Day 2 of the jumping programme at WEG 2018 has concluded with the Australians all performing wonderfully, leaving them in a strong position for Day 3 tomorrow. Of the 120 combinations which tackled today’s course, only the top sixty would qualify for Day 3 and all four Australian combinations have done so – with room to spare. The combined Australian team now lies in eight place which means they are one of the ten teams to advance to Day 3 team finals.

The course set for today proved to be incredibly challenging, particularly during the latter-half. The final jump proved to be the downfall of many. The course saw only five combinations go clear, which, considering the calibre of riders here at WEG, speaks volumes for the difficulties that the course presented.

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Before describing today’s proceedings, let’s recap where the Australians were positioned after Day 1, and look at how penalties were allocated based on performances. After yesterday’s speed round all combinations were ranked according to their performance. The winner from yesterday, Steve Guerdat and Bianca were the benchmark and therefore allocated zero penalties. Every other combination received a penalty equal to half the number of seconds which they were behind the leader. For example, if a combination took exactly 6 seconds longer than the leader, that combination would be allocated 3 penalties. These penalties carry forward throughout the competition. The table below shows how the Australian combinations were placed after Day 1, relative to the competition leaders.

Third out of 124 starters was a brilliant result for Rowan Willis and Blue Movie and set them up for a real chance of an individual medal at the games. Click below to hear an exclusive interview with Willis after his wonderful performance yesterday.

With regards to the teams competition, only the scores of the best three riders will count when added together to produce a combined team score. The team results after Day 1 were as follows:

This was a fantastic result for the Australians and placed us above traditional jumping powerhouse nations such as France, Germany, Ireland and Belgium.

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On Day 2, the first Australian combination out was Jamie Kermond and Yandoo Oaks Constellation. They had a fantastic round which looked like being clear until they had a rail down at the last. A single time penalty meant that 5 penalties from today added to 3.53 from yesterday to give Kermond a total of 8.53.

Australian Jumping’s Seamus Marwood spoke with Kermond after his ride today.

The next Australian combination out was US based Scott Keach and Fedor. The first half of the course went smoothly, but two late rails, including the last, gave them 8 penalties from today. When added to their 4.22 from yesterday, they were left with a total of 12.22. Still an exceptional result when compared to that of numerous combinations today.

Billy Raymont on Oaks Redwood again started well, however a single hoof in the water and a rail down meant 8 penalties today, taking their total to 11.48.

See below for an exclusive interview with Raymont after his ride.

The final of the Australian combinations out was the best positioned combination of Rowan Willis and Blue Movie. The pair looked very strong again, but unfortunately collecting two rails meant they dropped from 3rd to 22nd. Willis remains the best placed of the Australians and, with less than 8 penalties separating him from the leader, he is still in with a very real chance of an individual medal.

Selected individual placings after Day 2 are as follows:

With the top 60 riders going on to Day 3,  All Australian combinations have well and truly qualified.

In the teams competition, the top 10 teams qualifying for day 3 are as follows

We look forward to an exciting conclusion to the Teams Competition of Day 3, tomorrow.