Australia made a clean sweep of the 2026 Oceania Eventing Championships at the Adelaide Equestrian Festival, taking both the Senior and Young Rider (Under 25) team Championships.
In the Senior Championship, run as part of the CCI4*-S competition, the host country Australia presented two teams, and it was the Australian Gold Team, comprising Sophia Hill on Tulara Baltango, Hannah Klep on Tulara Chicouve, Sam Jeffree on Wimborne Conjuror and Shenae Lowings on Bold Venture that took the win.
Despite the withdrawal of their most experienced combination, Shenae and Bold Venture, who led after the dressage phase, the team completed with the remaining three team members to take the title on a combined score of 136.1.
Australia also took second place with their Green Team consisting of Andrew Barnett riding Oscar Park Deluge, Andrew Cooper riding Ocean Eight, Edward Darby riding Dawn of the Day and Charlee Morton-Sharp riding SV Supermaxi finishing on 157.9.
The New Zealand Oceania Senior Squad of Bridey Quigley riding Oranoa Greyson, Carys McCrory riding Nemesis, Charlotte Penny riding Carousel and Rebecca Wardle riding Dingmac Eccles took bronze with a combined score of 196.4.
All four of the Australian Young Rider team (Tahlia Pursell, Charlotte Lalak riding Along Comes Lucy, Georgia Elias riding Silverwoods Aussie Pride and Lamoza Velisha riding Call Me Cooley) finished in the top 10 of the CCI3*-L class to claim the Oceania Young Rider Championship.
It was a strong performance from the Australian team, headed by new chef d’equipe Hamish Cargill, finishing on a combined score of 105.8. Although New Zealand team (Tessa Bradcock riding Ceremony, Fabriana McQuarrie riding Oceanic, Holly McInnes riding Pop It and Scout Lodder riding Overnight Success) finished quite a way behind on a score 161.2, it was an invaluable experience for the young riders who travelled from New Zealand to take part.
“These trans-Tasman competitions are critical for our campaign preparations,”says Jock Paget, ESNZ High Performance Manager “They give riders the opportunity to travel horses to new environments, compete at foreign venues and learn to manage their equines in those environments – these are key skills.”
“It’s also about learning what it feels like to ride in a team. We want these competitions annually so we can expose our future championship riders to as much of that as possible.”
The Oceania Championships (then known as the Trans-Tasman Championship) was first held in Gawler, South Australia in 1985 when the Kiwi senior team triumphed. Since then, the honours have been shared with the last clash in 2024 at the Horse of the Year Show where Australia won the Senior Championship and New Zealand, the Young Rider Championship.
The Oceania Championships will return to the Adelaide Equestrian Festival in 2029
