Today saw the final day of the Jumping program at the 200th Anniversary Sydney Royal Easter Show held under clear skies in warm conditions. Crowds flocked into the arena as some of the best jumping combinations around tackled either the Mini Prix in the morning, or the prestigious Grand Prix this afternoon.

It may have been Easter Monday on the Show Program, however after today, it might have to be renamed “McDermott Monday” after Tom McDermott won not only the Mini Prix, but took out first and second placings in the Grand Prix this afternoon.

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The Mini Prix saw 27 combinations start  in a competition over two rounds. With only the top eight combinations (or all clears) being invited back for the second round, the pressure was on from the start. In a great display of high class jumping, when the dust settled, there had been 12 clear combinations which meant that all 12 came back for the second round, starting on an equal footing. It was interesting to note that two of the dozen were jumping legends Vicki Roycroft and Russell Johnstone, who were team mates on the Australian Olympic Jumping team in Atlanta in 1996.

Above: Tom McDermott and Cachassini 11

Only three combinations were able to repeat their first-round clear performances. Fastest in Round 2 were Tom McDermott and Cachassini 11 with a time of 57.70 seconds. Second place went to Sarah Duggan and Dublin also double clear in 59.04 seconds. Izabella Stone and Tulara Stolzette came in third, also leaving all the rails in place, in a round two time of 60.14 seconds.

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At the presentation, the Kevin Bourke Memorial Perpetual Trophy which was donated by fellow riders in the memory of the late Kevin Bourke, was awarded to Tom McDermott as the rider of the winning horse in the Mini Prix. This is the second time that McDermott has been awarded this trophy. The top six placegetters in the Mini Prix were as follows:

MINI PRIX RESULTS

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There was a break in the Jumping program to allow jumping of another type (motorcycle stunt riders) and the sheep dogs to do their thing, before the long wait was over. After 10 days of jumping, the main event of the Program was on us, the Grand Prix. Only a select field of 15 combinations were invited to enter which included some of the biggest names on the Australian Jumping scene.

After the first round, there were only three combinations able to go clear. Tom McDermott and Elegance De La Charmille were the quickest and in a show of dominance, Tom was also clear with Warraleigh Park Cortez. The other clear went to Jamie Winning-Kermond and Yandoo Oaks Constellation. With only 10 combinations invited back to compete in the second round, these three were joined by five combinations who finished on four faults along with the two fastest 8-faulters.

Above: Tom McDermott and Warraleigh Park Cortez.

Above: Jamie Winning-Kermond and Yandoo Oaks Constellation

After a break of an hour, a large crowd had taken advantage of the shade filling the seats at the western end of the arena where Graeme Watts had set up the course for round 2.

First out in the second round were Jessica Pateman and Celso. They took a number of rails prior to retiring. Next were another 8-fault pair, Ally Lamb and Eagle Rock. They had a good round, taking just a single rail to finish up with a total of 12.

The next two combinations out, Amelia Douglass and Finch Farm Cadel and Frida Lindgren and Ashleigh City Lights, each took three rails to put themselves out of contention.

Paul Brent and Fontaine Blue VDL were the next combination on course. They took a single rail to finish with a total of 8 faults, which was enough to sit in the lead with five combinations to come.

Next out were Josh Collins and Cornel. They put in an identical performance to Brent before them, finishing on a total of 8, however, a faster time of 81.43 seconds was enough to see them slot into the lead.

Above: Josh Collins and Cornel

The next combination out was Amelia Douglass again, this time with Upper Class Z. They put in the first clear round in Round 2 to finish on 4 faults, which not only took the lead, but placed some real pressure on the three first round clear combinations yet to come.

The first of these three combinations were Jamie Winning-Kermond and Yandoo Oaks Constellation. Unfortunately for them, they could not go clear, taking a single rail on their way around the course, however, their time was fast enough to take the lead.

Second last to tackle the course were Tom McDermott and Warraleigh Park Cortez. They got around the course safely until a single rail at the sixth fence cost them a clear round, however, ending up with a total of 4 and a time of 77.26 seconds meant that he took the lead.

There was only one combination which stood between a victory for Tom and Warraleigh Park Cortez and that was Tom and Elegance De La Charmille. As the excited crowd held their breath, Tom and “Charmille” produced the only double clear performance of the class to snatch the win and stop Warraleigh Park Cortez winning the class for the second year in a row.

It was a wonderful class to watch and it was a privilege to see such fantastic riding.

GRAND PRIX RESULTS

At the presentation, the Frank Thomas Memorial Perpetual Trophy, which was donated by the family of the late Mr F K Thomas, for the Owner of the winning horse in the Grand Prix was awarded to Tom McDermott.

The Samuel Hordern Memorial Perpetual Trophy, donated by members of the Committee of the Equestrian Federation of Australia (NSW) Ltd, for the Jumping Horse of the Show. Was presented to Jamie Winning Kermond on behalf of the winning horse, Yandoo Oaks Constellation.

Amber Fuller accepted an award on behalf of Nopal Van Tallaert, which was named the Young Jumping horse of the show.

The final presentation of the day was the E S Playfair Perpetual Trophy, donated by the late Mrs E S Playfair, for the Most Successful Rider in Jumping Contests (Junior contest excluded) during the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It should be no surprise that that award went to Tom McDermott after scooping the prize pool today.

Let’s just hope that he has lots of room in his truck to get all the horses and trophies home!