EQUESTRIAN: Olympic silver medallist Shane Rose won the CIC3* class at the Saddleworld Melbourne International Three Day Event riding his top Olympic prospect CP Qualified.
The Rio hopeful won with a score of 40.20 but knows his horse can do better and will be using the time between now and the Games to tune his skills.
“He’s very close to doing the test that I want him to do,” said Rose. “I think there are another four or five marks that I can get off that final score which would be great. Low 30s would be even better.
“He’s only just starting his preparation and he’s improving all the time,” Rose said.
Rose scored 38.60 penalties in the dressage, jumped clear in the show jumping and picked up just 1.6 time penalties in the cross country.
“I didn’t quite produce the (Dressage) test I know we can do but he’s getting better all the time. He’s certainly going a lot better as he’s getting fitter and stronger.
“If you talk to athletes they’ll tell you as they get older they get stronger and Qualified is exactly the same. He was out on his feet in his first couple of three day events and ever since then he’s gotten fitter, faster and stronger.
"With every performance he improves and I'm hopeful that continues into Rio,” said Rose.
Rio hopefuls filled the minor placings in the CIC3* with Olympic gold medallist Stuart Tinney and Olympic silver medallist Sonja Johnson both producing clear jumping rounds during today’s cross country to finish second and third respectively.
In overseas Eventing news, US based Aussie Eventing rider Ryan Wood had two reasons to celebrate after winning the CCI3* and CIC3* at Bromont (Canada).
Partnering with the horse Woodstock Bennett in the CCI3*, Wood won the class on his dressage score of 53.70. The pair was ranked sixth after the dressage phase but clear cross country and show jumping rounds secured victory for the pair.
It was a similar story in the CIC3* with Wood and horse Frankie moving from sixth position after the dressage phase to win the overall class after strong cross country and show jumping rounds. His dressage score of 51.60 increased only by 0.40 time penalties in the cross country after Wood rode to a second clear show jumping round at this event.
Jumping
An in-form Edwina Tops-Alexander has finished second in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Cannes.
In finishing runner-up the two-time Olympian and Rio bound Jumping rider overcame a competitive field which included eight of the top 10 riders in the world.
Riding the mare Lintea Tequila, Tops-Alexander produced three clear rounds over the course of the Grand Prix and was one of only four riders to progress to the jump-off.
In the end time was the deciding factor and less than a second separated Tops-Alexander from winner Scott Brash.
“I gave as much as possible but I knew when I came out (of the arena) that it wasn’t enough,” said Tops-Alexander. “He’d have had to have had one (fence) down for me to end up winning.
“Scott deserved it. He gave maximum effort today. It was an amazing jump-off, a fast jump-off on a difficult course,” she said.
Tops-Alexander’s second place finish in Cannes is her second podium finish in the Global Champions Tour this season. The two-time series champion (2011,2012) partnered with Lintea Tequila to win the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Miami.
The Beijing and London Olympian, who is originally from Sydney, was selected to the Australian Olympic Team in April along with Seoul Olympian Scott Keach. A further two Jumping riders will be nominated to the Australian team later this month.
Meantime Australia finished eighth in the Sopot round of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Series – the team progressing to the second round after a strong opening round performance.
The team of Matt Williams (Valinski S), Jamie Kermond (Yandoo Oaks Constellation), Steven Hill (Yalambi’s Bellini Star) and James Paterson-Robinson (Amarillo) collectively finished the first round on two penalties and were ranked third going into the second round. Williams' clean round combined with strong performances by Kermond and Paterson-Robinson, in which each rider collected just a single time-fault, put the team in a good position leading into round two.
In the second round Paterson-Robinson replicated his strong form from the first round, adding just one time penalty to finish on two penalties. Nine penalties each to Williams and Kermond in the second round relegated the team to eighth position overall.
Hill's four penalties in the first and 17 in the second meant that his was the drop score for the Aussies.
Michelle Cook
Equestrian Australia
