The fifth leg of the 2024 Australian FEI World Cup season was held this afternoon at SIEC as part of the Waratah World Cup Show. A small field of just 14 combinations tackled the David Sheppard built course in the indoor arena, the first indoor World Cup of the 2024 season.

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The first half of the field came and went before the eighth combination out, Jamie Winning-Kermond and Tulara Wat Colblensky put together the first clear round of the class. By the end of the first round of competition, there were three clears, with the fastest going to New Zealand visitors, Julie Davey and LT Holst Freda, in a time of 80.30, pipping Jamie by just 0.01 seconds. Also clear and going into the second round carrying no penalties were Mattea Davidson and Jaybee Vigilante.

Above: Jamie Winning-Kermond and Tulara Wat Colblensky

Twelve combinations were invited back to compete in a second round, carrying their first round penalties with them.

The first two out in the second round were the duo of combinations carrying 16 penalties, namely Merrick Ubank and Vakarra Checkassini and Melissa Blair and Selena C. They added four and eight second round penalties respectively to finish with totals of 20 and 24.

Next out was Sam Overton and his World Cup pointscoring nomination Oaks Cassanova, carrying just 4 penalties. They barely clipped a rail which fell, taking their total to eight and with a fast time of just 44.16 recorded, they set a target for the others to chase.

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The next two combinations out, Maverick Miles and Verdasco and James Mooney KPH Cavatina, each brought eight faults into the ring and left on a total of 12 after taking a single rail.

Next out, Sam Whale and Fleur DeLacour, also brought eight with them, but took a further two rails to finish on 16.

Now it was on to the second half of the second round, where the action soon heated up. The first of the round 1 four faulters, Phillip Lever and Billionaire NZPH, put together the first second round clear to finish with a total of 4 seeing them comfortably into the lead for the time being.

The experienced Clem Smith and Oaks Conjuror, also carried four faults into the second round and looked as if they would match Phillip Lever’s efforts, however a rail at the last saw them add a further four faults, taking away their chance of winning the class.

The next pair on course were Sam Overton and Conchita Van De Helle, who took a single rail to finish on a total of 12 penalties.

The last three combinations on course were the three first round clears all looking to keep ahead of the competition leaders Phillip Lever and Billionaire NZPH, who were back in the stable with a total of four and a fast time to go with it.

Mattea Davidson and Jaybee Vigilante were the first of the final three to go. They had a great round, producing a clear to back-up their first-round effort. Their two-round total of zero, took them to the lead, however, their time of 50.81 seconds was not particularly fast, leaving the door open for the two combinations to follow.

Above: Mattea Davidson and Jaybee Vigilante

Jamie Winning-Kermond and Tulara Wat Colblensky were the next combination out. They attacked the round with purpose and were on track to take the lead, however a rail towards the end of their round put paid to their chances of victory. Their time was fast, (45.23 seconds) which was enough to see them into second place and with just one combination to come, they had assured themselves of a place on the podium.

The last combination in the class were Julie Davey and LT Holst Freda. They were going well until, like the combination before them, they took a rail and had to settle for a total of four. Unfortunately, of the three combinations who finished with a total of four, they were ever so slightly slower than the other two and so had to slot in behind them into fourth place.

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So the win went to Mattea Davidson and Jaybee Vigilante, deservedly so, as they were the only combination able to produce a double clear performance. It was the second win of the season for Mattea, who took out the first leg at Shepparton with Checkamour D, a class she dominated as she also came in second that day with Jaybee Vigilante.

Congratulations to all involved for contributing to an enjoyable afternoon of jumping.

The full listing of the top 12 placegetter in the World Cup Qualifier are listed below.

CLASS 22: WARATAH SHOWJUMPING: WORLD CUP QUALIFIER CSI1*-W

PLACE	RIDER	HORSE
1st	Mattea Davidson	Jaybee Vigilante
2nd	Jamie Winning-Kermond	Tulara Wat Colblensky
3rd	Phillip Lever	Billionaire NZPH
4th	Julie Davey	LT Holst Freda
5th	Clem Smith	Oaks Conjuror
6th	Sam Overton	Oaks Cassanova
7th	Sam Overton	Conchita Van De Helle
8th	Maverick Miles	Verdasco
9th	James Mooney	KPH Cavatina
10th	Sam Whale	Fleur DeLacour
11th	Merrick Ubank	Vakarra Checkassini
12th	Melissa Blair	Selena C

Results sourced from online-equipe.