Series’ Finals Attracts Top Combos From the Nation Over   26 Mar 2015

Series’ Finals Attracts Top Combos From the Nation Over

It’s the grand finale of New Zealand’s jumping season with the Glistening Waters Showjumping Championships starting in Masterton tomorrow (Friday).

Eleven titles are up for grabs during the first two days of the three-day show, with a special awards dinner to honour the champions.

The Equestrian Sports New Zealand Grand Final Show 2015 has attracted entries from as far afield as Balclutha in the south and Auckland in north.

Two hundred riders and their 300 horses are expected to compete over the three days, chasing valuable final points for series’ honours.

Riders throughout New Zealand compete at more than 50 shows during the season, earning points toward this winner-take-all weekend. Some of the leaderboards are incredibly tight with riders knowing only their very best result at series’ finals will be enough to secure titles.
Others have seen bolt-away winners.

But either way, the very prestigious show is the last big one for the New Zealand showjumping season.

Included in the entries are a number of newly-crowned title holders from the recent Farmlands Horse of the Year Show, including Lisa Cubitt (Cambridge) who won the Lady Rider of the Year crown, Brooke Zander (Waipukurau) who won the Pro Amateur Rider of the Year title, Larina Dolman (Gisborne) the Seven Year Old of the Year title-holder, and the Young Rider of the Year Olivia Robertson (Christchurch), among other top riders like Helen McNaught-McFarlane (Taupo) and Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke).

Olympian Tinks Pottinger will do a public course walk around the premier league course on Saturday, for those keen to learn a little more about what will be the biggest jumps of the show.
The Wairarapa Area Showjumping Group was chosen out of the 20 ESNZ-affiliated groups to host the show. It is a new show for Wairarapa, who also host a major three-day show early in the season.

They have named it Glistening Waters in honour of the Maori translation of Wairarapa, with a logo that reflects the Tararua Ranges, Ruamahanga River and a horse.
The Jumping New Zealand Annual Awards dinner is on Saturday night where the season’s champs will be honoured.

The show will be live-streamed by EquestrianLive (www.equestrianlive.co.nz), with results available through www.main-events.com .

ends

Add a comment