"The horse is right," quips Edgecombe, who was a Zander until she married Oliver Edgecombe on December 29 after dating each other for almost a decade.
The 34-year-old rider and her 8-year-old mare, a Holsteiner that Ewen MacIntosh, of Lake Taupo, imported from Germany, will embark on a journey of discovery more than anything else after building chemistry for two years.
"She's still young enough but you can't tell if Annette's ready for the next level so we're going into a little bit of the unknown."
Needless to say, Edgecombe wouldn't be in the field of 34 combos if she didn't think the horse was aptly suited for the class 9 event from 1.30pm to 4.35pm.
The step up to 1.45m fences won't be that demanding from the 1.30m-1.35m range Annette has been accustomed to below the Norwood Gold Cup.
Frankly it's about deportment in the main ring and nothing offers that experience better than the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds in Hastings.
"It's the only show in New Zealand where you have that sort of atmosphere. People can stand right up to the fence to clap while others are milling around shopping and then there's the big grandstand."
Edgecombe won the pro-amateur of the year title at the Hoy Show last year on Double J Rumours, which she sold to another junior rider who is reaping the rewards now on the horse.
But just as laughter punctuates her interview, it comes as no surprise that she describes Annette as "pretty laidback".
"Nothing too much tends to faze her so I'm hoping to stay focused. Last year we were in a smaller ring so we stayed pretty calm and composed."
Everything being equal today, the combination will step up to the Lady Rider of the Year tomorrow.
Ideally she wants to have Annette ready for the New Zealand World Cup classes next season.
"After that we'll see what happens," she says, mindful not to get too far ahead of herself in a sport where age doesn't have to be an issue, if Oliver Edgecombe's uncle, Maurice Beatson, of Dannevirke, is anything to go by.
Basically the mare will have to perform in the country before Brooke Edgecombe will turn to the horizon to entertain thoughts of offshore prospects.
So where does hubby Oliver sit in her equation?
"He definitely helps me a lot. If he's not competing in the same class then he's helping me warm up," she says of the former Olympic Cup winner and New Zealand series champion.
Incidentally Oliver is in today's Norwood Gold Cup field on Ultra Blue NZPH.
"I definitely can beat him but the difference is Oliver's been there and done it," she says with that infectious laughter.
Brooke always rode "seriously all my life" but the three-year time off to graduate with a business management degree from Canterbury University and another three-year stint doing her big OE in England and Ireland were untimely interruptions.
"I didn't do a lot in that time so I've been behind the eight ball and playing catch up since."
Her love for riding stems from her mother, Jan Zander, of Maraekakaho along SH50. She followed in the footsteps of older sister Kim, who married US-born Olympian Greg Best, of Otane.
"If Kim did something then I had to do it too," the former Otaki College pupil reveals, living with her sister and Greg after graduating from varsity and meeting Oliver during that time.
Her father, Peter Zander, of Waikanae, also played his part, driving the horse truck and "doing all the manual labourer's stuff".
"Dad has a big interest in thoroughbred horse racing."
Today's events:
Premier Arena:
* Class 8, 10.30am-12.30pm: AHD Ltd 6-year-old Horse of the Year Championship, part of Mitavite 6YO National Series.
* Class 9, 1.30pm-3.45pm: Norwood Gold Cup 1.45m.
NRM Arena:
* Class 10, 9am-11.45am: Donut Express Horse 1.30m.
* Class 11, 12.15pm-1.45pm: GJ Gardner Pro Am Rider of the Year Championship, 1.20m-1.30m, part of the Let's Bale National Pro-Amateur Series.
* Class 12, 2.15pm-5pm: Pony 1.20m.
* Class 13 (a): Saba Sam Shield.
Fiber Fresh Arena Two:
* Class 14 8am-1pm: Pro-Dosa BOOST Horse 1.20m.
* Class 15, 1.15pm-5.15pm: Pony 1.10m.
Arena Three:
* Class 16, 8am-12.45pm: Pony 1.05m.
* Class 17, 1pm-7pm: Horse 1.10m.
NB: Times are projected.
