A meritorious eighth in the senior division at the North Island champs was followed by a third placing in the young rider division at the nationals.
Aspen Hills Santa Ana was bred by Tessa's mother Gabrielle Duess, who passed away last year and was a huge influence on her daughter's endurance riding career.
Mason, 17, will be riding Taralea Sheer Illusion owned by well-known Wairarapa endurance identity Shane Dougan. He is the most experienced horse in the Kiwi contingent and the tallest at 15.3 hands.
He also has excellent form, having successfully completed four three-star competitions, and Mason rode him to a notable victory at the national championships at Karatau by an impressive 58 minutes.
Mason, who had her first experience of endurance riding as a 10-year-old, lists Dougan as one of her main mentors. She competed for New Zealand in the 2009 transtasman competition at Ruahine where she was sole Kiwi finisher on her own horse Tararua Mistalight, which was bred by Dougan.
Joining Duess and Mason in the New Zealand team are Sian Reid, 21, of Maramarua and Georgia Smith, 15, from Taihape.
The quartet flew out yesterday in order to give their horses time to accustom to the change in climate conditions.
