First young rider trophy win for them since 2017

UP AND OVER: New Zealand's Georgia Bouzaid and horse Aorangi Legato clear the bar at the Trans-Tasman Young RIder event at Showgrounds Park on Sunday. The Australians beat the Kiwis by a narrow three points to win the event.Picture by Paul Rickard

Australia marched off with the win in the Trans-Tasman Young Rider Test at Showgrounds Park, Gisborne, on Sunday.

They beat the Kiwis by just three points in the transtasman contest that was a feature of the Larsen Sawmilling 32nd Equestrian Championships.

It's the first time since 2017 the Australians have hoisted the trophy.

Gisborne produced nearly perfect conditions on Sunday, the competition's final day, on which the Australians started with a one-point lead.

On borrowed horses, the riders faced two more challenging rounds over the John Vallance-designed course.

Australia's Clem Hughes was the only rider to bag a clear round on Sunday. Fittingly, it was on Jeremy Clarke's Dynavyte Cancion HSH, who won the Angela Miller-sponsored prize for the best-performed horse over the three days of competition.

Australian chef d'equipe Todd Hinde was rapt with the win, and had plenty of praise for the competition, show and hospitality the team had received.

“The Kiwis rode superbly all weekend and got us up on our toes for today,” he said.

“All the pressure was on Clem for a clear. I am very pleased.”

Kiwi chef d'equipe John Cottle congratulated the winners but said he was also proud of his charges.

“We could all see by the second round that everyone had more of a handle on their horses,” he said.

“I have been involved with this competition for many years — riding in this environment on borrowed horses, and a different horse every day, is an amazing experience and one that brings many benefits.

“We weren't too far behind in the end . . . all up, it was certainly a good competition.”

Both chefs thanked those who had lent horses for the competition.

Results —

Australia: Charlie Richardson, Hayden Parker, Clem Hughes and Anneliese Wansey 14 points, 1.

New Zealand: Tyla Hackett (Cambridge), Sam Carrington (Takapau), Rylee Sheehan (Te Aroha) and Georgia Bouzaid (Cambridge) 11 points, 2.

The horses: Pilot (owned by Monica Spencer), Chevel du Fond (owned by Belinda Buchanan), Aorangi Legato (owned by the Ahlborn family), Double Shot (owned by Izzy Saxton), Dynavyte Cancion HSH (owned by Jeremy Clarke), Castako Xtreme (owned by Rylee Sheehan), Arlo (owned by Fraser Tombleson) and Chelsea CSNZ (owned by the Borthwick family).