Equestrian: Top NZ showjumpers line up for World Cup

New Zealand's leading showjumpers will be on hand when the World Cup (NZ) series begins in Hawkes Bay tomorrow.

The World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next year are the big focus for the top competitors.

"I'm picking at least three of the riders who start on Friday will end up in the final five in Kentucky for New Zealand," high performance manager Richard Sunderland said.

The World Games rank alongside the Olympics in terms of importance and Kentucky will be a key part of New Zealand's planning for the London Games in 2012.

The layout for the three-star event is expected to be big and technically challenging. The frontrunners include Katie McVean from Waikato, Dannevirke's Maurice Beatson and Hawkes Bay's Anne Trent.

McVean will ride her Olympic mount Dunstan Forrest II, with the promising Dunstan Delphi; defending New Zealand series champion Trent, who represented the country in Las Vegas at the world final this year, will ride Cortaflex Levitation NZPH on the New Zealand circuit, and had a win at the Gisborne show last weekend; and former Olympic rider Beatson will be aboard My Gollywog and Zibbibo.

Tauranga's Ike Unsworth, Paula Mussen from Pukekohe and Whangarei's Jasmine Sketchley should all be capable of putting in strong displays.

The New Zealand series will be run over nine rounds, with the final two in Gisborne in January, including a speed round. A new indoor round at Manfeild Park in Feilding in the evening of December 12 will add a new spectacle.

The world showjumping final will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 14-18.