Above: Katie Laurie and Dandelion

One of the most anticipated classes on the Pryde’s EasiFeed Australian Jumping Championship program is the Riordan Fuels Australian Speed Championship.

Scheduled as the final event of the day and with competition on all the other arenas finished for the day, a large crowd gathered to enjoy the spectacle, despite the icy winds and overcast skies.

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The start list represented a real cross section of competitors across the spectrum of competition at the championships. It brought together those riders who had competed in the Children’s Championship, right the way through to the Senior Championship, with competitors from the Ruby Series and the Off The Track series thrown in.

While riders from New South Wales and Victoria dominated the start list, Queensland had three representatives and Western Australia two. Even South Australia and Tasmania were represented by single entries.

First out was Charly Robinson-Smith and Pure Obsession, who had earlier in the day competed in the Children’s Championship final. They went clear in 73.41 seconds to set the benchmark for the others to chase. It wasn’t until the sixth out on course, Tori Stuckey and Finch Farm Cab Sav, who earlier in the week had won an open 1.35m class, recorded a time of 66.06, did Robinson-Smith lose the lead.

Tori Stuckey and Finch Farm Cab Sav

Eighth combination out was Victorian Ross Smith and Carinya. They rocketed around the course in just 62.68 seconds, however when two rails were taken into account, their adjusted time of 70.78, slotted them into second place. Another Victorian combination of Airlie Robinson and Yalambi’s Corlandia were on the course soon after and produced a fantastic ride to beat Stuckey’s time by just 0.07 seconds and take the lead. Chloe Hughes, who came fifth in this championship last year on Hi Viz, combined with Ned O’Reilly to produce a ride quicker than anybody else in the field so far, however, three rails gave her an adjusted time that put them out of contention.

Airlie Robinson and Yalambi’s Corlandia

With just four of the start list of 20 to go, Robinson was still hanging onto the lead. Next we saw the sole Tasmanians in the field, Mykaela Briggs and Jellystone Park Cassime, attempt the course. Their clear round and a time of 69.35 saw them slot into third place for the time being. Third last out was the South Australian pair of Kristy Bruhn and Jack. A time of 67.67 seconds saw them take over third place. The next pair were Phoebe Riordan and Diamond B Versailles who had earlier in the week placed in Round 1 of the Junior Championship. Their superfast time was thwarted by the addition of 8 seconds for two rails and they finished on an adjusted time of 72.79.

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So it came down to the final pairing of Katie Laurie and Dandelion taking the last shot at assailing Robinson’s position atop the leaderboard. Throwing caution to the wind, Laurie sizzled around the course in just 63.26 seconds, over 2.5 seconds faster than Robinson. Wild cheers arose from the crowd as the appreciative crowd responded to what they had just witnessed.

Katie Laurie and Dandelion

It was a well-deserved victory for Laurie and Dandelion. They rode super fast, yet with the precision required to ensure that all the rails stayed intact, exactly what was required to earn the $2,000 first prize. The official placings are listed below

CLASS 36: Riordan Fuels – Australian Speed Championship – 1.10m
The first eight placegetters in this class were:

Australian Jumping congratulates Katie Laurie and Dandelion for their fantastic performance as well as the rest of the competitors, on what was a wonderful class.