Julie Davey and LT Holst Freda at Show Jumping Waitemata, FEI World Cup League Final 2025 Photo/ Christine Cornege/ Cornege Photography
The prestigious Takapoto Estate is playing host to the opening qualifier of the FEI World Cup Series (NZ League).
Sunday’s qualifier will be designed by Isabel Rothenberger (GER) and is set to run on the APL Grass Arena at around 1pm. While the field is somewhat compact, with eight combinations entered, it does include Julie Davey (Hastings) aboard LT Holst Freda, who won the 2024-2025 World Cup (NZ) series and currently holds the Olympic Cup, along with Sophie Scott with Normandy GHP and Benrose Stellar. It was Sophie and Stellar who won the 2024-2025 final and placed third in the series. Her biggest challenge last season was nominating the right horse for the points.
Julie Davey and Freda were third in the New Zealand League final and won the series on countback from Luke Dee and Gangster WW. Julie and Freda bagged their only World Cup win in Tamworth, Australia, in August 2024 but were consistently top four in New Zealand.
Freda, who is the daughter of World Cup Series and New Zealand final winner LT Holst Andrea, has been a hugely consistent horse for Julie right through the grades.
“She seems fit and well,” says Julie. “Probably my only concern – and it will be the same for everyone – is that we are doing a lot of big jumping in a short period of time, so it will be harder on us all.”
The combination had their first premier league start last week at Hawke’s Bay, for a win.
Julie’s priority is always on clear rounds and she figures if you go clear you will be somewhere near the front. “The downside of having the qualifiers all so close together is that there is not a lot of time to get them right if they are unwell.”
She remembers years back when the qualifiers were close together but with up to 13 rounds, you didn’t have to compete at all of them.
This season four of the five competition results count towards each rider’s final score.
Sophie and Normandy won the World Cup qualifier in Tamworth (AUS) in August and the showy chestnut has been third in his only other starts which were also both in Australia.
Benrose Stellar has nine World Cup starts to her credit with two wins, a second and two thirds.
Makenzie Causer (Christchurch) is bringing her imported mount Dolce Del Colle to Takapoto. They have two World Cup starts to their credit for a sixth and a seventh.
Oamaru young gun Emma Gillies is bringing Lafayet Ego Z north too, with their only World Cup start in Tamworth (AUS) in August.
Kimberley Carrington (Takapau) aboard her homebred stallion Double J Typhoon, Tristan Thomas (Rotorua) with Matai Zarite, and Sophie Fourie (Taranaki) on Incendivity HSH are all on debut in the top international class.
FEI level 3 designer Isabel Rothenberger is the daughter of Frank, one of the most respected and renowned course designers in the world. It’s not her first time to New Zealand and she says her father has told her many “funny and nice things only” about a country he has visited often.
“I started course designing when I was 25,” says Isabel. “My father taught me everything about course building and still gives me advice today which I am very grateful for. For me the most important thing is to build nice lines that horse and rider can find a good rhythm.”
She lives in Herford, north-west Germany, where she runs a company with Frank and her brother Gerrit called IsiTrade, producing jumping obstacles for clients worldwide.
Isabel rode up to 1.4m but now has two youngsters who she competes at the 1-1.2m level. “I am very excited to be coming to New Zealand.”
The next qualifier is back at Takapoto on November 7 and will again be designed by Isabel, followed by qualifier number three at the Taupo World Cup Show (November 29) with Australian Mark Atkins as the designer, and the last qualifier is at the Central and Southern Hawke’s Bay Showjumping and Show Hunter Championships at Dannevirke (January 10) where Heather McDonald is designing. The final is being held as part of the Waitemata Premier Jumping Festival at Woodhill Sands (January 18) where Canadian designer Peter Holmes is back to challenge the field.
The winner of the New Zealand series has the opportunity to travel to the world final in Fort Worth, Texas in April. Luke Dee and Gangster WW represented New Zealand at the world final this year in Switzerland, finishing 31st.
WHAT: FEI World Cup Qualifier (NZ League) – round 1
WHEN: November 2, 2025
WHERE: Takapoto Estate Spring Cups 2025, Takapoto Estate, Maungatautari, Waikato
START LISTS AND RESULTS: https://main-events.com/event/12292/takapoto-estate-spring-cup-2025-event-1/classlist/122855/20-fei-jumping-world-cuptm-qualifier-article-27
Diana Dobson
October 30, 2025