The first Championship decided at the NSW State Showjumping Championships this weekend was the Young Rider Title. Held over two rounds and the final, held today, let’s look at how the title race unfolded.

The First Round was held on Thursday and in fact, was the first class on the Thoroughbred Sport Horse Association Ring 1. Run as a speed class, the very last combination on course was Amelia Douglass and Sirius Du Granit, who rode clear more than half a second faster than any other combination to take the win.

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The first six placegetters in the First Round were:

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Amelia Douglass	Sirius Du Granit
2nd	Lucy Evans	Viva Joy
3rd	Jess Rice-Ward	CP Southern Cross
4th	Amelia Douglass	Cassis Z Ten Halven
5th	Jamie Priestley	Oaks Diamantina
6th	Mitchell Peulic	Gredstedgaards Number One

Amelia Douglass and Sirius Du Granit

Round Two was held on Friday and concluded in an exciting jump-off to determine the winner. Madeline Sinderberry and Amelia Douglass both proved to be the stars of the show, each recording double clear rounds to fill the first four positions. The only other combination to record double clear was Jessica Tripp and Diamond B Verona.

The first six placegetters in the Second Round were:

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Madeline Sinderberry	Bellhaven Jazz
2nd	Amelia Douglass	Upper Class Z
3rd	Amelia Douglass	Cassis Z Ten Halven
4th	Madeline Sinderberry	Ciel
5th	Jessica Tripp	Diamond B Verona
6th	Nicolette Evans	Crispi 4

Madeline Sinderberry and Bellhaven Jazz

Before starting in today’s final, calculations were done based on each combination’s placing in the First and Second Rounds, to determine the relative starting position of each combination. Below is a brief explanation of these calculations which are being used for title classes at these championships.

Title Class Scoring Sumary

ROUND ONE 1st place receives points equivalent to the number of combinations in the class, plus one (eg. If 30 combinations are in the class the winner receives 31 points) 2nd place receives one less than the number of combinations in the class, with 3rd receiving one less again (eg. 2nd receives 29 points, 3rd receives 28 points etc) Eliminated or retired combinations receive 0 points.

ROUND TWO Round Two is calculated in the same way as Round One, regardless of the number of starters in the round, (eg if only 26 combinations start in Round 2, the winner receives 31 points, 2nd 29 points, 3rd 28 points and so on).

FINAL ROUND For each combination, the points scored in both rounds are added and the combinations are ranked according to the total points scored

The points are then converted to penalties using the following formula:

– The leader after the first 2 rounds starts the Final on zero penalties. – Other combinations have their penalties calculated by subtracting their total points from the leader’s total points, and dividing by two. – Any fractions are rounded down to the nearest whole number.

The winner is the combination with the least number of penalties at the end of the Grand Prix final. If there is a tie for first or runner up, those competitors will jump off and penalties and time will decide the winner.

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So, what all that means is that the best performed combination in the Two Rounds starts the final on zero penalties, with each of the other combinations, starting on a penalty score which represents how far behind the best performed combination they were. These “Carry Forward Penalties” for the final are listed below for all combinations:

RIDER	HORSE	R1	R2	TOT.	DIFF	CFP
Amelia Douglass	Cassis Z Ten Halven	18	19	37	0	0
Amelia Douglass	Upper Class Z	15	20	35	2	1
Jess Rice-Ward	CP Southern Cross	19	12	31	6	3
Jamie Priestley	Oaks Diamantina	17	13	30	7	3
Jessica Tripp	Diamond B Verona	13	17	30	7	3
Madeline Sinderberry	Bellhaven Jazz	8	22	30	7	3
Madeline Sinderberry	Ciel	11	18	29	8	4
Lucie Adridge	Ollie Olae	14	14	28	9	4
Lucy Evans	Viva Joy	20	6	26	11	5
Amelia Douglass	Sirius Du Granit	22	3	25	12	6
Mitchell Peulic	Gredstedgaards Number One	16	9	25	12	6
Samantha Lamont	Glenwood Park Vatu	9	15	24	13	6
Isabella Evans	Joker XIX	12	11	23	14	7
Nicolette Evans	Crispi 4	4	16	20	17	8
Natalie Mohr	Talbot Cece	7	10	17	20	10
Isobel Guinness	Oaks Donatello	10	5	15	22	11
Valentina Aliprandi	Absolute Ego Z	5	7	12	25	12
Natalie Mohr	Dylano	1	8	9	28	14
Megan Champoux	Yirrkala Zakyra	6	1	7	30	15
Mitchell Peulic	WP Elegance	3	4	7	30	15
Milly Fisher	Pica Bleu	2	2	4	33	16

So, going into today’s final, all Amelia Douglass and Cassis Z Ten Halven needed was a clear round and they could not be denied the title, however, even the slightest mistake would give the competition the opportunity to pounce and with seven combinations within one rail of the lead the pressure was on.

Douglass and Cassis Z Ten Halven certainly did not disappoint, by claiming the title with a textbook double clear. Not only that, but Douglass also held onto second spot with the only other double clear of the class on Upperclass Z.

Amelia Douglass and Cassis Z Ten Halven

Amelia Douglass and Upperclass Z

Jess Rice-Ward and CP Southern Cross

CLASS 133: NSW Young Rider Title – Final – 1.35-1.40m
The first eight placegetters in this class were:

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Amelia Douglass	Cassis Z Ten Halven
2nd	Amelia Douglass	Upper Class Z
3rd	Jess Rice-Ward	CP Southern Cross
4th	Madeline Sinderberry	Bellhaven  Jazz
5th	Isobel Guiness	Oaks Donatello
6th	Jamie Priestley	Oaks Diamantina
7th	Megan Champoux	Yirrkala Zakyra
8th	Isabella Evans	Joker XIX

Amelia Douglass and Cassis Z Ten Halven were crowned NSW Young Rider Champions after Douglass had to wait 12 months to go one step better than her second placing on this Title last year on Sirius Du Granit. The first eight placegetters in the overall Young Rider Championship were:

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Amelia Douglass	Cassis Z Ten Halven
2nd	Amelia Douglass	Upperclass Z
3rd	Jess Rice-Ward	CP Southern Cross
4th	Madeline Sinderberry	Bellhaven Jazz
5th	Jamie Priestley	Oaks Diamantina
6th	Jess Tripp	Diamond B Verona
7th	Lucy Evans	Viv Joy
8th	Samantha Lamont	Glenwood Park Vatu