LOCAL rider Jenny Champion came up trumps in the main event when the Wairarapa Endurance and CTR Club hosted the North Island endurance horse riding championships at Whareama.
It was a testing time for horse and rider with temperatures over the two days soaring into the 30s but they handled it well with no major mishaps being recorded. The high standard of vetting between loops was obviously a big help in that respect.
In what was a busy programme which attracted more than 100 entries, the Domhealth CEI three-star 160km championship took centre stage.
It started at 1am on Saturday morning and, after the completion of three loops, four combinations had made a significant break on the rest of the field - Masterton's Jenny Champion on Barack Obama, Stu Wakeling of Taumarunui on Tokopuhe Kaid, Leanne Ireland of Ruahine on Alshar Blue Levi and a second Taumarunui rider, Amanda McConachy, on Makahiwi Geneca.
Of that quartet, it was Champion and Wakeling who assumed control on the final loop and they looked set for a decent battle until the last vetting stop where Wakeling's horse was adjudged lame by the vets and eliminated from the contest.
