Phillip Lever takes out Australian Jumping Senior Title

The 2024 Australian Jumping Championships were held last week on the beautiful south coast of NSW at the exceptional equestrian facility Willinga Park. Held over 5 days we saw classes run over two arenas, with the Championships (Childrens, Junior, Young Rider and Senior) held on the main showjumping arena in front of a huge crowd.

The feature class of the show, the final of the Australian Senior Championship Final was run on Saturday afternoon. Phillip Lever and Billionaire NZPH came into the class on zero penalties and stayed that way after their first-round ride. Coming into the final on four penalties were Gemma Creighton and Dada Des Brimbelles Z, who also had a clear round to stay on four. In the second round, Gemma produced her second clear of the day to put some real pressure on the last combination to come, Phillip Lever and Billionaire NZPH. Unfortunately for them, they managed to collect their first rail of the show, which put them also on four penalties, leaving us with a tie for first place. After a quick check with the judges it was announced that we were going to see a two-way jump off.

The course was quickly re-arranged and first out came Gemma and Dada Des Brimbelles Z, who gave it an almighty shot. They had a near perfect round except for just a single brick, nudged off the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge wall. When Phil and Billionaire NZPH came out, they knew exactly what they needed to do to take the title, but could they do it? Riding under great pressure, they came out and completed a perfect round, collecting zero penalties and claiming the title on the way. It was a fantastic competition and one that will live long in the memories of those there to witness it. 

This Australian Jumping Championships was a fantastic event and will go down in history as one of the best. Full results at https://online.equipe.com/shows/67097