Defending YR champions Tayla Mason and Lucy with Diamonds jumping into the water at last year's event. Photo/Thompsonphotography
Defending YR champions Tayla Mason and Lucy with Diamonds jumping into the water at last year's event. Photo/Thompsonphotography
The Bay of Plenty Eventing group will host 343 combinations at the Dunstan Horsefeeds NZ Young and Junior Rider Championships at the Rotorua A&P Grounds and over Ngati Whakaue Tribal Lands.
The dressage and showjumping will run this Saturday, and the cross-country on Sunday. All levels of competition are cateredfor from CNC95 to CNC2*Plus.
There are a lot of local riders who compete through the grades, and the event also attracts competitors from throughout the North Island. No local rider will compete in the championship classes this year.
Eleven Young Riders (under 21 on January 1) will compete at 2* level for the Charisma Trophy, with last year's winner, Tayla Mason (Wellington) and Lucy with Diamonds, defending their title. The current leader of the Massey University Young Rider series, Lauren Alexander (Auckland) on BMW Ripley, will be hoping to cement her lead, but with four members of the Talent Development Squad entered she will need to be on form. The four are Mason, former winner Jessica Woods (Waikato) with LV Award and Defies Logic, Bonnie Farrant (Canterbury) with Kaipara Dior, and Francesca Silver (Wairarapa), a previous winner of the Junior Rider title, with Case in Point. This is the third year these titles have been contested at Rotorua, so the riders will be expecting another serious challenge on Bing Allen's cross-country course.
The junior riders (under 18 on January 1) compete at 1* level for the Hoffman Trophy, with eight combinations vying for the title, including defending champion Samantha Mynott, riding Take Two this year. She will meet keen competition from Loran Mathis (Waikato) on Flintoff, the current NZPCA Dorothy Campbell Trophy winner, as well as two riders lying third and fourth in the Alltech Junior Rider series.
They are Abigail Long on BMW Advokaat, who is third, and Madeline Banks on Rakaunui Gazelle, who moved up to fourth place after a win at Whangarei recently. There will also be an Area Trial for the Bay of Plenty Pony Club for riders wanting to represent the area at the NZPCA Horse Trial Champs.
National Championships earn extra points in the Eventing NZ series, which culminate at the NRM Event at Taupo in May.
Entry is free. Dogs on leashes are allowed on the A&P grounds but not Ngati Whakaue Land.
