The StableGround Australian Dressage Championships are going to witness an amazing line-up of horses and riders at all levels. It will be a CDI-W, and with the Paris Olympics and Paralympics under a year away, it constitutes a selection event and also to gain an MER for both Games.

The para competition will be a CPEDI and the line-up is also bigger than ever, with 38 entrants including Paralympians Sharon Jarvis (two-time bronze medallist from the 2010 WEG in Kentucky) and Joann Formosa (gold medallist from the London Paralympics). Sui Watts brought home gold and silver at this year’s Virtus Global Games in France. It is the biggest entry for a para competition ever in Australia.

Dianne Barnes and Sorena, owned by Sharyn McCombe, is a Grade IV combination to watch; they have competed this year with scores up to 75% and never under 71%. Di competed on her daughter’s mare, Cil Dara Cosmic, at the FEI World Championships in Denmark last year with some strong results and now is riding Sorena.

Chelsea De Jonge will be riding Don Dancier, another very successful FEI stallion who was campaigned by Deon Stokes and gained many scores over 72% at Small Tour level, including National Championships. Bellaire Cannavaro, now with Kylie Christan, is another success story, and then there is Neversfelde Kipling that was so successful to Medium level with Alycia Targa and now with Zoe Vorenas, who also has WIS Forte and Finest Edition entered.

The international judges that will be on the ground jury for the CDI-W will be Anne Prain (FRA) and Eduard De Wolff Van Westerrode (NED), along with Australian FEI 5* judges Maria Schwennesen and Mary Seefried. For the CPEDI, it will be Anne Prain (FRA), and Marco Orsini (GER) who will be the internationals.

THE GRAND PRIX CDI-W FIELD

All eyes will be on the StableGround Grand Prix CDI-W, with 16 entered and a very talented group indeed.

Michelle Baker and Bradgate Park Puccini now reside in Victoria and showed great promise through all the levels and have scored well at Grand Prix. Bradgate Park Puccini’s highlight has been the extended paces, and with a little more lift and cadence in the collected trot and in the passage, and with the transition marks in and out of piaffe a little higher, he will be interesting indeed.

Breanna Tillitzki’s BZ Rafael is still a little raw at this level, but his scores have been on the improve in NSW. Breanna is a younger rider who trained for many years with the Ryans and is now running her own business on the NSW Central Coast. Rafael is a brown handsome gelding by Regardez Moi and just now needs the time to develop the carrying strength that will improve all the movements in this test that is demanding to say the least.

Pauline Carnovale is riding Captain Cooks, a wonderfully experienced pair who are always up the pointy end of the field. Captain Cooks has fantastic highlights in the piaffe and passage tour and is always consistent and it’s rare to see a mistake.

Jessica Dertell riding the imported Dutch bred stallion Cennin is one of the in-form combinations, fresh off a win in the CDI3* Grand Prix Special and Freestyle at the Brisbane CDI. They unfortunately made an error of course in the Grand Prix that was costly, but despite a 2% deduction they still scored 69%. This horse has great expressive front legs and is honest and consistent in all the movements. With a little more carrying capacity over the hind legs and hence a little more self-carriage, this combination should score into the 70s. A seriously talented young rider is Jess, and now having gained experience overseas recently competing at Hagen with another horse, she will be full of confidence.

Charlotte Phillips is yet another talented and cool young rider with CP Dresden, who is an expressive pocket rocket by Damsey. This bay gelding has all the pizazz and never ceases to give 100% in every test. He still seems to get better and better, and now with the piaffe and passage tour better established with better balance and activity, he is another that could well hit the 70% marks. He is always consistent and the harmony and joie de vie with this combination is inspiring and looks effortless. (Be sure to watch his Freestyle! It’s quite wonderful and the degree of difficulty is a 10, yet he makes it all so seamless and easy.)

“Alexis Hellyer is no slouch
when it comes to making
the most of every movement.”

Alexis Hellyer and the mare Daenarys, by De Niro x Florestan: well, a dark horse here in colour and talent. With Alexis on board, and a mare that seems to step up at every outing and showing improvement, they are ones to watch. They had some great scores at the Brisbane CDI despite their inexperience. Alexis Hellyer is no slouch when it comes to making the most of every movement in the test and the harmony here shows great understanding. With a little more confidence and ease in the piaffe, and so also a few more marks in the transitions, this new combination could also be in the 70% marks. Peter Storr (GBR) placed them second on 69.7% at the Brisbane CDI. The trot half-passes are sweeping and wonderfully balanced highlights. This is a truly competent pair! For sure Alexis will try here to push the boundaries!

Elliot Patterson and Del Piero ZF by De Niro has only done five shows in his life! A new combination in the Grand Prix ranks and also gaining some good scores at the Brisbane CDI, with 68% in the Grand Prix and 72% in the Freestyle. This will be his third start at Grand Prix and he is only 10. He is green still, yet getting great scores for his experience and no doubt will have benefitted from the CDI experience as his fifth show. What potential we see here!

Alinta Veenvliet and Desperanza are representatives of Western Australia. What an impressive, bold black mare who also scores well and can really pull off some great marks. The trot tour and the passage are her highlights, and if they can produce some better pirouettes where she is a little weak, and of course being coefficient marks, her scores will be even higher. Her piaffe has really gained a better way and understanding recently, and with this in place now the marks will improve. Under the watchful eyes of Robbie and Dave McKinnon over the past few years, this mare will be in form on the day. She can get a little too keen and a little ahead of herself, but with as much experience as she has had recently, they will come to the competition with no stone unturned. A super interesting and talented combination.

Olympian Sue Hearn will ride the chestnut Eminent (Santano x Gribaldi), who was imported by Dorothea Lungershausen and is now owned by Sue. As with all of Sue’s horses, they progress with deliberate and consistent training and she is an expert at putting horses together with self-carriage and correct positioning. This gelding has really come along and the piaffe that was weak is now, like all Sue’s horses, correct, engaged and full of expression. Eminent is a long horse but is learning to sit and carry now, and with Sue’s expertise and experience this horse will hand in a good test. He improves at every outing and it’s slow and steady that often wins the race.

Six-time Olympian Mary Hanna never ever gives up the challenge and here she has the very impressive 10-year-old Ivanhoe (Desperado x Jazz), fresh from a win in the Grand Prix at the Brisbane CDI. This elegant brown gelding was imported through Patrik Kittel at the end of last year and had competed in one Inter II before Mary bought him. Mary has done three national competitions and then his first CDI at Brisbane. This will be his fifth Grand Prix.

Ivanhoe is consistent in all the Grand Prix work and Mary is delighted with his attitude and trainability. Now training with Patrik, she feels really on track. The piaffe is starting to close up more and the competitions he has done have so helped his confidence. No doubt eyes on the prize for Mary and what a highlight in passage!

The evergreen Kerry Mack has Mayfield Limelight entered and what a leggy and elegant huge mover he is. Limelight is an extremely sensitive soul with a huge imagination who can be outstanding or a shrinking violet, but on his day he has produced some great scores and had an MER for the World Championships last year. Kerry is never one to give up with her homebred horse. He may be quirky but that’s what makes the good ones sometimes better and there’s no-one like Kerry to find ways around the quirks. He is always one that keeps you wondering, and it may well be his time.

Last of the entries but perhaps one of the most experienced is from New Zealand: World Championship representatives Melissa Galloway and Windermere J’Obei W, by Johnson. This horse was bred in NZ by David Woolley who has bred many top, talented horses. Melissa has trained J’Obei from the beginning and this super well-conformed and talented chestnut made yet another mark in Australia at their last trip here, winning all the Big Tour classes with great scores. They trained for 18 months with Anne van Olst in Holland where Lottie Fry trains, and the improvement was great to see. Their first rise to fame was when they competed at the CDI at Willinga Park some years ago and they lit up the hearts of so many Aussies. Melissa is as an empathetic rider as she is a person, and her demeanour is positive – with a will to win that is easy to see. This is a combination that will be here to prove their worth! All guns a-blazing!

What an amazing line-up in the CDI-W, and what is so great for Australians is the fact that with so many good horses and talented riders, and the standard high and even, everyone will be pushing themselves to be better. It is always imperative to be in competition with good people as this raises the bar and the awareness and focus on each rider to concentrate and make every moment a positive one. The talk and comments from those who are really in the know put a great edge on getting better scores and this group of riders will for sure be making the most of every ride and sticking to their game plans.

THE MENTAL SIDE

The sport of dressage is not only physical but has a huge mental side. It is really the mental approach leading up to the competition and in that final warm-up that puts the icing on the cake and this Grand Prix competition will see competence and great riding on talented and well-trained horses like Australia has not seen for some time. BRING IT ON!

It’s not just the Grand Prix where there is talent abounding, it’s in fact at all the levels.

In the Medium Tour, Estupendo (by Glock’s Ziësto), imported and owned by Viv Lipshut and ridden by David McKinnon, has been turning many a head at competitions and consistently posting over 70%. He’s a gelding with amazing elasticity and expression, with good piaffe and passage and an uphill way of going, and the harmony again with David’s elegant and empathetic riding is seriously impressive. Another interesting horse in the Medium Tour will be Wimborne Constable, an eventing stallion competing at four-star level and ridden by Cathryn Herbert!

There is a CDI-Ch (Childrens) class with 10 entered, and a CDI-U25 (Under 25 Grand Prix) with talented riders such as Jess Dertell, Mary Nitschke, Brooke Mance, Kate Kyros, Charlie Welsh and Tanisha Ryan to mention a few, and what a classy group of horses and competitors here.

The CDI-Y (Young Rider) is also a talented lot and one to watch is Kate Kyros and the imported Apache stallion Intro K, and of course Gladstone MH for Jess Dertell. Gladstone went to Germany to train and compete earlier this year. What a group. The CDI-J (Junior) also has seven riders entered.

Of course, there is all the CDN FEI classes as well and the national levels from Novice to Advanced.

Charlotte Pedersen and Baunehojens Diamond Dancer have shown good improvement and are in the CDN Big Tour with Pauline Carnovale and Corinna, to pick two from a good field.

In the Small Tour it will be great to see the expressive chestnut stallion Remi Vigneron with Matthew Lord fresh from a great win at the Brisbane CDI. Don’t think that Robbie McKinnon won’t be there, either, with Hollands Bend Rococo giving it her all. This mare is a prolific winner at this level. One to catch the eye in Sydney and again at the Brisbane CDI was Karabil Park Sir Jazz with the elegant and competent rider Hillary McGregor, who is one never with the handbrake on.

Iresias L, the stallion owned by Sarah Hanslow and ridden by Brett Parbery, will be in there. Iresias L can be a handful if he gets a head of steam and with spring in the air, he will be feeling pretty important, but Brett for sure will organise him. The horse that will certainly create the most interest at this Small Tour level will be Windermere Integro for Melissa Galloway (NZ), by Negro x Wolkentanz II. Melissa took him with her to Anne van Olst’s to train there, but she never competed him. This seriously impressive black horse is ready to go Grand Prix so he will be very exciting to watch! Look out Aussies!

“This seriously impressive black
horse is ready to go Grand Prix.”

The Advanced has the likes of SPH Fortino for Robbie McKinnon and what a success this horse is! Callum Park Damascus for Susan Elekessy, a big and balanced chestnut that has plenty of gas left in the tank. The stallion Fidibus with Elliot Patterson is a big show specialist. D’ Danseur for Lyndal Yelavich, a pair that will head to Germany after the Nationals and who have improved so much of late with big scores at Willinga Park earlier this year. Bloomfield Sekuona for Justine Greer won impressively at Willinga Park, and this elastic brown gelding is out of the wonder mare Anouk for Bloomfield Stud. The list of talent goes on with 27 entered and what a great line up of our about-to-turn-FEI horses.