Equestrian: A determined 'Little Nugget' proves his worth

Heelan Tompkins on Dunstan Glengarrick at the three-day event at the Puhinui Reserve in Manukau. Picture / Richard Robinson

There was no hiding Heelan Tompkins' elation yesterday after she won the three-star competition at Puhinui on a 19-year-old horse. Tompkins and horse Dunstan Glengarrick - whom the rider refers to as her "Little Nugget" because of his determined nature - scored a clear round in yesterday's showjumping, which saw them overtake leader Andrew Scott and Mitavite Duncan and clinch their first three-star win at the international three-day event.

The pair were third after the opening day's dressage but moved into second place after the cross-country, where they incurred just a 3.6-point penalty.

"He has won the Taupo nationals, he has won the two-star event here with his previous rider, so it's awesome to just cap it off," Tompkins said.

"You couldn't wish for a better horse."

Feilding's Scott and Mitavite Duncan finished second ahead of Kate Lambie and Charlton Noted.

Tompkins' Duncan Joseph Samuel was fourth, while her new Australian import, Prince of Princes, finished eighth after a troubled showjumping performance that saw Tompkins end up in the drink.

Tompkins was happy with Prince of Princes' efforts over the weekend. Her only concern after the event was her own performance in the dressage where she made a host of errors.

"I was really rubbish on the first day.

"I was angry at myself. I just made mistakes that at this level you shouldn't make."

As to the future of Glengarrick - whom Tompkins rode to 7th at the 2004 Olympics - she said: "I think he is definitely the kind of horse that will tell you [when he wants to stop]."

The two-star competition was won by Olympian Matthew Grayling on the temperamental Red Hot Rocket.

Grayling was tipped to take out the three-star competition on Gordon after a successful run into the event but for the second year in a row the horse faltered on the same jump on the cross-country course and was eliminated.

"He just switched off at that particular jump," Grayling said.

"He did the same thing last year with Alice Montgomery, the owner. There is no reason why it happened ... other than he has got a fairly good memory. It is a little bit unfortunate because he has had an exceptional season."

Cambridge's John Twomey won the one-star competition on Waitangi Jet Stream, a son of Internet.

Twomey led after the dressage, scoring 42.5 penalty points, then completed perfect runs in both the cross-country and showjumping.

Montgomery finished first and second in the Puhinui Young Rider's class on Ngamatea.