Equestrian: RomariZ proves star quality

Local horse breeder and show jumper Tracy Bublitz has returned to her Eltham home from the Horse of the Year show in Hawke's Bay with a new ribbon to add to her collection.

This year Tracy entered her horse, Bublitz Estate RomariZ into the Performance Bred category for mares 3 years old and over and was delighted to not only win the category but to hear RomariZ named NZ Performance Bred Mare of the Year as well.

Tracy explains that the NZ Performance Bred section of the Horse of the Year show is for warmblood horses that are purposely bred for a specific discipline, which in RomariZ's case is show jumping.

Tracy says that on the day of the judging, competition was strong especially as the number of entrants had grown from what was originally listed.

She says all the horses in the category were looked over and scored on conformation, which assesses how well "the horse is put together, must have straight legs etc", before they had to perform a short test to demonstrate movement and temperament.

"Our first workout was okay, and we were called back to workout again," says Tracy, saying after that, she found a quiet area to "get into the zone" with RomariZ before going into the show jumping round of the judging.

Tracy says RomariZ trotted out well and she had been happy with her performance. Despite this, she was still nervous when waiting to hear the winners called as the competition had been tight. She describes waiting with RomariZ and listening to the placings called: "They got from fourth to second and still there were some nice mares left to choose from, with one having been the Led Supreme of the year for the last two years."

She was letting RomariZ graze when their names were called and they were awarded NZ Performance Bred Mare of the year.

"She is truly a star" Tracy says of her horse, who has brought home titles in the Performance Bred category at the Horse of the Year show since 2010.

Tracy says the "led classes truly have their place in this sport" explaining that she believes that some of her mare's success is due to having been entered in the led classes since she was 2years old, giving her plenty of experience.

Next year, says Tracy, she and RomariZ will "have a go at the amateur rider title in the show jumping category".