With hundreds of primary and secondary school riders converging on Werribee Park lat week the tension and excitement has been palpable. Life in the "Olympic village" this year has been VERY cold each night but luckily we were blessed with clear sunny days.
Enjoying the sun and social life in the "Olympic village"
The focus was not just on any one discipline – there were lots of sections available for the riders; enough to keep everyone very busy for 5 days! Primary School students who may be up and coming eventers had a chance to compete in Combined Training in the Primary 35cm, Primary 45cm, Primary 60cm, or Primary 80cm (Intro) sections. These students completed their dressage phase on Wednesday and their jumping phase on Thursday.
Abby Plant competing in the Primary Combined Training 45cm
In the Primary 35cm section, the winner was Georgia May from Christian College Geelong, who had finished 2nd after dressage but secured pole position with a clear showjumping round. The 45cm CT was a National Qualifier and the first 4 place getters in this section were Lucy Peters (Kardinia International College), Sammi Browell (Strathfieldsaye Primary School), followed by Abby Plant and Brooke Mance (both from Haileybury). The 60cm CT (also a National Qualifier) did not see many changes of positions from the dressage phase with Natasha Moody (Toorak College) taking the lead ahead of Madison Phuah (Templestowe Park Primary School), Paris Graham (Lara Lake Primary School), and Lucy Moate (Christian College Geelong). Courtney Thompson appeared in the top four on both of her rides in the primary Intro section, taking out 1st place on Monty and 4th on Danny Boy. Courtney also went on to win State Champion for Primary Combined Training.
Brook Mance competing in the Primary Combined Training 45cm
We are looking forward to seeing these kids out eventing in the coming years!
The secondary students completing Combined Training can choose from Secondary 65cm, Secondary Intro, Secondary Prelim, Secondary Pre Novice and Secondary 1* sections. These students completed their dressage phase on Thursday and jumping on Friday. With the large number of entries, the 65cm CT was split into 2 sections with about 23 riders in each section and both of these divisions saw little changes in the top spots after dressage. Division 1 was won by Steph Nicholson (The Geelong College), whilst Division 2 was taken out by Carly Ayers (Lara Secondary College). The story was much the same in the Secondary Intro section, with both divisions showing no changes in the top four placings after dressage (this must mean we have some great jumping horses out there!). Top spot in the Intro Division 1 was Sally Shaw (Geelong College), and in Intro Division 2 the blue ribbon went to Alex Brennan (Belcombe Grammar School).
Alex Mitchell, competing in the Secondary Prelim
The increased level of difficulty for the higher levels saw the expected drop in number of entries, with just one Division in each of Prelim, Pre-Novice and 1* sections. This was also where we started to see some changes in the top spots after jumping; first place on a clear round in the Prelim section went to Jessica Grant (Ivanhoe Grammar School), Marlee Carter (Mt Lilydale Mercy College) won the Pre-Novice section and Katelyn Thompson (Bayside Christian College) took out the 1* level.
Monique Brown competing in the Secondary 1*
Whilst none of the Secondary CT sections were national qualifiers, they were a great training run for many, and were also a great way to be involved in the schools team competition that took place this week. For some of these riders who also love their eventing they now head home to prepare for their return to Werribee next weekend to contest the Melb3DE Fundraiser and Interschools Qualifier Horse Trials taking place on July 20 and 21.
Article by Wendy Jeffree and photos by Fiona Thompson
