Carterton trio help win NI Champs

Three members of the Carterton Pony Club were members of the winning Wairarapa-Wellington team at the North Island Pony Club mounted games championships held at Raetihi on Sunday, defeating a crack Australian invitation team in the process.
Rochelle O' Hara on Shadow was the team captain and with her were Nicky Barton from Woodside on Ebbie and Rosie Collier-Wall from Te Ore Ore on B.B. Berocca along with two other riders from Wellington.
Saturday's qualifying round of 14 games saw the Australian invitation team come out the winners after scoring a clean sweep of the final four games of the day. In doing so they established themselves as favourites for the championship round the next day, ahead of a talented Waikato line-up.
Wairarapa-Wellington were placed third, thereby earning themselves a place amongst the six top qualifiers for Sunday's final.
The competition decider was a nail-biting affair. Wairarapa-Wellington established the slimmest of leads in the early games which they defended, hoof beat for hoof beat, against the skilled Aussies through the morning session.So at the lunch break, with 10 games down, Wairarapa-Wellington were still narrowly in front.
The question now was whether such a young squad-their average age is 16- could continue to contain the internationally experienced Aussies through the last four games which had been the latter's strength the day before
But as it happened it was the Aussies who cracked under the pressure with Wairarapa-.Wellington finishing the competition seven points to the good of Waikato.
The victory capped off captain Rochelle O'Hara's final season in pony club competition. She had earlier led Carterton to success in the mounted games championships in Hastings and has competed in mounted games for New Zealand in Europe. She is also one of this country's up-and-coming show jumpers.
The Wairarapa-Wellington team at Raetihi was coached by Barbie Barton and managed by Bobbie O'Hara, both of the Wairarapa.