Equestrian: Fell eyes two in a row

BACK TO BACK: Lucy Fell and Tinapai will chase back-to-back World Cup Series round wins at Mystery Creek this weekend. PHOTO/FILE

Lucy Fell is chasing back to back wins this weekend when she lines up in the second round of the Country TV FEI World Cup (NZ series) at the APL Showjumping Waikato Festival at Mystery Creek.

Fell and her former racehorse Tinapai won the opening round of the New Zealand series in Hawke's Bay earlier this month and also won the World Cup class at the same Waikato show last year . . . but she's taking nothing for granted.

"He's recovered well from Hastings," said Fell, "but true to Tina (Tinapai) form, he will keep me guessing until the day as to how he will perform."

And there's that small issue of another very strong field lining up, including five-time series winner Katie Laurie who will make the most of her home track advantage. The class is being held indoors at the Mystery Creek Event Centre just a stone's throw from her home, and Laurie has Dunstan On The Point Eve and Dunstan Breeze on the card.

"Breeze has had a pretty light season so far, so hopefully she is ready," said Laurie. "She doesn't love indoors, but she jumped well last year. Eve is feeling really good."

Also in the 20-strong field is fellow former series winner Maurice Beatson of Hawke's Bay, who has both Conyers and Schimmel Warrior, and the always-dangerous Helen McNaught-McFarlane (Taupo) and Carnutelabryere, who have placed second in the series for the past two years.

There are a number of first-timers lining up, including Glen Beal and Sacramento, Catherine Cameron and WTF Cabello and Carissa McCall on Esteban MVNZ.

The opening round at Hawke's Bay was heavy on World Cup débutantes, with 11 starting, and many of those are back for more after some promising results.

Lily Tootill (Auckland) is one of those, and with Ulysses NZPH, finished fifth in her first World Cup start. She will be looking to go slightly better this weekend.

The Wilson sisters Amanda and Vicki (Hikurangi) have a horse each entered and can never be underestimated, husband and wife Oliver and Brooke Edgecombe (Waipukurau) are both back for more with their horses Ultra Blue NZPH and LT Holst Aunty Annette, and Daniel Blundell (Ocean Beach) starts his Lavello, a horse who dabbled in eventing before switching to showjumping.

Also entered are Mathew Dickey (Taranaki) aboard Quango, Tess Clark (Auckland) and Sinatra II, Samantha Peters (Whangarei) on Zabambi, Sam Morrison (Tauranga) and Biarritz and Rachel Malcolm (Cambridge) Equador MVNZ.

Gerrit Beker (Tauranga), a favourite with the riders, will design the course. The class is expected to start early afternoon on Sunday.

All combinations are chasing valuable points in the six round series, with their best four rounds to count. The winner of the New Zealand league has the opportunity to represent the country at the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping 2015/2016 Final which is being held in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States, from March 29-April 1.

World Cup (NZ series) standings after one round: Lucy Akers (Opiki) 20 points, Helen McNaught-McFarlane (Taupo) 17, Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) 15, Lily Tootill (Auckland) 13, Rachel Malcolm (Cambridge) 12, Katie Laurie (Mystery Creek) 11, Brooke Edgecombe (Waipukurau) 10, Samantha Peters (Whangarei) 9, Tess Clark (Auckland) 8, Oliver Edgecombe (Waipukurau) 7.