Above: Robert Agnew and LH Beckham

One of the significant Titles to be decided at the Pryde’s EasiFeed Australian Showjumping Championships is the Leader Equine Australian Amateur Championship. The Title, held over two qualifying rounds and a final was an interesting competition that had its Final today on the Homes and Acreage Arena 2.

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Round 1, held on Thursday, saw 45 of the country’s best Amateur riders gather to take part in a speed class. Stacey Betar and Diamond B Britannia were the fastest in 72.26 seconds without incurring any penalties. About 1.4 seconds slower, were the second place getters, Robert Agnew and LH Beckham, with third place going to David Prior and Highfield Luda K1, who were the fastest on course, however a rail meant that the four seconds added took them to an adjusted time of 73.92 seconds. All the placegetters from Round 1 are listed below.

CLASS 13: Leader Equine – Australian Amateur Championship Round 1 – 1.10m
The first eight placegetters in this class were:

Round 2 was conducted on Friday and saw 18 of the 41 combinations go clear. A jump off saw 10 of these 18 combinations once again go clear, however Holly Webb and Kerrie Valley China were the fastest by almost three seconds to take the win. Fellow Victorian Adelyn Fallon and her mare Velvet Cate took second place, and Jessie Smith and Ngahiwi Cisco filled third. Official placings for the Second Round are listed below.

Holly Webb and Kerrie Valley China

CLASS 23: Leader Equine – Australian Amateur Championship Round 2 – 1.10m
The first eight placegetters in this class were:

After the second round, all the competing combinations were ranked based on their combined performance in both Rounds 1 and 2 and the top 50% of the field were invited to contest today’s final.

A total of 21 combinations lined up for today’s final. Unlike the major championship series, all combinations came into today’s final on an equal footing as Rounds 1 and 2 only served to qualify for entry for the final for the top 50% of the ranked competitors.

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In very damp and cool conditions, only six competitors were able to record a clear round, meaning only a small jump off field assembled.

First out in the jump off was Adelyn Fallon and Velvet Cate. They recorded a clear round in 45.42 seconds, which became the standard to catch. Next combination out was the ever-consistent Robert Agnew and LH Beckham. They also went clear in 43.66 to take the provisional lead. That turned out to be enough to take the title as each of the next four combinations took a rail, the fastest of which was by Round 2 winner Holly Webb and Kerrie Valley China to secure third place. Fourth, by less than a tenth of a second was the recently crowned NSW Amateur champions, Jennifer Smith and Country Platinum, however it was Victorian riders filling first, second and third.

Jennifer Smith and Country Platinum

CLASS 35: Leader Equine – Australian Amateur Championship FINAL – 1.10m
The first ten placegetters in this class were:

Australian Jumping congratulates Robert Agnew and LH Beckham for their fantastic performance as well as the rest of the competitors, on what was a wonderful championship