The increasing popularity of Eventing Northland's annual Spring Horse Trials has made it harder for local riders to impress in the major divisions.
Held at Barge Park Showgrounds, the two-day competition attracted 270 entries - the most for years, Whangarei competitor and Eventing Northland spokeswoman Kate Wood said.
"It was a great
success. It ran really smoothly and there were no major dramas - there were a few falls as you always get with eventing but we are really pleased with how it went," she said.
Competitors enjoyed the cross-country course set out by international course designer Tich Massey.
"The course rode really well and more people got near the optimum time, especially in the intermediate division," Wood said.
There were top performances across the grades. Only two riders contested the top advanced intermediate division, and Auckland's Shelley Ross riding Alberta Tomba claimed the title.
The Waitangi Sport Horses intermediate class featured fierce competition, but Waikato's James Jackson was too good on NRM Vedette. He was fourth overall heading into the cross-country round yesterday but had the fastest cross-country round, picking up a minimal 1.6 time fault which took him to first overall, in front of Christen Hayde riding Tandarra Sweet Talk and Whangarei's Juliet Wood, who was leading after Saturday's dressage and showjumping rounds, but slipped to third when she got a 8.8 time fault on her horse Dr Who.
In the novice division, Aucklander Sophie Wilkinson and Bob's Dream moved into first following her slightly faster cross-country round than Waikato's Donna Smith on Busuto.
Another Auckland rider, Patrick Everingham, rode Clifton Gem to victory, just pipping Nicola Kelsey and Last Boy Scout.
Waipu's Shelley Hamilton had a superb two days with HR Wonderba to win her class.
Jackson, Smith along with Simone Kahn on Mode and Rhiannon Leak on Misnomer snared the Dunstan Teams Challenge. They produced the top three scores from four riders out of the 27 teams entered and won $1000 for their efforts.
Local riders were now pinning their hopes on next month's Rotorua Horse Trials and the Richfields International Horse Trials, Wood said.
