Girlfriend spills the beans as champion rider shys away

The word spread like wildfire among the media wallahs at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds yesterday.
Bell Tea Horse of the Year champion rider Oliver Edgecombe is a man of few words.
"I've got better things to do, to be perfectly honest," Edgecombe told SportToday when asked if he enjoyed having microphones shoved in his face.
Those who know the Waipukurau sheep/cattle farmer will attest to that.
Shy is how girlfriend Brooke Zander, of Otane, and grandmother Joan Beatson, of Hastings, describe him.
"But he's a very good boy. He works the whole day on the farm and then rides his horses in the night," a delighted Joan, 86, of Hastings, said soon after Edgecombe received $30,000 for winning the premier competition of the Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Show, in Hastings, yesterday.
"He learned everything from his grandfather. He used to take him hunting when he was only five years old," she said of his late grandfather, George Beatson.
Edgecombe's mother, Judy (nee Beatson), is the sister of Dannevirke rider Maurice Beatson, who also was competing in the main event yesterday.
George was a master hunt of Dannevirke and Edgecombe, a deputy master hunt of Dannevirke, is following in his grandfather's footsteps and those of his great-grandfather, George Duncan Beatson, the master hunt of Hawke's Bay.
His uncle and Maurice's older brother, Barry, of Dannevirke, said Edgecombe was a hard worker who did not leave any stone unturned.
"He's a trader of horses and he's sold some good horses in the United States and Australia," said Barry, the master hunt of Dannevirke.
Edgecombe, who celebrates his 32nd birthday today, didn't want his coming of age publicised either but girlfriend Zander, who has returned from Ireland after three years on her big OE, let the cat out of the bag.
"I've known him for more than 10 years but we started going out just before Christmas," she said.
"I asked him what he wanted most for his birthday and he said he didn't want me to tell anyone that it was his birthday tomorrow. Well, I've told just about everyone today," said Zander with a mischievous grin as she walked Edgecombe's winning mount, JJ Freelance, in a circle outside the stable as HOY officials took urine and blood samples for testing from the nine-year-old gelding.
"He told me he's 28 years old and he tells everyone that too but I've checked his driver's licence and he's turning 32 tomorrow," she said.
Edgecombe said: "We don't need to mention that, do we? I didn't look at the calendar. I guess I couldn't have wished for a better birthday present."
So the SportToday team put Edgecombe to the test, after waiting for almost half an hour for an interview while he assisted HOY officials with JJ Freelance's drug test. So how old are you tomorrow, Oliver?
"Mmm 28," he replied.
When told Zander had told everyone he was older, Edgecombe laughed and confirmed: "I'm going to be 32."
His plan for his birthday is "farm work".
"I've been away for a week so I've got a lot to catch up on," said the sheep and cattle farmer who leases property (1100 acres) from his parents, Judy and David, of Waipukurau, who were watching the New Zealand representative perform yesterday.
His daily routine starts at 7am on the farm. He rides from 4.30pm and "I like to be home by 8pm".