Post Event Report by Cathy Houlbrooke

Matthew Grayling claimed yet another victory at the New Zealand Qualifier for the FEI Eventing World Cup, the flagship class at Kihikihi’s Mitavite Horse Trial over Easter weekend.

Grayling continued his stronghold of this competition by riding to victory on NRM Gordon proving he is on track to show they are worthy of selection for the World Equestrian Games in August and possible starters for the FEI Eventing World Cup final the following month.

Grayling and NRM Gordon lead the three-star field from start to finish to claim the $5000 title. The pair produced a polished dressage on Good Friday scoring 46.7 penalties clear of Cantabrian Annabel Wigley and Black Drum on 51.5.

The following day the field tackled the cross-country course which was described by visiting Australian judge and former Olympian Gillian Rolton as "tough, and right up there as it should be for a World Cup qualifier”. She believed that the cross-country track was technically correct, superbly designed and with the ground conditions so perfect it consequently rode brilliantly. Nicholson’s course was also a visual feast for spectators as it featured novelty jumps based around children’s stories and including sculptured Winnie the Pooh figures, stump houses, bridges, mushrooms and pools. These obstacles demanded very accurate riding, but the field all coped well with the tough challenge and thrilled the huge crowd estimated well in excess of 5000. It was by far the biggest crowd to have attended during the ten-year history of the event, thanks partly to an onsite live broadcast from Newstalk ZB as well as publicity generated when organisers recently named Supreme Winners at the TrustPower National Community Awards. Vintage tractors with trailers helped ferry the spectators around the course.

Matthew Grayling and Annabel Wigley both jumped clear cross country, but Grayling added 12.4 time penalties while Wigley was slower adding 24.8 to drop her behind Kate Wood (Staccato) and Chelsey Hawthorn (Look at That). Hawthorn gave a fast clear cross-country and thrilled the crowd.

There was also carnival atmosphere around the main arena for Sundays show-jumping with a ring-side classic-car picnic, live music, a craft fair, as well as a public course walk by Vaughn Jefferis. The show-jumping track designed by Trevor Gregory was a true test of the show-jumping skills and had an influence through-out the class. Matthew Graying and NRM Gordon knocked one rail and added 4 penalty points to finish on 63.1, ahead of Kate Wood who also dropped one rail to end up with 73.1 meaning the difference remained at 10 points. Annabel Wigley had a clear round and moved up into third place after Chelsey Hawthorn disappointingly dropped two.

The Two Star class was won by Kirstin Kelly on Sooty the Sweep with no penalties added after the dressage phase, on 54.7. Second was Lucy Jackson and Mystery Creek on 56.1 and Andrea McFarlane and Spectacular Ways were third on 57.3. The Two Star Judges, Anne Tylee and Errol O'Brien had a large class of riders and both felt that the top ten placegetters had performed very well through-out all phases which is promising for the sport as these may well be the contenders for the next World Cup. Novice Classes were won by Judith Williams on Little Twinks, Bryce Newman on Santarae and Glen McQuarters on Double the Trouble.

It has been ten years since Kihikihi first became a horse trial venue after it replaced “The Crossing” at Tokoroa. The venue and the event have both come so far in the past ten years said President Robyn North, adding “It is hard to recall how it all used to look before all the improvements”. A dinner and disco, which went on into the small hours of Sunday morning, marked the milestone. The video from the National Community Awards was also played and received a rapturous applause, as did Bruce Bason who was given a presentation from the riders. Bruce is leaving Mitavite after many years as being the face of Mitavite at Kihikihi as well as a stalwart and supporter of equestrian sport in New Zealand. Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc presented a park seat in celebration of the tenth anniversary and acknowledged the support from the late Heather Nicholson, the Kay Families, the eventing enthusiasts and the local community who made it all happen.

In her parting comments from the event Gillian Rolton said she was thrilled to have officiated at Kihikihi. She said the venue had excellent facilities and rated it as one of the best in the world. She added, "I would love to bring a team of Australian riders to compete here next year".