The last Final on the Sydney Royal Jumping program was held yesterday afternoon in front of a large and appreciative crowd. The winners of the Section 2 Final were Amber Fuller and Nopal Van Tallaert, with the winner of the best performed Section 2 horse being announced as Equador MVNZ, expertly ridden throughout the competition by James Paterson-Robinson. Let’s take a look back at how the competition unfolded.

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The section 2 competition kicked-off on Wednesday with a speed class. Chatina, ridden by Rhys Stones showed a clean pair of heels, scooting around the course in exactly 61 seconds. Just 0.37 seconds slower were Phillip Lever and Lomachenko in second, with James Paterson-Robinson and Equador MVNZ, just over a second slower in third.

Above: Rhys Stones and Chatina

ROUND 1 RESULTS

Thursday was a new day and the second round saw three new combinations on the podium. It required a double clear performance for a place in the top three and the fasted in the jump off to achieve this were Amelia Douglass and Sirius Du Granit, just cracking the 40 second mark, finishing in a time of 39.86 seconds. Second place, almost a second slower were the Victorian combination of Brook Dobbin and Gina MVNZ, with third place going to Melissa Blair and Gigant Z, a margin further back, finishing in 45.30 seconds.

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ROUND 2 RESULTS

Friday was a rest day, with the third round held on Saturday, which saw an exciting 6-combination jump-off. Four went double clear, but the fastest were James Patterson-Robinson and Equador MVNZ, taking the win after third and fourth placings in the first two rounds. Tom McDermott and the magnificent looking stallion Cachassini 11 were just over a second slower in third, with Amber Fuller and Nopal Van Tallaert more than two seconds slower in third.

James Patterson-Robinson and Equador MVNZ

ROUND 3 RESULTS

The Final for Section 3 horses was held yesterday afternoon, which saw just three of the 26 combinations engaged record clear rounds. After the jump-off two combinations had recorded double clear, with the fastest going to Amber Fuller and Nopal Van Tallaert in a jump-off time of 53.10 seconds. The win was just reward for this combination who were also double clear in Round 3 but could only finish third in that class.

Amber Fuller and Nopal Van Tallaert

The rest of the podium was filled by Victorian rider Paul Brent. Brent and Fontaine Blue VDL also went double clear but could only finish in a time of 54.09 seconds to claim second place. Brent and Kablesse Kavita, who were also in the jump-off, but took a rail and had to be content with third place.

Paul Brent and Fontaine Blue VDL

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Placings in the Section 2 Final were as follows:

GROUP A – SECTION 2 – FINAL

Just as he did in the Section 3 competition (click HERE), James Paterson-Robinson steered the winner of the best performed horse in Section 2. Equador MVNZ performed consistently over the four days of competition and, claiming third and fourth placings on the first 2 days, before claiming an exciting win in Round 3. A single rail in yesterday’s final placed them in eleventh, however, they had built up enough of a lead over three days to claim the award.

We look forward to what promises to be a thrilling day of competition today with the Mini Prix and Grand Prix competitions sure to be packed with action.