Australian eventer
Megan Jones has added yet another victory to her impressive resume with a win at Werribee in the CCI3* on Kirby Park Allofasudden last weekend.
Already this season Jones, with her home-bred Irish sport horse Kirby Park Irish Jester, has won the New Zealand and Australian HSBC FEI World Cup qualifiers, adding to her Olympic team silver last year. Jones and Irish Jester also won the Melbourne event last year.
Last weekend, Jones was second after the dressage, narrowly beaten by Christopher Burton on Holstein Park Leilani, but was the only rider in the class to finish on her dressage score.
"He felt a really mature confident horse that knew his job," said Jones. "The plan now is to give him a short break and then hopefully do Adelaide."
The cross-country was designed by Ewen Kellett and it had some new fences but basically followed the same pattern. "It rode really well," she said, "I thought it may have caused more trouble than it did."
A beautiful display of riding in the show jumping secured second place for Stuart Tinney and Watermark Grayson. The pair was third after the dressage and added just 0.8 cross-country time faults to their score.
"He performed above our expectations in all three phases. He stayed really relaxed did the best test that he has ever done and cross-country he was just lovely," said Tinney. "It was his first three star so I will just look to consolidate him at this level."
After a lovely clear cross-country round Christopher Burton was still leading the class after day two but three rails and two time faults in the final phase relegated him to a sixth place finish.
Third place-getters Emma Scott and Mustang proved that they are combination to be taken seriously. Fourth after the dressage, clear with 0.8 time faults on the cross-country and a clear show jumping round was an impressive performance from the 23-year-old.
Victoria Luxford, 20, and Perfect Encounter rose from seventh place after the dressage to win the CCI2*. A clear cross-country and one rail was good enough to oust the leaders, New Zealand's Elizabeth Brown and Henton Attorney General who were one of many combinations in the CCI2* to fall victim to the show jumping course. Brown had only one rail but an expensive seven time faults saw her slip from the lead after cross-country to third place. Christopher Burton and Kolora Stud Secrets started the weekend in second place and there they finished. Two rails did not move him down at all. In fact the show jumping results were more like cricket scores. There were only two clear rounds in the entire class (Stuart Tinney on Orchard Hill and Helen Goddard on Kilburi Mambo).
Show jumping Course Designer David Sheppard said, "The tracks were reasonably tough for all the classes and the surface was a little dead."
Sheppard said he used to build easier tracks for eventing, with easier distances, "but now I am inclined to make them more testing like a normal show jumping track as it should be a real test. The better trained horses should get the better result."
"The two star course looked fine, it was technical enough. But it is indoor and it is tight and the gear is quite light. Basically it highlights any problems and it is just harder indoors," Stuart Tinney said.
Katja Weimann and her 10-year-old Pluto Mio lead the CCI1* from start to finish. Katja had one rail down on the final day but luckily she had a 5.8 penalty lead because the next five riders in the class finished on their dressage scores. Finishing in second place was Emma Scott and Jenbern Monyana and third went to Christopher Burton and Jaybee Calypso.
Facebook
Twitter
HOME SITES 
