Fitzsimon masters tricky course

New venue, no problem: Tegan Fitzsimon and horse Windermere Cappuccino were able to overcome the new course at the smaller Riding for Disabled venue for the the Grand Prix after the main area was saturated with rain. Fitzsimon and Cappuccino won the event. Picture by Paul Rickard

Tegan Fitzsimon and Windermere Cappuccino bagged a perfectly timed win in the EvoEvents Horse Grand Prix at the Poverty Bay A&P Show but it wasn't without its challenges.

Horses, riders and organisers had everything thrown at them with the saturated main arena action moved to the smaller Riding for Disabled (RDA) indoor arena so the show could go on.

Course builder Kevin Hansen worked his magic, with plenty of support from volunteers and others to move jumps and set up the indoor venue, which only got a new surface a month ago thanks to Merran Hain, Murray McPhail and the RDA.

Seven started the Horse Grand Prix, which was held in conjunction with East Coast Wools. Only four came back for the jump-off.

A couple of fences proved tricky; both came off the back of corners in the tight arena. Brooke Edgecombe (Waipukurau) and LT Holst Andrea were first out but on one of those corners an unlucky slip caused them both to come down. They were eliminated, but neither horse nor rider was injured.

Next out was veteran campaigner Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) and the big-jumping Central Park. They had a cautious clear but picked up two time faults.

Daniel Webb (Hunterville) and WSJ Centaur dropped one of the bogie fences for four faults.

Fitzsimon was late to the ring because her 12-year-old gelding had lost a shoe in the warm-up, but the classy combo came in to give a masterclass.

“My plan was just for a nice steady double-clear to prepare for next week's POLi Payments World Cup Series opener,” said Fitzsimon, who hails from West Melton in the South Island.

“He was really well-behaved in there.”

The World Cup is New Zealand's top series. When Windermere Cappuccino lost the shoe, Fitzsimon contemplated not coming back for the jump-off but decided to go ahead.

“It's always good to get ring time before a World Cup,” she said.

“The course rode really well. Indoors is tight but we were lucky to have a little warm-up class in there yesterday. In that arena, everything came up quite quickly but it all rode well.”

It's the third time they've competed at the October Show for two wins and a third in the Grand Prix class.