Above: Tom McDermott and Cachassini II.

The last final on the Sydney Royal Jumping program, before tomorrow’s Mini Prix and Grand Prix was held this afternoon in front of a large and appreciative crowd. The winners of the Section 2 final were the Victorian combination of Andrew Lamb and Denison Park Spartava, with the winner of the best performed Section 2 horse being announced as Cachassini II, expertly ridden throughout the competition by Tom McDermott. Let’s take a look back at how the competition unfolded.

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The section 2 competition kicked-off on Tuesday with a speed class where, as is often the case, the talents of Tom McDermott came to the fore. Riding the very talented Lincoln MVNZ, McDermott took the win with a very swift 66.44 second round. In fact, McDermott was the only rider to break the 70 second barrier, when he also came second with his Australian Senior Championship partner Cachassini II with a time of 68.90 seconds. Third place, with a one place improvement on their performance in this class last year were Andrew Lamb and Denison Park Spartava, who were home in 71.63 seconds.

Above: Tom McDermott and Cachassini II.

The top six placegetters in the first round were as follows:

ROUND 1 RESULTS

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Tom McDermott	Lincoln MVNZ
2nd	Tom McDermott	Cachassini II
3rd	Andrew Lamb	Denison Park Spartava
4th	Andrew Inglis	Laracas
5th	Jess Stones	Chatina
6th	Jamie Winning-Kermond	Tulara Stolensky

Wednesday was a new day, however, there was no change in the rider atop the podium. The 18 combinations entered produced six clear rounds and an exciting jump off. Only three could reproduce their performance, so only the double clears filled the top three placings. In first place, with a jump off time of 47.10 was Tom McDermott and Cachassini II, going one place better than their second place in Round 1. In second place were Savanna Hopkinson and Bittern Park Karmen, just 1.5 seconds in arrears. Visitors from Queensland, Stuart Jenkins and Fairview Alicana were third, a further 1.5 seconds slower, finishing in 50.13 seconds.

Above: Tom McDermott and Cachassini II.

The top six placings in this class were:

ROUND 2 RESULTS

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Tom McDermott	Cachassini II
2nd	Savanna Hopkinson	Bittern Park Karmen
3rd	Stuart Jenkins	Fairview Alicana
4th	Jess Rice-Ward	Tulara Diarangol
5th	Jamie Winning-Kermond	Tulara Stolensky
6th	Will Dight	Thea

Thursday was a scheduled rest day for the Section 2 horses, and they were set to complete their final round on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, a storm arrived around the middle of Friday, leaving a sodden arena behind, so the third and final round of the competition was cancelled.

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So it was straight into the Final this afternoon. Seventeen combinations tackled the course, which produced just a pair of clear rounds. In front of a very large and growing crowd in the twilight, they both returned to battle for the title. Of these there were two double clear performance, with the fastest jump off time and the win going to Andrew Lamb and Denison Park Spartava. They were more than three seconds clear of Tom McDermott and Cachassini II in second place Third place went to Stuart Jenkins and Fairview Alicarna, repeating their third place in the second round.

Above: Andrew Lamb and Denison Park Spartava

Placings in the final were:

GROUP A – SECTION 2 – FINAL

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Andrew Lamb	Denison Park Spartava
2nd	Tom McDermott	Cachassini II
3rd	Stuart Jenkins	Fairview Alicana
4th	Conor Reed	Alpha Activity
5th	Jamie Winning-Kermond	Tulara Stolensky
6th	Andrew Inglis	Laracas

While Andrew Lamb and Denison Park Spartava were worthy winners of the final, as a reward for their consistency over the three rounds of competition, the award for the most successful horse in Section 2 competitions went to Cachassini II, expertly ridden by Tom McDermott

It was a great competition and out congratulations goes to all the winners and placegetters over the course of the four competitions.