Hearn wins Sydney CDI Grand Prix Freestyle

Sue Hearn riding Remmington won the Sydney CDI Grand Prix Freestlye in front of a packed indoor arena at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre on Saturday evening.

It is the first time Hearn has won the prestigious title and the Rio hopeful said it was a dream come true.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time," said Hearn. "My beautiful horse is just getting better all the time and I’m really stoked with how he performed tonight.

“I want to thank everyone who came tonight, it’s such a good feeling to have so many people in the stands,” she said.

Hearn's score of 71.28 was enough to edge out John Thompson and JHT Antonello who finished second with a score of 70.53.

Four-time Sydney CDI winning combination Heath Ryan and Regardez Moi entertained the crowds with their popular freestyle routine which topped the leaderboard early on and the pair led at the interval. Their score of 69.95 saw them finish third overall.

Earlier in the afternoon World Equestrian Games representative Brett Parbery won the Intermediate Freestyle in fashion, scoring 70.575% with the imported Danish Warmblood Chestnut Larenso which he and owner Julie Farrell found on a mountain in the South of France.

“We first saw him on YouTube,” explains Parbery.

“Julie (Farrell) and I then flew over to France and we tested him and after the first day I said to Julie, we’ve wasted our time. But we rode him again the next day and I said, he’s a bit better, and by the fourth day we couldn’t get him on the plane fast enough.

“He’s the most delightful horse and I absolutely adore him,” he said.

A jumping accumulator prior to the main event got the audience excited and was won by Andrew Inglis riding Licaviv. The combination was the first pair to enter the arena and they set the pace early on producing a clear and precise round.

Results