NZ EQUESTRIAN News


Quinella for Katie
Sunday, 5 January 2014


Katie McVean has bagged her first Bayer FEI World Cup victory of the season at the central and Southern Hawke’s Bay Showjumping Champs in Dannevirke this afternoon (Sunday).

And the former World Cup series winner did it in style, finishing both first and second in the class.

McVean (Mystery Creek) guided Dunstan Springfield to a win with double clear rounds in just his second world cup start – exactly a year apart. The chestnut gelding was second at the Dannevirke Show this time last year in his first World Cup outing.

This time though, the nine-year-old was the only horse to go double clear of the seven starters.

“I have been very careful with him,” said McVean. “He is such a careful horse and I don’t want to frighten him at this level.”

And while she had saved him for the class, she says she did not expect him to win it.

Coming home in second for her was Dunstan Kiwi Iron Mark (owned by June Berrington) who has plenty of placings to his credit, but is yet to notch a win.

“He was unlucky,” McVean said of the nine-year-old who took the last fence of the first round, coming back to go clear in the second and finish on four faults.

Also bagging four faults from the first round over the Kevin Hansen (Taradale) designed course were World Cup series leader Samantha McIntosh (Cambridge) and Argento, who had to settle for third thanks to a slower time in the second.

McVean’s win has tightened up the top of the leaderboard as riders head into the final of the New Zealand World Cup series next weekend. McIntosh sits on 72 points, and still holds a slender lead over McVean on 67 and last year’s series victor Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) on 65. Just behind them is Cantabrian Susie Hayward on 60.

The pony grand prix produced a heart-stopping jump-off between Nakeysha Lammers (Northland) on Airborne Magic and Briar Burnett-Grant(Taupo) on the perennial Kabo Silver.

Lammers laid the challenge with a clear round in 39.5 seconds, and Burnett-Grant looked to be going very close . . . until the last, where she dropped a rail, and stopped the clock at 39.4.

Weather for the three day show was challenging, with gusty winds knocking over fences today.