Showjumping: Top designer for Wairoa show

HAVE WINGS, WILL FLY: Simon Wilson competing aboard McMillans Midway Smooth Dude at the Wairoa A&P Show last year. PHOTO/Clare Gordon

ORGANISERS of the popular Wairoa A and P Show have attracted one of the best showjumping course designers in the Southern Hemisphere.

Australian John Vallance has been part of the design team for four Olympic Games and regularly travels the world designing and sharing his knowledge. Vallance is no stranger to Kiwi shores, having been at many a Farmlands Horse of the Year Show as well as other top events around the country.

A highlight of his career is working with emerging course designers: "It is a very rewarding part of my role," says the man from New South Wales.

"It is not an easy task and the development is time consuming but it is hugely rewarding."

The annual Wairoa show, which this week celebrates its 114th year, has attracted record numbers and had to close entries to cope with the numbers. Show manager Sue Wilson says 30 more yards have been added this year for the extra horses and they will use the race course to accommodate some of the 373 combinations.

Competition starts tomorrow with a two-day dressage tournament, followed by showjumping, show hunter and ring classes on Friday and Saturday.

The equissage grand prix (1.4-1.5m) has attracted some top entries from the wider Bay area, including husband and wife Simon and Claire Wilson (Waipukurau), New Zealand Performance Horses' Daniel Blundell (Ocean Beach), former New Zealand rep Robert Steele (Dannevirke), Bernard Denton (Feilding), Larina Dolman (Gisborne), Nicki Booth (Masterton) and Geordie Bull (Taupo) .

The colourful Te Radar is guest judge and entertainer.