Fuller and Cadenza NZPH’s 49.14 seconds.
It was McMillan and Tyrone’s second World Cup victory in Shepparton, with the pair claiming their breakthrough World Cup win at the same event in 2023.
A further five combinations where also clear in round two, ultimately finishing on four faults (their round one scores) to battle it out for the minor placings.
Madeline Sinderberry and Camie Z were the quickest (46.66 seconds) and placed third, ahead of Sam Overton claiming fourth with Oaks Cassanova (47.490) and sixth with Conchita Van De Helle (49.310), Rhys Stones and Riverton Kanntador (48.350) finished between them in fifth, and Jack Barker with Bellhaven Callisco was seventh (50.340).
Sarah and Tyrone
Sarah McMillan has had a fantastic few years in the saddle. Named the 2022 Australian World Cup League Rookie of the Year, she now has three World Cup wins under her belt with Tyrone VDL.
Speaking to Equestrian Life in December 2024, Sarah explained how she ended up with the now-16-year-old gelding by Cardento, who was formerly campaigned by James Harvey.
“At the time, I only had young horses and Dad was super keen on the idea of Tyron … so in the middle of Covid we drove down and crossed the Victorian/New South Wales border an hour or two before they closed it. I was really sick with strep throat at the time. I had my first ride on him and that night I was so sick that I kept saying to Dad, ‘I have to go to hospital’. I wasn’t sick enough to not have a second ride on Tyrone the following day though!
“He has just been amazing. [This partnership] sort of wildly fit like a glove. Don’t get me wrong, at the start it was hard; he was a tough ride to nail, but we got it together pretty quickly and he has been great.”
Read more: SARAH MCMILLAN’S FUN METHODOLOGY – Equestrian Life, December 2024
2026/27 FEI Jumping World Cup Australian League season
Focus remains in Victoria but shifts south to Werribee, with Dressage and Jumping with the Stars hosting the second leg of the 2026 FEI Jumping World Cup Australian League season on 21 March.
Shepparton (VIC): 14 March 2026
Werribee (VIC): 21 March 2026
Caboolture (QLD): 27 June 2026
Sydney (NSW): 22 August 2026
Bawley Point (NSW): 12 September 2026
Tamworth (NSW): 10 October 2026
Mangrove Mountain (NSW): 18 October 2026
Sydney (NSW): 24 October 2026
Boneo (VIC): 8 November 2026
2025/26 FEI Jumping World Cup Final
The 2025/26 FEI Jumping World Cup Australian League was won by Phillip Lever, whose season points were all accrued riding Deirdre Hartog’s gelding Billionaire NZPH. By winning the overall Australian League series, Phil and ‘Brown’ are qualified to contest the FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Fort Worth, Texas (8–12 April 2026), should they choose to accept the invitation and travel.
Full results from the Shepparton CSI1* FEI World Cup Qualifier can be found here.
