Wairarapa riders snatch titles

It was a stunning Wairarapa double when the national horse and pony show-jumping derbies were staged at Taupo last weekend.
Martinborough's Anna Stephen and Constantine captured the horse title, while the pony spoils went to Tinui's Morgan Percy and Surprise Illusion.
A total of 15 combinations started over the Heather MacDonald-designed track in the horse derby and they confronted a mix of 23 show-jumping and cross-country fences set at 1.35m in deep footing and torrential rain.
In such trying conditions it was hardly surprising that none of the field managed a clear opening round and that left three riders going through to the jump-off after incurring four faults apiece. Stephen and Constantine were first to go in the decider and not only did they go clear over the shortened track but also recorded a cracking time.
Auckland rider Rachel McGregor on Kabo Benny Boy also jumped clear, but stopped the clock two seconds slower than Stephen while Adrian Bruce (Gisborne) on Witheze settled for third place after dropping the first rail and retiring.
Their victory saw Constantine collect another 20 valuable points in the Cathay Pacific Grand Prix series. They currently sit in second place behind Chris Harris (Christchurch) on Te Peka Luciano.
Percy and Surprise Illusion were involved in a jump-off between seven aspirants in the pony derby and they were one of five to register double clear rounds. However, they had clearly the best time when it mattered most, their final winning margin being all of three seconds. The 20 points gained towards the Cathay Pacific Pony Grand Prix series by Percy and Surprise Illusion moved them into fifth place on the scoreboard.