Cameron outclasses field in World Cup Qualifier
David Cameron of Glossodia and RR Dyranta posted the only double clear round to comfortably win the prestigious Sydney Grand Prix World Cup Qualifier CSI-W at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Cameron was delighted saying “in my opinion this is one of the most difficult and best world cups to win” when praising his horse he said “she started the season as a green mini prix horse but has gotten better and better, she is a great indoor and outdoor horse”
Cameron is having a stellar season with the imported RR Dyranta owned by the Martin family. They won the Australian National Titles, the Wodonga World Cup Qualifier and now the Summer Classic World Cup Qualifier.
Course designer Leopoldo Palacios build a technical first round course with oxers around the 1.45m mark and verticals 1.50m high. Palacios thought the course was “tough enough” he was hoping for 2 clear first rounds. This was the most competitors entered in this event in the history of the Summer Classic with 27 starters.
The track certainly proved challenging with the early riders drawing many rails. The influential lines were the open water to an airy vertical oxer combination and a four stride line to a double of verticals.
The first clear round of the competition belonged to the Central Coast farrier Nic Carraro and Colombo. Carraro rode a fantastic round, making his decisions early and giving the horse every chance to jump clear and Colombo absolutely rose to the occasion. This was all the more an incredible achievement as this was the largest track the pair had faced.
Cameron posted the second clear shortly after with RR Dyranta, the mare showed her quality as Cameron pushed her in the lines but she kept all the rails up.
Victorian rider Stephen Hill with the difficult ride Yalambis Bellinis Star looked to be the third clear and the crowd was riding with him through the last line, but he crossed the finish he was slightly over the time allowed to incur just the one time penalty.
8 riders were invited back for the second round which saw a raised and shortened course. Palacios said “the second round is not so technical but it is much bigger.” The verticals were up to 1.60m in height and the final oxer 1.52m high and 1.75m wide.
Tom McDermott was first to go carrying 8 penalties from the first round with Airtime Z and threw down the gauntlet posting a clear in the time of 70.56 seconds. McDermott held the lead while the rails fell for the following riders. When McDermott returned with his second ride SL Limerick, he was attempting to defend his title from last year and give the riders to come no margin for error. McDermott was carrying 4 penalties from the first round and another rail fell but he was fast enough to put himself into provisional first and second place.
The pressure was on for the final 3 riders. Stephen Hill and Yalambi’s Bellini Star were clearing the jumps with scope to burn and went into the lead with a single rail and time penalty, however these faults gave the last two riders breathing space.
When Nic Carraro with Colombo entered the Olympic Arena it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. This combination was definitely the underdog in the final 8. The excitement was mounting in the crowd as he came into the last line on a clear score and a collective groan rang out across the arena as the A and B elements in the treble fell. Carraro finished on a total of 9 which put him behind Hill and McDermott.
Cameron was the final rider to enter the arena and with a rail and time penalty up his sleeve he had a slight margin for error. There was no mistake as he turned to the last line and galloped to the last fence leaving all the rails up in a time of 73.05 seconds to convincingly claim the win and finish a remarkable year of success with RR Dyranta.
The events in the Olympic Arena in the morning were the finals for the Super Juniors, the Mini Prix and the Young Riders. All of these classes took the top 20 competitors from the two qualifying competitions.
20 riders started in the Wentworth Saddles Mini Prix Final with Leopoldo Palacios designing a long, technical track to test the horses and riders on the final day of the show. The most influential section of the course proved to be airy oxer, vertical, vertical treble combination at the end of the course in front of the grandstand with most horses taking a rail through this line.
The first clear came from the eighth competitor in the ring, Queenslander Billy Raymont and his consistently performed imported mare Cecil, owned by the Ansell family. It proved to be the only clear of the entire competition and enough for Raymont to triumph in the Wentworth Saddles Mini Prix Final.
Testament to Palacios’ skilful course building, Raymont said “it was a tough track but it developed the horses, this has been a big step up for the mare but she has developed over the weekend.”
7 combinations posted 4 fault rounds to just miss out on making the jump off. The fastest of the 4 fault combinations was Jennifer Wood of Cudal and Sweetshot who finished in a time of 74.10 seconds, from Tom McDermott and Laguna Beach who won both qualifying competitions but once again the treble proved influential and caught McDermott out and he finished on 4 in a time of 77.07.
The Young Rider Final saw the 23 qualified combinations face a difficult course with similar lines to the Mini Prix, which tested the adjustability of horses and the rider’s decision making skills. The course opened with the imposing red Uluru themed wall. 7 riders showed their skill posting clears and returning for the jump off.
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