Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Eventing: Clarke Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation to front at Takapau

Hawkes Bay Today
25 Oct, 2017 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

South Islander Kirsty Sharapoff on Shoot The Breeze will seek more North Island experience this weekend. Photo/ Barbara Thomson

South Islander Kirsty Sharapoff on Shoot The Breeze will seek more North Island experience this weekend. Photo/ Barbara Thomson

New Zealand's best-performed eventing combination at the Rio Olympics, Clarke Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation, will be in action at Takapau's Arran Station this weekend.

They will be among more than 200 horses and riders in the Central & Southern Hawke's Bay Eventing's spring horse trials on the Silver Fern Farms property.

Matangi's Johnstone is one of 13 contestants in the Red Snap'r CIC3* class, which is the second leg of the ESNZ Eventing Super League.

After an over-exuberant dressage performance at the horse's first start of the season, at Hastings last month, Johnstone elected not to contest the first Super League event at Taupo, preferring to restrict "Ritchie" to dressage that weekend.

Havelock North's Amanda Pottinger led the dressage with Just Kidding at both Hastings and Taupo, but encountered problems at the water complex at Taupo, no doubt a result of the ducking they had at the same fence at the NRM Taupo Three-day Event last year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Pottinger will be hoping for better luck at Takapau.

Kaukapakapa's Virginia Thompson has entered her Oceania team horse Star Nouveau, on whom she won the Puhinui Three-day Event in both 2015 and 2016.

Fellow team member Andy Daines from Kumeu on Spring Panorama is also coming.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

These riders are preparing their horses for a tilt at the Australian International Three-day Event at Adelaide next month, the only four-star event in the Southern Hemisphere.

There are also several horses stepping up to three-star for the first time, as expected at the beginning of a new season, so it will be interesting to watch Kate Wood's Wolf Whistle II, a winner of the National CIC two-starat Arran Station previously, now in the hands of Johnstone.

Last season's winner of the Pro-Am series, Madison Crowe on Waitangi Pinterest, who is mentored by Johnstone at Matangi, moves up to elite level, while Papakura's Renee Faulkner and Rubinstar HH, members of the Oceania Young Rider team, are also contesting the top class.

Matangi's Samantha Felton, who is also heading to Adelaide with her top horse, has the inexperienced Ricker Ridge Rui entered, while former Young Rider champion Sarah Young of Tokoroa rides Leo Degas.

The seasoned campaigner Abby Lawrence of Te Puke has two young horses stepping up, so it will be a fascinating competition.

The Oaklane Stables CIC two-starclass has a quality field of 31 entries, including Cantabrian Kirsty Sharapoff on her thoroughbred Shoot The Breeze. A former winner of the two-star class at the NRM Taupo Three-day Event, Sharapoff is seeking more mileage in the competitive scene of the North Island.

She will have moral support from fellow mainlanders Larissa Srhoy on Rockquest, who have previously spent time in the north to gain experience, and Lydia Truesdale on Allander Rocket.

They will have to contend with former international Bryce Newman of Bulls, now training racehorses, with two promising young thoroughbreds, as well as Pottinger on her new ride, Holly Morrell's well performed Pampero.

Oceania Young Rider team member Vicky Browne-Cole, based at Taupo with Jock Paget, will challenge these seniors on her lovely grey Eli, likewise last year's Junior Rider champion Greer Caddigan of Hamilton and Gymnastik Showdown.

All classes will earn points in the year-long eventing series, including the Equissage Pro-Am, PEL Amateur, and Mitavite Young Rider.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Dressage and showjumping take place on Saturday, with the Adelaide bound riders also demonstrating the four-star test late in the afternoon, and the popular cross-country on Sunday.

Chris Ross, from Helensville, who designed the innovative track for last year's national championships at Arran Station, will be designing the cross-country courses for the three top levels so spectators can expect plenty of exciting action.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Two CHB wins on finals weekend at McLean Park

Hawkes Bay Today

Club rugby stars announced in Magpies NPC squad


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Premium
Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa

The two started their senior women's rugby for Hawke's Bay while still at school.

17 Jul 04:00 AM
Premium
Premium
Two CHB wins on finals weekend at McLean Park
Hawkes Bay Today

Two CHB wins on finals weekend at McLean Park

15 Jul 06:00 PM
Club rugby stars announced in Magpies NPC squad
Hawkes Bay Today

Club rugby stars announced in Magpies NPC squad

15 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP