Aussie Raiders Hunt For More Spoils

Showjumping Canterbury 3* Championship Show

National Equestrian Centre, McLeans Island

February 15-17

Aussie Raiders Hunt For More Spoils

The Australian raiders will be on the hunt for more spoils as the Show Jumping Canterbury Three Star Championship Show gets underway tomorrow (Friday) at the National Equestrian Centre, McLeans Island.

Following their successes at the NZ National Show Jumping Championships at week ago, Canterbury Community Trust NZ Senior Horse champion Billy Raymont and his Kiwi bred Thoroughbred Stardom head the Aussie line-up.

Raymont and Stardom are one of eight starters, dominated by Aussies hoping for success in the Bayer Super League Senior Horse Championship. He is joined by fellow Aussies James Arkins on Dreamtime Invader, Sarah Isbister on Little Britton, Rory Hovell on his impressive stallion Val D’Isere, and Alison Rowland on her younger mare Bickley Brook Bianca.

Local hopes will rest with Ross Smith (Burnham) and Quite Cassini, a world cup round winner this season, looking to improve on his performances at the national championships where he finished just out of the placings. The final contender is Mosgiel’s Claudia Hay and Euro Sport Heartbreaker, who will be also looking for an improved performance.

The One Star Horse Grand Prix for the Marion Kelly Memorial Trophy will also be a tough battle with three Australians set to tackle seven of the South Island’s best.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated battles of the weekend will be the 13-strong Pony Grand Prix, where Christchurch teen Steffi Whittaker and Moonlight Glow will be eyeing another big win over leading North Islanders Melanie Weal (Te Awamutu) on Hopeful Illusion, and Emily Fraser (Waipukurau) on Tony The Pony and Tiger Tale LS. The three clashed in the National Championships last weekend with Whittaker coming up victorious, but you can bet Fraser and Weal are determined not to go home empty handed as they have their own personal battle for the top of the national pony grand prix series leaderboard.

Undoubtedly though, the most competitive classes will be the CRT Real Estate 120cm and Tru Test 110m Futurity Stakes, boasting a combined prizemoney of $6000. Thirty-four are set to do battle in the Tru Test Futurity Stakes, while 29 are down to start in the CRT Real Estate 120cm Futurity Stakes.

The Tru Test Group Futurity Stakes is for 1.10m horses that have not been placed first, second or third in a 1.20m class from the start of the season through to December 31 2012, while the CRT Real Estate Futurity Stakes for 1.20m horses that have not been placed first, second or third at 1.30m or over up till December 31. The qualifying rounds are run over a 1.10m and 1.20m tracks and are separate competitions in their own right with the top 10 placings going into the finals on Sunday which are run over 1.20m and 1.30m courses respectively.

The show also has a full complement of other series and age group classes.

Action gets underway today from 8.30am and runs through to Sunday. Entry to the grounds is FREE, and food and refreshments will be available.

ENDS

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