Andy Daines produced a dashing performance on Spring Panorama to win the first leg of the Eventing Super League at Taupo at the weekend, in their final run before flying to Australia for the Adelaide CCI4* International Horse Trials next month.
The small but classy field of seven starters handled the testing conditions remarkably well, with scores close enough after the dressage to see several changes to the scoreboard following the showjumping on Saturday.
All but one jumped clear across country yesterday despite patches of heavy going.
The two dressage leaders, Donna Edwards-Smith on the diminutive Mr Hokey Pokey and Amanda Pottinger, on the spunky little Just Kidding, who scored 47 and 47.6 penalties, respectively, were less affected by the wet ground than the bigger moving horses, with Campbell Draper lying third on Mr Mancini with 50.8 penalties.
Only two horses produced clear showjumping rounds, both with time penalties, which were the order of the day, only one combination going inside the time.