Field a step closer to Olympics

Pahiatua dressage exponent Kallista Field has taken an important step towards competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Field has been selected in the New Zealand dressage team to contest the Asian and Pacific regional qualifying competition at Tielcey Park in Palmerston North on February 7.
She will be riding her mother Sharon's horse Soda on whom she placed second behind Raglan's Judy Hartstone in all but the Intermediate FEI intemediate class at the North Island championships held in Taranaki last weekend.
Field and Soda were placed third in that particular class which featured some interesting judging perspectives.
Waikato judge Marcia Bayliss placed Field in first place, South Island judge Myra Field had her seventh and Auckland judge Errol O'Brien fourth.
Those differences saw Field end up third behind Hartstone on her evergreen German stallion Landioso and Charlotte Bayliss of Waikato, riding All Black II
New Zealand is one of three countries competing for two team places at the Beijing Olympics, the other two being Japan and Australia.
Japan will make their bid to selection in a competition held in Cannes, France on January 31 while Australia will do likewise in Sydney on February 4. Therefore these two nations will be awaiting the results from Tielcey Park where the Kiwis will be under the watchful eye of a panel of international judges. with eager anticipation
Field, of course, has already experienced Olympic competition, having represented her country at Sydney in 2000 where she rode Waikare to a top 25 placing, the best effort ever by a New Zealand individual rider at that level of the sport.She also competed on Jamahl at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Spain.
Competing for New Zealand alongside Field at Tielcey Park will be Hartstone on Landioso and Bill Noble of Waingaro on Vincent St James.