Emily Cammock and Shaw Lee – winners of the CCI4*-S at McLeans Island 13-14 September 2019 Photo: Jane Thompson
Emily Cammock has won yet another Eventing Canterbury class on Shaw Lee, after taking out the 4* class today. The pair jumped brilliantly all through the course, albeit a bit slow but Emily is aiming the horse for more honours later in the spring, with the South Island Three Day Event on her radar in just under a month’s time.
Emily was very pleased with her thoroughbred, especially after following on from two classy performances yesterday in the dressage and show jumping phases. “The rain didn’t worry him yesterday, he was as happy as, he felt really confident. Today I didn’t go fast at all and he was awesome, he jumped really well and he feels absolutely fantastic.”
Emily, who is on New Zealand’s High Performance Potential squad has recently had some lessons with one of eventing’s high performance coaches, Jeff McVean. “While he didn’t tell me anything massive, he made me realised that I knew in my own mind what I wanted to achieve,” said Emily. “I just needed someone on the ground to tell me how to make it happen.”
Leading from go to whoa is always quite a feat in eventing, and there were three others besides Emily who managed this achievement this weekend. Amberley’s Grace Gormack on her lovely grey Rosewood Zakee won the Melwood Equestrian CCN80- S Under 21 Year class, Waipara’s Courtney Davis and her young horse Reason to Believe won the Rangiora Equestrian Supplies CCN80 class, and Christchurch’s Lucy Cochrane and her very consistent Gymanji won the Continuous Spouting CCN105 – S Under 21 class.
Rebecca Smithey and SD Amourosi took out the Bates Saddles CCI3* class, adding just a few cross country time faults to her dressage score. She is also aiming her ten-year old gelding for next month’s three day event. “He stepped up to this level halfway through last season, and he finds it way too easy!” While her team is going so well at the moment, she is still planning on heading overseas in January next year and is going to sell her horses prior to then. “I am going to work for Joe Meyer for three months in the US and then on to the UK for two years.” The results today for Rebecca should make that sale process a bit easier as not only did she win the 3* class, she was also second and fourth in the Hobson Horse Coaches & Motor Homes CCN105 class on Mr O Likely and SD Penamour respectively. That class was won by the West Coast’s Eve Hawes on Spookee Possum, who finished on their dressage score to take the win.
S D Amourosi, and Rebecca Smithey Photo: Jane Thompson
Annabelle Jones and Braxton Boy are have impressed many for some time and their excellent performance this weekend saw them ending at the top of the Ultimate Design & Renovation LTD CCI2* class. Annabelle was also 10th on her other horse, Quintero. Rebecca Wardle also deserves a mention for being third and fourth in this class on Dingmac Eccles and Dingmac Disco King, who is just a small pony competing against much bigger horses.
Other class winners who obviously enjoyed doing their cross country in the sunshine today after the dismal conditions yesterday were Brodie Roberts and Dodge Royale, Gemma Lewis on RMS Samson, and Raquel Cook on Southern Triumph.
The next Eventing Canterbury challenge is the South Island Three Day event held at the National Equestrian Centre, McLeans Island from 11-13 October.
By Jane Thompson