Equestrian director pulls pin on throttle

Kevin Hansen

The world-first, full-throttle international showjumping event which was to be staged in Hawke's Bay tomorrow has been cancelled as Cyclone Lusi hovers.

"It's a decision we didn't take lightly. But it's going to rain and all the riders and horses have a big week coming up ... we have to look at the bigger picture," NRM Horse of the Year Show director Kevin Hansen said yesterday.

Full-throttle was going to be the feature attraction at the Church Road Winery-hosted Holy Grail.

An equestrian version of sevens rugby, twenty20 cricket, Fastnet netball and speed golf, full-throttle, was going to involve a 90-minute showjumping test between New Zealand's Black Jumpers and Australia's Yellow Roos.

"We want to stage the Holy Grail at Church Road for the next 10 years and staging full-throttle in slippery conditions would not have been the ideal preparation for the riders or horses for the remainder of the show," Hansen explained.

He pointed out a positive of the rain will be the fact it will make the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds arenas "postcard-material type settings for the show".

"Obviously the arenas are being watered but there's nothing like natural rain to complete the job."

Warnings related to Cyclone Lusi's extreme rain and winds have been issued on a daily basis since the beginning of this week. Hawke's Bay is likely to experience the cyclone's worst conditions this evening.

Organisers of the Havelock North-based Triple Peaks Challenge multisport event said the 26th annual event would go ahead as scheduled. A 50km mountainbike ride, which will see competitors conquer Mt Erin, Mt Kahuranaki and Te Mata Peak, is the feature attraction of the event.

Organiser of tomorrow's Crownthorpe-hosted fourth round in the national jetsprint series, Peter Connor, said the event would go ahead regardless of the weather.

"From what we hear the worst of the weather is coming through on Saturday night so we will go ahead. If we have to miss a round on Sunday morning while we tidy things up we will."

Forty-two crews including three from Hawke's Bay and one from Australia will be in action tomorrow.

Meeanee Oval Track Promotions promoter Brian Strong will wait until midday today before making a decision on whether or not the Hawke's Bay Under-25 Superstock Championship will be raced at Hauraki Meeanee Speedway tonight.

"I've got a feeling the rain will miss us but if it comes the championship will be postponed until another date," Strong said.

Should tonight's meeting be cancelled, the next meeting will be staged on March 29.

Hawke's Bay Cricket Association administrator Dale Smidt said his organisation would wait until 7am today before deciding whether their fixtures would be played. Should today's play be cancelled, the premier competition's semifinals will be played next Saturday and will see Cornwall hosting Central Hawke's Bay at Cornwall Park and Napier Technical playing Havelock North at Nelson Park.

Softball Hawke's Bay officials are adopting a similar approach to their cricket counterparts and will wait until this morning before making a decision on the day's play. With the bulk of the senior finals scheduled for next weekend the only game which will have to be played before next Saturday, if today's games are cancelled, is a senior B men's match between Marist and Maraenui Pumas.