Four-day show jumping spectacular starts today

Sam Morrison and Biarritz are in top form ahead of the four-day show jumping carnival at Tauranga Racecourse. PHOTO/Photosport

The show jumping event of the year begins todaywith the Farmer Audi 1.35m Classic at Tauranga Racecourse.

A top-class field of horses and riders have entered the event starting at 4pm before the three-day Bayleys North Island Show Jumping Championships take place from Friday to Sunday.

It is the last major event before the Horse of the Year Show in Hastings early next month.

Event organiser Sally Steiner said the Farmer Audi 1.35m Classic was an important class to open the show.

"For the people coming to the show it is the first big class of the show, and it has very good prize money. Some of the people are coming just for that class," she said.

Most of the top horses in the country would be at the show, she said.

Steiner said show jumping was in a healthy state in the Bay of Plenty. Shows such as the North Island Show Jumping Championships allowed local riders an insight into what was required to compete at a top-level.

Tauranga rider Sam Morrison would love to take out today's event and the three-day title.

The 22-year-old cleared the highest fence in her blossoming career so far when she was one of four riders named last week in the New Zealand Senior Show Jumping team to compete in Australia in March and April.

Last February she was the youngest rider named in Equestrian Sports New Zealand's High-Performance Accelerator squad and was now in the elite New Zealand team.

"It is the highlight of my career so far. It is the senior team out of all of New Zealand so everyone that jumped at World Cup could be picked. The best of the best got in so I was pretty happy with that."

Morrison would love to make the winner's circle at the Tauranga Racecourse on her outstanding 11-year-old gelding Biarritz.

"It is very important to be competing at home. The horses will be feeling good because they don't have to travel far and it is like representing my town in a way," she said.

Farmer Audi 1.35m Classic, Tauranga Racecourse, today 4pm
Bayleys North Island Show Jumping Championships
Tauranga Racecourse, Friday-Sunday8.30am-4.30pm daily