Above: Will Dight and Thea

Today was the first day of finals weekend at the Pryde’s EasiFeed Australian Jumping Championships, which saw a number of Series and Championships reach their conclusion.

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Read on for a full summary of the day’s action.

The first class on the Pryde’s Main Arena was the Final of the 4cyte Australian Children’s Championship won by Imogen Lindh and Licaviv. For our full story on this final, click HERE.

The next class on this arena was the final of the Verband Holsteiner Germany Future Stars Series, won by Frida Lindgren and Sovereign’s Halo. For our full story on this final, click HERE.

The Kiernan Plant Hire Mini Prix was the third class on the Pryde’s Main Arena and was won Will Dight and Thea. For our full story on this final, click HERE.

Above: Will Dight and Thea.

The final class this evening was the Racing Hearts Australian Speed Championship which was won in spectacular style by Tom McDermott and Warraleigh Park Cortez. For our full story on this class, click HERE.

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There was plenty of action on Flemings Nurseries Arena 2 as well. The first clas held there today was the final of the Griffiths Equestrian Emerald Series. Thirty-five combinations competed in this class, having qualified for it due to their good performances in the two qualifying rounds. There were 14 clear rounds and nine combinations recorded double clear performances. The fastest double clear (42.88 seconds) and therefore the win went to the Victorian combination of James Harvey and Yirrkala Celeste. It would have been a sweet victory for this pair, after Harvey and the mare finished in third place in the 2021 Emerald Series final. To make the day even better for Harvey, he and the stallion GC Chicane combined to also finish in second place with a time of 43.68 seconds. The Queensland pair of Robert Goodwin and Caveton Park Legacy stopped the clock at 44.32 seconds which was enough to secure third place.

Above: James Harvey and Yirrkala Celeste

The next class on this arena was the final of the of the Amateur Series. The class today was sponsored by Volpaia Park and saw 27 combinations entered, based on their good performances in the two qualifying rounds. Eleven combinations achieved a clear round, which created the need for a jump-off. After the jump-off, there were still six combinations yet to disturb the rails, so it came down to time to sort things out. As it turned out the winning combination are no stranger to success at the Australian Championships. In 2021, Sarah Weiss and Waratone won the Off-the-track Championship and today they were the winners of the Amateur Championship. It was a tight victory, finishing in 44.11 seconds, just 0.21 seconds ahead of the second placed Katrina Silk and Dunrostan from NSW. Third place went to the visitors from South Australia, Taliah Daniels and Lamperds Stella with a time of 45.51 seconds.

Above: Sarah Weiss and Waratone

The final class today on Flemings Nurseries Arena 2 was the Sproules Farm Open 1.10m competition. A total of 58 combinations entered this single round class, which saw a massive 23 combinations go clear. The win was awarded to the fastest of these and that honour went to young NSW rider Alexandra Inglis and the mare Glenara Affogato, finishing in 59.12 seconds. Second place went to the experienced NSW rider, Des Gleeson and mare Mingara Vonbella who took 62.53 seconds to complete the course. A time of 64.39 seconds was achieved by Hanna Lamb and RBH Mr Image, which was enough to secure third place.

The grass arena was brought into play for the first time in these championships, hosting the second round of the Racing Victoria Off-The-Track Championship. The spectacle was enjoyed by the large number of spectators who encircled the arena in the warm sunshine.

There were 26 combinations entered, who produced seven clear rounds. In the jump-off, only two of these combinations were able to repeat their clear round performances, so times needed to be consulted to determine the winners. The fastest of these two were Katie Clark and Katelle Grand, who stopped the clock at 37.93 seconds to secure the win. Second place went to Sam McCrae and Jamieson, finishing in 39.03 seconds. In third place today, in a very fast time of 35.15 seconds, which would have been enough to win had it not been for a single rail down, were the earlier winners of the Amateur Series, Sarah Weiss and Waratone. As mentioned earlier, this combination is also the defending Off-The-Track champions from 2021. The Final of this series is scheduled to take place on Sunday afternoon.

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For the first time in the Championships, there was action across four arenas today. The first class on Tulara Warmbloods Arena 3 was the second round of the Chase Equestrian Ivory Series. It was a single round class with the winners Sunday Borrack and Tane Mahuta finishing in 59.50 seconds and going two places better than their third place in yesterday’s first qualifying competition. Kelly Fyfe and Materialism were second with a time of 63.93 seconds. Third place today was claimed by yesterday’s runner-up combination, Susanna Verco and Ruben, who stopped the clock at 64.25 seconds. The final of the Chase Equestrian Ivory Series will be held on Sunday morning on this same arena.

The third and final qualifying round of the Yandoo Equestrian Services Pearl Series was the next class conducted on Tulara Warmbloods Arena 3. The winners of this class were Lorna Clifford and Ngahiwi Possum, who were clear with a time of 61.66 seconds. It was their second win in the series having taken out the first round on Thursday. In a repeat of their second placing yesterday, Eliza Abrahams and Vivarchi RM finished clear in 63.29 seconds. In third place, with a time of 63.41 seconds today were Kaya Zielinski and Lady Of Diamonds who deserve an A+ for consistency, having finished in this position in all three rounds of the Series. While they have not won in any Ivory classes this week, they are the defending champions from the 2021 Championships. The final is scheduled for tomorrow.

The final class on Tulara Warmbloods Arena 3 was the third and final qualifying round of the JPR Equestrian Opal Series. For the third day in a row, young Victorian superstar Zara Adnams and her gelding Dingmac Disco King won the class. Today they went clear in a single round class in a time of 58.67 seconds. No doubt Zara will go into tomorrow’s final looking to better her second placing in last year’s Opal Series Final. Second place today went to the NSW combination of Charly Robinson-Smith and Carisma II in a time of 58.99 seconds. The third placegetters, Olivia Curtain and Xcella took 59.83 seconds to complete the course, also going clear. It promises to be a great final tomorrow.

It was a fantastic day of jumping action and all is in readiness for the final chapters to be written tomorrow in the big three championships. First will be the Junior Championship final, followed by the Young Riders. The final class of the Championships will be the Pryde’s EasiFeed Australian Senior Championship Final, which will be a spectacle not to be missed.

Congratulations to all the winners and placegetters, which are listed below

PRYDE’S MAIN ARENA

CLASS 27: 4CYTE – AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S CHAMPIONSHIP (FINAL) – 1.15-1.20m

CLASS 28: VERBAND HOLSTEINER GERMANY – FUTURE STARS (FINAL) – MINIMUM 1.30m

CLASS 29: KIERNAN PLANT HIRE – MINI PRIX (FINAL) – MINIMUM 1.40m

CLASS 34: RACING HEARTS – AUSTRALIAN SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP – MINIMUM 1.30m

FLEMINGS NURSERIES ARENA 2

CLASS 30: GRIFFITHS EQUESTRIAN – EMERALD SERIES (FINAL) – MINIMUM 1.10m

CLASS 31: VOLPAIA PARK – AMATEUR SERIES (FINAL) – 1.20m

CLASS 32: SPROULES FARM – OPEN – 1.10m

GRASS ARENA

CLASS 33: RACING VICTORIA – OFF THE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP (ROUND 2) – 1.10m

TULARA WARMBLOODS – RING 3

CLASS 35: CHASE EQUESTRIAN – IVORY SERIES (ROUND 2) – 0.80m

CLASS 36: YANDOO EQUESTRIAN SERVICES – PEARL SERIES (ROUND 3) – 0.90m

CLASS 37: JPR EQUESTRIAN – OPAL SERIES (ROUND 3) – 1.00m

Results sourced from online.equipe.com