A committed call by Eventing Wellington paid off last weekend, with a successful autumn trial at Queen Elizabeth Park run against a backdrop of variable weather conditions.
Puddled ground water (read – several small lakes) in the parking paddock on Friday temporarily threatened to derail the infrastructure of the event, although the free draining course itself was never at risk. With the forecast of more rain to come over the following 48 hours, an onsite meeting on Saturday determined that we could and should still run on the Sunday and – thanks to wise heads and institutional knowledge of the track – we did.
A couple of reasonably substantial downpours, even during the dressage, didn’t make matters any worse, and by the afternoon’s cross country it was a beautiful warm afternoon with excellent footing.
After decades of working out of less than optimal conditions including caravans, trucks and marquees, the EW Committee is thrilled to be able to benefit from a beautiful building constructed by the property owner Greater Wellington Regional Council. “Ramaroa” is designed as a visitor centre for the extremely popular QEP, and, given the uncertainty of the weather, proved the perfect place for event competitors and officials alike.
Eight classes ran without a hitch, from the Versatile Homes & Buildings CNC2* (congratulations to Holly Rose and Pampero) through to the three divisions of 80cm. Eventing Wellington is keen to continue strengthening its reputation among this grade of rider, as a place to get started in ESNZ Eventing, thanks to fantastic sponsorship from Versatile, RXVET, Abby Long Eventing, Farmlands, Equest-Zoetis, Rural Trading Post and Neeta Patch.
It was also the culmination of the Zilco Points series, run across 4 competitions organized by Eventing Wellington and Battle Hill Eventing. Zilco is a long standing and much appreciated sponsor of all equestrian sport.
Full results are available on Equestrian Entries.