Shanae McKay and M.E Shogun in action at the Horowhenua AP&I Show at the weekend.
Shanae McKay and M.E Shogun in action at the Horowhenua AP&I Show at the weekend.
A young Levin showjumping rider almost pulled off a dream debut in the Grand Prix grade at the Horowhenua AP&I Show at the weekend, only to be pipped at the post by one of the legends of the sport.
Shanae McKay, 23, forced a jump-off with champion rider Maurice Beatson - who, in contrast, was looking for his 212th Grand Prix win - after they were the only riders to card clear first rounds.
It had looked as though McKay had the title in the bag as the only rider with a clear first round, only for her to watch Beatson also go clear in the final run of the day and force a tiebreaker.
Levin rider Shanae McKay, 23, made a fine Grand Prix debut at Levin with her horse M.E Shogun.
McKay and her horse M.E Shogun went first. They navigated the course brilliantly, but clipped one rail along the way to incur a four fault penalty. She put her foot down after hearing the rail fall to post a fast time in the event that Beatson might drop a rail, too.
But it wasn’t to be. Beatson, 69, showed all his class and experience to go through with a clear round and take top honours.
McKay said she wasn’t too disappointed at the result and that she gained a lot of confidence from the experience, which will hold her in good stead leading into the Horse of the Year show in Hastings in March.
“It was such a buzz going up against good riders. Maurice is a legend,” she said.
Legendary rider Maurice Beatson recorded his 212th Grand Prix success at the Horowhenua AP&I Show.
“I was a bit annoyed to hear the rail fall. It was my fault. I should have pushed when I took a hold and we just touched the back rail.”
McKay, who had long competed in lower-level showjumping grades with success, said she had good support from the more experienced Grand Prix riders, with Beatson also complimenting her on her horse.
“He said, ‘You’ve got a champion horse there, girl’,” she said.
M.E Shogun was bred in Levin by McKay’s mother Gemma from a female line of that originally belong to her father Dale Craw. He was by the German imported stallion Centavos from a mare that boasted thoroughbred, standardbred and Appaloosa bloodlines.
He had shown a huge amount of promise as a young horse, only for a tendon injury to keep him from the arena for more than five years. The McKay’s were extremely patient in his recovery, and it is only in recent times that he begun to compete again at the elite level.
“He’s an amazing horse,” she said.
The McKays breed all their own horses, and had younger sisters to M.E Shogun that were broken in and educated at home. They currently had a band of 28 horses, some of which are kept while others were educated and sold.
Gemma McKay also trained racehorses with success from the property.
Having a rider of Beatson’s experience and class was a real drawcard for the Levin show, and he regularly entered horses at the show each year.
Maurice Beatson posted a clear final round in a jump-off with Levin rider Shanae McKay to take top honours in the Grand Prix event at Horowhenua AP&I Show.
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.
