A glorious day at Sydney International Equestrian Centre (SIEC) marked day two of the Waratah Showjumping 2018.  The newly re-surfaced indoor arena took centre stage, as it hosted the FEI CSI1* 1.40m. This class was the second event in the FEI CSI1* Spring Series, the first of which was held last weekend at The Riders Series.

Thirty five combinations took to the well designed track, to battle it out for a share in the generous prize money pool of $1800. With 12 clears in Round 1, and with no points carried forward to the jump-off,  the win was anyone’s to take.

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McDermott and his first ride, Alpha Activity had a super round, with a time of 41.76 to post the first clear of the jump-off. Jamie Priestley and Courage followed soon after, with a clear in a time of 47.87, as did Alison Rowland and Oaks Visionary (44.67), Jessica Tripp and Diamond B Verona (59.12) and Gabrielle Kuna and PSS Chantilly (45.61). McDermott re-entered the arena on his on his second mount (Diamont) and had another fantastic clear round in 44.65 – faster than the previous riders, taking the combination into second place.  It came down to James Arkins and Da Vinci’s Pride, who started the round with the obvious intention of beating McDermott’s time. However, a dramatic fall at the second obstacle put an end to his challenge and secured 1st Place for McDermott and Alpha Activity and 2nd Place on Diamont, narrowly beating Alison Rowland and Oaks Visionary (0.02 second margin).

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Final placings were as follows:

1st  Tom McDermott and Alpha Activity,
2nd Tom McDermott and Diamont
3rd Alison Rowland and Oaks Visionary
4th Gabrielle Kuna and PSS Chantilly
5th Jamie Priestley and Courage
6th Jessica Tripp and Diamond B Verona
7th Katie Laurie and Casebooke Lomond
8th Jess Stones and Diamond B Vermont
9th Alison Rowland Glenara Cognac
1oth Amber Fuller and CP Arentino
11th Madeline Sinderberry and Oaks Cosmo
12th James Arkins and Da Vinci’s Pride

We look forward to the third event in the FEI CSI1* Spring Series to be held at Sydney Show Jumping Club (SSJC) on Sunday 16th September. The big question now is: Can McDermott take out all three events?