By Devon van Til 

Just a handful of dedicated Cantabrians took the long detour route to challenge the locals at Marlborough Show Jumping Show 4-5 November. Those who made the effort greatly enjoyed the show because of the lovely grounds and the pleasant atmosphere.

Although numbers were low in series classes, the quality of combinations kept the competition strong. In a ring tighter than usual course designer Lex Peddie challenged riders and created some exciting jump offs.

There were just two in the jump offs for both the Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Pro Am and Junior Rider, where the luck of the draw proved an advantage. Grace Manera and Vittoria were first out in the jump off of the Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Junior Rider and set the bar at 44.12 seconds.

Tayler Nalder and Icebreaker ll had luck on their side pulling off and inside turn to finish in 40.33 seconds nabbing their third win in the series.

In the Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Pro Am first in the jump off were Tamara Silcock and CoDicea, who is making a comeback from injury. Silcock produced a very polished clear in 41.44 seconds.

The pressure was on Devon van Til and Winterberg to follow in the footsteps of travel mate Nalder. The previous week’s training of angles and roll backs with Jen Hamilton was put into practice and resulted in van Til carving four seconds off Silcock’s time to secure the win.

The Mini Prix’s and the Grand Prix’s were won by the same riders, unusually held on separate days so that combinations could compete in both. Katie Meredith was out numbered by Tegan Fitzsimon in the Cavalleria Toscana Horse Mini Prix; however she still came out on top with Westgrove GNZ.

Still recovering from a broken collarbone Fitzsimon opted to start only Windermere Cappuccino in the Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Horse Grand Prix. The first start at this level for the seven year old was very successful, posting a double clear with a second round time of 43.11 seconds.

This put the pressure on Meredith who was also clear, but showed the combination’s experience finishing just one second faster. It was an owner’s affair ringside with Pauline Quigley watching ‘Baz’ in his first Grand Prix win and the Parkes family to watch ‘Vollie’ in his first Grand Prix start.

Grace Manera dominated in the pony classes wining the Canterbury Saddlery Pony Mini Prix aboard the experienced Rednalhgih Cowan producing the only double clear. In the Country TV Pony Grand Prix Manera scored the quinella, however her greener pony Tallyho Scoundrel stepped up into number one position this time.

It was a battle between the locals in the Caledonian Holdings Amateur Rider. Georgia Reid and Double J Escape managed to fend off Emma Pilcher with her two mounts. Reid produced an elegant clear round, whilst Pilcher finished with eight faults on each. That makes it two wins in a row for Reid and she’ll be looking for the third when she makes the long trip south for the South Island Championships in Ashburton this coming weekend.

RESULTS – Marlborough SJ

Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Horse Grand Prix: Katie Meredith (Ohoka) Westgrove GNZ 1, Tegan Fitzsimon (West Melton) Windermere Cappuccino 2.

Cavalleria Toscana Horse Mini Prix: Katie Meredith (Ohoka) Westgrove GNZ 1, Tegan Fitzsimon (West Melton) Double J Monarch 2, Tegan Fitzsimon (West Melton) Windermere Cappuccino 3.

Country TV Pony Grand Prix: Grace Manera (West Melton) Tallyho Scoundrel 1, Grace Manera (West Melton) Rednalhgih Cowan 2, Caitlin Adams (West Melton) Sushi 3, Olivia Adams (West Melton) Mr Black Magic 4.

Canterbury Saddlery Pony Mini Prix: Grace Manera (West Melton) Rednalhgih Cowan 1, Olivia Harkerss (Leeston) Cocamo 2, Olivia Adams (West Melton) Mr Black Magic 3, Grace Manera (West Melton) Tallyho Scoundrel 4, Amy Gibbs (Blenheim) Kennebrook Duchess 5, Olivia Adams (West Melton) Sweet Cappuccino 6. 

Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Pro Am: Devon van Til (Woodend Beach) Winterberg 1, Tamara Silcock (Nelson) CoDicea 2, Tamara Silcock (Nelson) Steal Magnolia 3.

Dunstan Horsefeeds & Equifibre Junior Rider: Tayler Nalder (Cust) Icebreaker ll 1, Grace Manera (West Melton) Vittoria 2, Amy Gibbs (Blenheim) Soho 3, Sophie Townsend (West Melton) Kingslea Kiwi 4, Olivia Harkerss (Leeston) Lacona Ammoe 5, Olivia Harkerss (Leeston) Astek Reformer 6.

Caledonian Holdings Amateur Rider: Georgia Reid (Blenheim) Double J Escape 1, Emma Pilcher (Blenheim) Snazzy As 2 Emma Pilcher (Blenheim) Ngahiwi Jitterbug