Section 1 wraps up in style at Sydney Royal
Sydney Royal’s Section 1 competition built beautifully across the week, with different combinations stepping forward in each class and no shortage of pressure as the final approached. James Paterson-Robinson and Diamond B Vivienne opened the section with a win on Monday, Rhys Stones and Riverton Kanntador answered on Tuesday, Tom McDermott and Cooley Gangster took control on Thursday, and Friday’s final delivered another sharp finish between the leading combinations.
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Monday’s opening class, Class 856, went to James Paterson-Robinson and Diamond B Vivienne, who produced a clear round in 65.06 seconds to take the first win of the section. Amber Fuller and Cadenza NZPH also jumped clear for second, while Jess Rice-Ward and Tulara Diarangol filled third. Rhys Stones and Riverton Kanntador were quickest of the four-faulters in fourth and already looked to be building into the week.
Monday | Class 856
| Place | Rider | Horse | Faults | Time |
| 1 | James Paterson-Robinson | Diamond B Vivienne | 0 | 65.06 |
| 2 | Amber Fuller | Cadenza NZPH | 0 | 66.07 |
| 3 | Jess Rice-Ward | Tulara Diarangol | 0 | 70.27 |
| 4 | Rhys Stones | Riverton Kanntador | 4 | 64.66 |
| 5 | Melissa Blair | Selena C | 4 | 66.67 |
| 6 | James Mooney | KPH Cavatina | 5 | 74.59 |
| 7 | Thomas McDermott | Cooley Gangster | 8 | 62.60 |
| 8 | Sam Whale | Fleur Delacour | 12 | 68.96 |
| 9 | Gabrielle Chugg | CF Edelweiss | 12 | 70.03 |
| 10 | Nicholas Taliana | Jaybee Vision | 14 | 75.92 |
| 11 | Thomas McDermott | Ketut | 16 | 65.81 |
| 12 | Rhys Stones | Ballentyne | 21 | 78.54 |
Tuesday’s Class 855 brought a jump-off and a change in momentum, with Rhys Stones and Riverton Kanntador producing the only double clear to take the win. Tom McDermott and Cooley Gangster were second after a fast four-fault jump-off, while Gabrielle Chugg and CF Edelweiss filled third. Jess Rice-Ward and Tulara Diarangol again featured prominently in fourth, and Rhys also picked up another placing with Ballentyne in fifth.
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Tuesday | Class 855
| Place | Rider | Horse | R1 Faults | R1 Time | JO Faults | JO Time |
| 1 | Rhys Stones | Riverton Kanntador | 0 | 66.60 | 0 | 42.72 |
| 2 | Thomas McDermott | Cooley Gangster | 0 | 67.38 | 4 | 38.12 |
| 3 | Gabrielle Chugg | CF Edelweiss | 0 | 67.49 | 4 | 41.15 |
| 4 | Jess Rice-Ward | Tulara Diarangol | 0 | 68.98 | 4 | 44.01 |
| 5 | Rhys Stones | Ballentyne | 0 | 70.74 | 8 | 45.17 |
| 6 | James Mooney | KPH Cavatina | 0 | 70.15 | 12 | 46.73 |
| 7 | Melissa Blair | Selena C | 4 | 65.38 | ||
| 8 | James Paterson-Robinson | Diamond B Vivienne | 4 | 66.48 | ||
| 9 | Sam Whale | Fleur Delacour | 8 | 65.48 | ||
| 10 | Nicholas Taliana | Jaybee Vision | 16 | 70.42 | ||
| 11 | Thomas McDermott | Ketut | 18 | 85.89 |
By Thursday, Tom and Cooley Gangster had put themselves right in the conversation, taking Class 858 with a double clear in 72.05 and 37.55. Rhys Stones and Ballentyne were close behind in second after also jumping two clear rounds, while Tom added another top-three finish with Ketut. James Mooney and KPH Cavatina were next best on a single time fault, and Melissa Blair and Selena C rounded out the top five.
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Thursday | Class 858
| Place | Rider | Horse | R1 Faults | R1 Time | JO Faults | JO Time |
| 1 | Thomas McDermott | Cooley Gangster | 0 | 72.05 | 0 | 37.55 |
| 2 | Rhys Stones | Ballentyne | 0 | 74.73 | 0 | 38.47 |
| 3 | Thomas McDermott | Ketut | 0 | 72.71 | 4 | 38.59 |
| 4 | James Mooney | KPH Cavatina | 1 | 75.06 | ||
| 5 | Melissa Blair | Selena C | 4 | 69.28 | ||
| 6 | James Paterson-Robinson | Diamond B Vivienne | 4 | 71.70 | ||
| 7 | Gabrielle Chugg | CF Edelweiss | 4 | 72.48 | ||
| 8 | Rhys Stones | Riverton Kanntador | 4 | 72.63 | ||
| 9 | Jess Rice-Ward | Tulara Diarangol | 8 | 70.18 | ||
| 10 | Sam Whale | Fleur Delacour | 12 | 71.74 | ||
| 11 | Nicholas Taliana | Jaybee Vision | 13 | 75.94 |
Friday’s final, Class 857, produced another jump-off and another strong performance from Rhys Stones and Riverton Kanntador, who finished on top after a double clear in 70.56 and 37.72. Tom McDermott and Cooley Gangster were again right there, taking second with their own double clear just fractions behind on 37.96 in the jump-off. Sam Whale and Fleur Delacour added a very good result to finish third after jumping clear in the opening round before lowering a rail against the clock. Melissa Blair and Selena C were fourth, while Gabrielle Chugg and CF Edelweiss completed the top five.
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Friday | Class 857
| Place | Rider | Horse | Round 1 Faults | Round 1 Time | Jump-Off Faults | Jump-Off Time |
| 1 | Rhys Stones | Riverton Kanntador | 0 | 70.56 | 0 | 37.72 |
| 2 | Thomas McDermott | Cooley Gangster | 0 | 72.17 | 0 | 37.96 |
| 3 | Sam Whale | Fleur Delacour | 0 | 68.68 | 4 | 39.84 |
| 4 | Melissa Blair | Selena C | 4 | 68.46 | ||
| 5 | Gabrielle Chugg | CF Edelweiss | 8 | 72.43 | ||
| 6 | James Paterson-Robinson | Diamond B Vivienne | 8 | 72.66 | ||
| 7 | James Mooney | KPH Cavatina | 8 | 72.70 | ||
| 8 | Jess Rice-Ward | Tulara Diarangol | 8 | 73.36 | ||
| 9 | Thomas McDermott | Ketut | 9 | 74.53 | ||
| 10 | Rhys Stones | Ballentyne | 13 | 74.54 | ||
| 11 | Nicholas Taliana | Jaybee Vision | 23 | 76.22 |
Rhys Stones and Riverton Kanntador claimed the EA Cup for their win in the final Section 1 class and Cooley Gangster ridden by Tom McDermott was named best performing Section 1 Horse across the 2026 show after very consistant performances across the week.
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