Above: Sam Overton and Oaks Cassanova. Photo credit Oz Shotz Photography.

Just seven days after the wonderful World Cup Qualifier that was held at the Waratah Showjumping show, (Click HERE for or full report), the fifth leg of the series was conducted this evening at the Tamworth World Cup Show on the indoor arena at AELEC. Sponsored by Carmyle Vets, a total of 25 combinations were entered to tackle the Mark Atkins designed course, which proved to be a true test of the capabilities of all competitors. The time allowed for the Round 1 course was set at 83 seconds.

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The going was tough early on. After the first five combinations on course, three had collected 14 faults or more and one had been eliminated after two refusals at the first fence. Visitors from New Zealand, Phillip Steiner and Cassina Dior who had been the first combination on course, were looking well placed after completing their round with just a single rail down.

It wasn’t until the tenth combination out, Sam Overton and Oaks Cassanova, who went into the evening sitting in third place in the Series, that we saw our first clear round, proving that the course could be conquered.

By the end of the first round, there had been two other clear rounds. Queensland Jumping legend Clem Smith and Oaks Conjuror were the fastest clear in 75.59 seconds, along with Tom McDermott and Elegance De La Charmille in 75.79 seconds, both about 1.5 seconds faster than Overton and Oaks Cassanova.

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The best 12 performers were invited back to contest the second round. This 12 was made up of the three clear combinations, as well as the very unlucky Mattea Davidson and Checkamour D, who left all the rails in place, but were just 0.02 seconds over the time allowed. Also making up the field for the second round were six combinations who had just a single rail, and one that finished with six faults. The lucky last into the final 12 were the fastest of the two 8-fault combinations, Russell Johnstone and Dondersteen, who were a mere 0.05 seconds faster than the series leading rider Olivia Hamood and her World Cup points nomination Jane Fonda DVD. They would have to watch on and wait to see how many points they would pick up for their efforts.

With two nominations qualifying for the second round, World Cup rules dictated that Russell Johnson was required to ride his World Cup nomination Daprice in the first of his two positions in the order. As it turned out, he did not start Dondersteen in the second round, however, with Daprice, he carried four faults into the second round. That is the total on which they stayed after a magnificent clear round. This two-round total of four placed considerable pressure on the 10 following combinations.

The next combination on course were Mattea Davidson and Jaybee Vigilante, who were carrying six faults from Round 1. They took a single rail in round 2 to finish on 10. The first of the 4-faulters were next. Brook Dobbin and Gina MVNZ took two rails to finish on 12, most likely out of contention for the podium unless a spate of rails were to fall.

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Next out were Katrina Hope and Oaks Gunn, the oldest horse in the field. That had a wonderful clear round, however, while their total of four put them in a tie for first, a time some six seconds slower than Johnstone and Daprice, relegating them to second place for the time being. The next combination of Amanda Madigan and Diamond B Vivienne took a rail doubling their score to eight, which saw them slot into third place, but with six combinations to come, it was always going to be a struggle to cling onto a position on the podium.

Olivia Hamood and Knock Out 111 were next and despite recording the fastest Round 2 time so far of 45.93 seconds, an uncharacteristic three rails down saw them finish on a total of 16. Phillip Steiner and Cassina Dior were next, however, a single rail took them to a total of eight, meaning that there would be no need to convert any of the major prizemoney amounts to New Zealand Dollars. Mattea Davidson and Checkamour D were next and they replicated Steiner’s performance by taking a single Round 2 rail to end up with a total of eight. Seven combinations had come and gone since Russell Johnston and Daprice had set themselves up at the top of the leaderboard and they were still there, however with the three first round clear combinations to come, it was going to be tough for them to stay there.

First out of three clears from Round 1 were Sam Overton and Oaks Cassavova. They set the stadium alight with a brilliant clear round in just 47.19 seconds to snatch the lead. It was going to take another double clear performance to steal the win away from them.

The first combination to try were Tom McDermott and mare Elegance De La Charmille. As usual Tom rode with urgency. Their time of 45.77 seconds was fast enough, however, three rails down meant that tonight was not going to be there night and in the end, they had to settle for ninth place.

So, it all came down to the last combination of Clem Smith and Oaks Conjuror. Could Clem snatch the lead from his brother-in-law Sam Overton? They needed a clear round and it had to be fast for them to win and they were both. As they cleared the last fence, we all knew that they had achieved the clear part of the deal and while it was a fast round, unfortunately for them, a time of 48.89 seconds was not fast enough. The win and maximum World Cup points went to Queenslanders Sam Overton and Oaks Cassanova.

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While it was a great night for the extended Overton/Smith families with the brothers-in-law Sam and Clem filling first and second places, it was also a great night for Oaks Alto, which is the dam of both the first and second placed horses Oaks Cassanova and Oaks Conjuror. On the same theme, with Oaks Gunn finishing in fourth place, it was a triumphant night for Alice Cameron and her Oaks Sporthorses establishment.

Congratulations goes to the winner and all the placegetters for providing a wonderful competition that was enjoyed by the enthusiastic crowd. We look forward to the sixth leg of the series, which is scheduled for Adelaide Royal on the 9th of September.

The top 12 placings in the World Cup Qualifier were as follows:

CLASS 15: CARMYLE VET – TAMWORTH WORLD CUP QUALIFIER – 1.50m

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Sam Overton	Oaks Cassanova
2nd	Clem Smith	Oaks Conjuror
3rd	Russell Johnstone	Daprice
4th	Katrina Hope	Oaks Gunn
5th	Mattea Davidson	Checkamour D
6th	Amanda Madigan	Diamond B Vivienne
7th	Phillip Steiner	Cassina Dior
8th	Mattea Davidson	Jaybee Vigilante
9th	Tom McDermott	Elegance De La Charmille
10th	Brook Dobbin	Gina MVNZ
11th	Olivia Hamood	Knock Out 111
12th	Russell Johnstone	Dondersteen

Results sourced from globalentriesonlineonline.com