Andrew Cooper and Doubled Vision on course
Andrew Cooper defied the odds at Tonimbuk Horse Trials last weekend by being the only rider in the CIC classes to make the time on this unique course.
He did have the advantage of having ridden horses in the CIC3* and CIC2* but it was still quite an achievement and one that brought him up from 12th after the dressage on the 12 year old thoroughbred gelding Doubled Vision previously ridden by Mietta Innes-Irons
“I thought that the time for the 2* and 3* horses was nearly impossible – and I think it was – and this horse isn’t doing Wandin so I just set out to make the time and see if we could win”
Andrew Cooper
Andrew is correct that the indoor show jumping arena was influential; in the CIC1* only four jumped double clear out of 34 competitors and six were eliminated in this phase. In the CIC2* only the winner Katja Weimann and Andrew jumped double clear rounds with 10 of the 22 competitors having time faults and in the CIC3* only Andrew on the ‘monster’ ex-showjumper Tasman Park Ovation and Rob Palm’s Halcyon Dark Secret jumped double clear.
Andrew may have been the only one to make the time on cross country in the CIC1* but Sophie Fox on the thoroughbred cross country machine Practice Makes Perfect came close with just 1.6 time penalties and a recent winner at Geelong, another thoroughbred, QWilliam finished with 4 time.
Ben Tyson and Equine Affair Cassanova gave it a good crack to finish in the second place they held after dressage while Katie Slocombe and George I moved up from 14th after dressage with one of the four double show jumping clear rounds and 6.8 time penalties on course.
Tess Storey on Hunter Brown
But the big jump came from Tess Storey on Hunter Brown to move from 25th after the dressage into eighth place to win the top placed CIC1* Interschool competitor as well as the Off The Track Award from Racing Victoria for the best performed ex-racehorse
This was the first CIC1* start for the 14 year old thoroughbred and 16 year old Tess riding for Mansfield Secondary College
