Heading into the final day, Emma Mason from New South Wales leads the Olympic standard competition just ahead of Olympic gold medallist Stuart Tinney from New South Wales and Olympic gold medallist Wendy Schaeffer from South Australia after today’s challenging Qantas Cross Country event.
Earlier in the day, local South Australian Luke Jones took the lead in the CCI** following today’s Cross Country closely followed by Christopher Burton from New South Wales, who also rode the CCI**** finishing in fourth position. Tegan Lush from Western Australia is leading in the Young Rider’s competition.
CCI**** rider Sophie Warren who suffered a minor fall during the event walked away uninjured, along with her horse Let’s Impress.
Competition begins tomorrow in the ATCO Group Main Arena in Rymill Park at 10am with riders navigating a challenging show jumping course designed to test their skills and experience. Trot Up in Victoria Park begins at 8.30am.
The Show Jumping Day includes the Adelaide CCI**, Equestrian Australia CCI**** (Olympic standard) and Bates Australia CIC**.
Olympic champion and Event Director Gillian Rolton says today’s competition has been of an extremely high standard with less than four and a half points separating the top three riders.
“Once again we have a nail biting finish with some of horse ridings’ greatest stars battling it out in a competition that is wide open at this stage,” she says. “Thousands of people have enjoyed the action in Rymill Park and along the entire length of the cross country course today cheering on their heroes and despite the slightly wet conditions, crowd numbers have been strong. The family fun day theme following the much loved Credit Union Christmas Pageant has been a great success and we’re expecting the fun to continue tonight with Flicks in the Park and Party in the Park.”
Chairman of the CCI**** Ground Jury, Michel Asseray from France, said the event was of such a high standard that it should become part of the world-wide HSBC Classic Series.
Fellow Ground Jury member, Sandy Phillips from the UK, said she believed Wendy Schaeffer was the stand-out rider of today’s event. “She’s up there with the best wherever she would compete in the world,” she said.
The AI3DE is Australia’s premier equestrian event and one of only six of its kind in the world and the only one in the Southern hemisphere. The annual event covers three disciplines over three days - dressage, cross country and show jumping - and is the world’s only major equestrian event staged in the heart of a bustling city centre in the Adelaide Parklands.
For more information visit www.australian3de.com.au or www.venuetix.com.au
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