Lisa Coupe is more than happy with the efforts of her nine-year-old gelding Bates Amaretto MVNZ who just notched his second grand prix win of the season at the Dunstan Rotorua Spring Show today.
The Kumeu combination were one of 10 through to the jump-off of the premier class at the two-day show being held at the Fibre Fresh National Equestrian Centre in Taupo.
Twenty-two had started the class, and the jump-off saw former Olympian Katie McVean (Mystery Creek) come through with four, World Champs representative Samantha McIntosh (Cambridge) through with two, rising star Mathew Gilmour (Matangi) with two, and Catherine Cameron (Cambridge) and Coupe a mount apiece.
Coupe was seventh to go, and ahead of her McVean and McIntosh had really thrown down the challenge. But she met it head on, despite a few hiccups.
Coupe lost one stirrup as she went into the second fence in the jump-off, and on the turn coming out of the jump lost the other one.
“So I rode the rest of the jump-off with no stirrups – and that certainly was not the plan,” she said.
However, she and Beetle – as he is known affectionately at home – left everything up and set a time that no-one could beat. In the end it came down to hundredths of a second, but that was the closest Gilmour and the imported Belize Di Cantero could manage, giving them second place, McIntosh and her imported mare Estina third, Cameron and Campione GNZ fourth and McVean fifth and sixth aboard Dunstan Zehrenland and Dunstan Zimorena G.
Coupe and Beetle also picked up a second in the 1.3m class.
The pony grand prix attracted 18 starters, with the honours going to Jimmy-James Duncan (Central Districts) aboard Surprise Illusion.
The show attracted more than 380 combinations from all over the North Island, who enjoyed perfect weather.
