Dannevirke show jumper Logan Massie and horse Bravado win FEI World Cup round on home soil

Logan Massie is in form and ready to strike in the final FEI World Cup Show Jumping round of the New Zealand league in Auckland, after a win in Dannevirke over the weekend.

Massie competed in the Central and Southern Hawke’s Bay show at the Dannevirke Showgrounds and managed to win the fourth round, which will take him to the final in Auckland on January 12-14.

The competition has five rounds and is the highest level of show jumping in New Zealand.

Logan Massie and horse Bravado Ego Z make a successful pair. Photo / Warren Buckland

The farm manager said the win was a weight off his shoulders and has him placed fourth in what has become a tight race for the series title.

“Doing all that at home and having started the new year like that was a relief, and a reward.”

Show jumping has taken Massie around the world and he has trained in Europe multiple times.

The self-described “part-time farmer, part-time show jumper” competed with his 15-year-old stallion Bravado Ego Z.

The winning horse has previously trained and competed in Europe before returning home to compete with Massie.

“That win topped off the start to a new year with a lot of big shows coming up.”

Massie said the win was the first big target of the season. The horse’s last 12 months have been based around training for that World Cup round of the New Zealand series and Massie has trained six days a week.

“I’m training as many horses a day as I have time to ride, which is probably about five or six a day, and Bravado gets worked twice a day.”

He said that while New Zealand is not as intense as other international competitions, he has to remain at the top of his game for the “hot competition”.

“It’s a bit quicker than the other disciplines. We have to perform and we are only in the ring for two minutes.”

Massie has been show jumping from the age of 12 and is no stranger to the high-speed sport, which has lent itself to naturally fit in with his way of life.

Logan Massie pictured competing at the 2006 Central and Southern Hawke's Bay show jumping event. Photo / Christine McKay

Despite winning the round with Bravado, he will get a weekend off, as he has been steadily competing without a break.

“We have opted to save him for another show and another day.”

Instead, Massie will compete with 9-year-old home-bred horse Florence, who will jump in his place this weekend in Auckland.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.