The first leg of the year-long Eventing Super League will be staged at the Fiber Fresh National Equestrian Centre near Taupo this weekend.
Dressage and showjumping will be held on Saturday and crosscountry on Sunday. The Total Industrial Solutions CIC3* class has attracted a field of eight, most of whom had an early season run at Hastings last weekend.
Putaruru's Campbell Draper on Mr Mancini, winners of last year's Equestrian Entries Pro-Am series, had a comfortable win at Hastings, ahead of Matangi's Samantha Felton in second and third place on Ricker Ridge Pico Boo and Ricker Ridge Escada respectively. They then headed home for a few hours sleep before flying out of Auckland for an Australian build up to the Adelaide CCI4* in November.
Matangi's Diane Gilder was fourth with her Australian thoroughbred, Your Attorney, returning from time out because of injury. Waerenga's Donna Edwards-Smith was fifth on the diminutive palomino, DSE Mr Hokey Pokey, who led after the dressage, but cruised carefully around the crosscountry, as most did, collecting a fistful of time penalties.
Hawke's Bay hope Amanda Pottinger and Just Kidding, the NRM National Three-day Event titleholders, were eliminated in the dressage phase after a dramatic show of resistance by the horse, who is obviously over-excited to be out competing again. Needless to say much interest will focus on them this weekend as they return to the scene of their big win.