Congratulations Michelle

We are proud to announce that Michelle was awarded the FEI Groom of the Year trophy at a glitzy ceremony in Denmark.  Michelle was in attendance to accept the award.  A great recognition for a fantastic groom.  Well done Michelle.

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Adelaide International Three Day Event (13-15 November)

Always a highlight on the Eventing calendar is the Adelaide Three Day Event, it is an amazing event that happens right in the centre of the city.  Well done to the committee who staged a great event.

Shane rode All Luck in the CCI4*, Lucky did a great test to be in 3rd place after the dressage.  The cross country proved very tough with many experienced combinations running into problems, including Shane and Lucky.  Lucky was not his usual self cross country so Shane elected to retire after two problems cross country.  Shane also rode Cassie Lowe's Koko Black in the CCI2*, they went well but an expensive rail had them finish 3rd overall.  Statford Novalis was in Adelaide to defend his CIC2* title that he won last year and he looked on track for a repeat performance however 2 uncharacteristic rails in the showjumping cost him the win. Novalis had to settle for 2nd place this year.

Emma Scott was disappointed to miss the 4* due to a minor setback with her star horse Mustang however her young 6yo Jenburn Monyana who was the youngest horse in the CCI2* made it a good weekend by winning the class.  Monyana is very flash both on the flat and over a fence and is a very exciting prospect for the future.

Niki rode the Aldridge families Milford Monarch, he did a decent test, there is still plenty of room for improvement.  Niki was however disappointed to be well down in the placing's after the dressage, however they made leaps up the leaderboard after a clear cross country with a few time penalties and a great clear showjumping round to finish in overall 12th place.

Congratulations to Stuart Tinney who won the CCI4* with the lovely grey Vettori and also to the Australian Team that won the Trans Tasman Challenge.

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Hawkesbury Dressage Championship (8 November)

We attended the Hawkesbury dressage championships at SIEC to fine tune our dressage skills before Adelaide Three Day Event.  The horses went well in most classes.  Shane and All Luck were named reserve Medium champion and Moritz was third overall in the Medium classes. Taurus was in the minor placing's in the Elementary class. 

Niki rode Ladybrook Remington who showed some good work but also some moments of tension however they were still able to take home the Elementary Championship trophy.  Milford Monarch was in the same class and is still a little green at this level and finished outside the placing's.  Niki also had two horses in the Novice classes, Sir Dex is getting better all the time and ended up Reserve Novice Champion (on a count back).  WP Midnight Oil was well behaved and placed 3rd in both Novice classes.

Emma rode her young horse Jenburn Monyana and placed in one of the Elementary classes.

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EXCITING NEWS: Michelle Robson who has been with us for 6 years has been named as a finalist in the FEI Grooms award.  Michelle has been invited by the FEI to the awards dinner in Denmark!  Michelle will fly out straight after Adelaide Three Day Event, we wish her the best of luck.  Michelle would certainly be a worthy recipient of this award.  Special thanks to the FEI for recognising Michelle and other hard working grooms who dedicate themselves to caring for horses.  To see an article on Michelle go to: http://www.equestrian.org.au/?Page=21220   

Good Luck Michelle.

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Wagga Wagga CNC (31 Oct - 1 Nov)

We headed off to Wagga with a truck full mainly of youngsters.  Our working pupil Charlotte Gorman-Deane was the team star winning the Prelim class with her horse Run Scottie Run.

Shane was pleased with his team and placed 2nd in the CNC3* with Taurus, he was 6th & 7th in the Pre Novice with the 4yo Cleddau Achtung and 5yo stallion Statford Neo respectively.  Emma stayed home this weekend and so Shane rode Benjie's Duke in his first Pre Novice class he went well but finished outside the placing's.  Shane's other ride for the weekend was Billy a young horse by Bao Lack who is also the sire of All Luck, Billy placed 5th in the Prelim.

Niki rode Ladybrook Remington in the CNC2* and placed 5th.  Niki was also 2nd in the Introductory with WP Holly (by Vivant) who was having her first eventing start.  Niki's Pre Novice ride was Sir Dex who is still new to this level and finished outside the placing's.

Rachel Watts rode her own Ziggystarr Dust in the Prelim and finished in 10th position.

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Goulburn CIC (17 - 18 October)

We always love heading to Goulburn CIC and this year was no exception.  'Lynton' looked amazing with lush green paddocks and the going was fantastic.  Geordie and Neil Kennedy and their team did a great job and the event was very well run.

The Bimbadeen horses went well with Shane placing 3rd in the CIC3* with Statford Novalis, he was also 7th with APH Moritz and Taurus went well but finished out of the placing's.  Shane also placed 4th in the Pre Novice with Statford Neo (By Statford Novalis) and was 6th in the Prelim with Cleddau Achtung.

Niki rode Milford Monarch who is now established at 2* level, a few time penalties dropped them down the field to finish 12th, he did however jump fantastic.  Niki also had Sir Dex and Wisteria Lane in the Pre Novice who are both new to this level, they both did good dressage tests and showjumped clear but picked up a frustrating 20 penalties each cross country to finish down the order.

Emma and her young star Jenburn Monyana went well to place 2nd in the large CIC2* class.  Emma also rode Benjie's Duke who was a little green in the dressage but finished on their dressage score to end up in 11th position in the Prelim.

Charlotte rode her own horse Run Scottie Run who had an unfortunate stop to drop down the order.

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Australian Showjumping Championships (9 - 11 October)

We headed to the Australian Showjumping Championship to brush up on our showjumping skills.  The classes were huge with over 140 starters in most classes so the chances of winning a ribbon was very slim.

Niki used the competition to school here horses and never tried to win the speed classes.  Niki was pleased with all her horses (Sir Dex, Wisteria Lane, Ladybrook Remington, Milford Monarch and WP Holly).  Holly was having her first outing and was very well behaved, she jumped three clear rounds.  Here father 'Vivant' was crowned the Australian Showjumping Champion, so hopefully she has the jumping ability of her dad.

Shane loves to jump against the clock and he scorched around the D Grade with Koko Black to win the class, beating the other 150 starters. His other horses all jumped well (Statford Novalis, APH Moritz, Taurus, Statford Neo and Cleddau Achtung)

Emma jumped Monyana as well as the two youngsters Benjie's Duke and Billy (Who needs a proper name still) who all jumped good rounds.

Rachel rode her two horses and they have benefited for the experience.

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Canberra CIC (3-4 October)

We headed to Canberra with a team of horses, the weather was cold and wet.  The venue however coped very well and the Grant Johnston Cross Country course handle the weather well.  The course look big and technical for all grades but rode very well.  Shane had a good weekend placing 2nd, 3rd and 7th in the CIC3* with Koko Black, APH Moritz and Taurus respectively.  He was also 2nd in the Prelim on the promising young Cleddau Achtung (Formerly Jaybee Alerich).  Shane's two Pre Novice horse went well but finished outside the placing's.

Niki also had a good weekend winning the Prelim on Wisteria Lane, who has now won her last three starts. Ladybrook Remington was better behaved this weekend to finish 5th in the CIC2* and Milford Monarch was 7th in the same class.  Sir Dex had his first Pre Novice start and went really well but finished down the order due to time faults cross country.

Charlotte rode her horse Run Scottie Run but had an unfortunate stop cross country.

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Scone CNC (26-27 September)

Margo White and her team did a fantastic job and ran a super event.  The newly revamped cross country course looked fantastic, Wayne and Prue Copping have put a great deal of thought and effort into the cross country course and it rode very well.  All the improvement were made possible due the generous sponsorship from Mt Arthur Coal, all the riders certainly benefit from this sponsorship and we all hope this association will continue into the future to the benefit of not only Scone Horse Trials but the sport as a whole.

Bimbadeen Park had a big team of horses at Scone and most performed well in the windy conditions.  Bimbadeen horses dominated the CNC3* class, we had 5 horses in the top 6 places.  Shane won the class on All Luck, Emma was 2nd on the wonderful Mustang, Shane placed 4th, 5th and 6th with Koko Black, APH Moritz and Statford Novalis respectively.

In the CNC2* Shane was 3rd with Taurus.  Niki with Milford Monarch and Emma Scott with Jenburn Monyana both went well in the CNC2* but finished outside the placing's.  Ladybrook Remington ridden by Niki did not cope with the windy conditions and really never settled in the dressage phase so took not further part in the competition.

Shane had Robert Palm's Blameitonthebear in the CNC1*, he was a little green at this level but will no doubt improve in the future.

In the Prelim the Bimbadeen Park team picked up a few ribbons, Niki and Wisteria Lane lead from start to finish to win the class.  Jessamy and WP Midnight Oil placed 4th in the same class.  In the other Prelim section Charlotte Gorman-Deane and her horse Run Scottie Run were on track to finish on the podium but time penalties cross country dropped them down the order.  Emma and the lovely young Benjie's Duke finished the competition in 6th place in the prelim class.  Niki also rode Sir Dex who jumped really well but was very keen cross country so Niki gave him a schooling round and as a result picked up time penalties

Michelle rode Il Vici in his first eventing competition and he went very nicely and took everything in his stride.  Michelle felt that he really had fun cross country and jumped everything very well.  He unfortunately had the last rail in the showjumping but still placed 5th in the Introductory class, which was pleasing for his first eventing start.

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Shoalhaven Dressage (20 September)

The team headed of to Shoalhaven Dressage Day to polish up our test riding skills and give the horses the opportunity to do a few tests in a day.  The horses all went well and we managed to pick up a few ribbons and points.

Shane and All Luck won both the Medium tests, APH Mortiz was also in the Medium classes and placed 2nd and 5th.  Shane also rode Taurus was 1st and 2nd in the Elementary classes.

Niki was won two Elementary classes on Ladybrook Remington and placed 1st and 2nd with Wisteria Lane in the Novice sections.

Jessamy rode the ever consistent WP Midnight Oil and placed 1st and 2nd in a Prelim and Novice test.

Michelle rode Il Vici who has recently finished racing, he coped very well at his first outing and placed 3rd and 4th in two Prelim classes.

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Sydney International Three Day Event (10-13 September)

The committee and volunteers did a fantastic job running a great competition and were blessed with wonderful warm weather.  Shane rode three horses in the 3DE.  Koko Black was first into the arena and did great test but suffered a little from being the first out and did not receive the score we felt he deserved, they did finish the day in 3rd.  Statford DeMarco was also in the 2* and did a good test to be only a few points off the lead in 5th place.  Blameitonthebear did a good test to be in 4th place after the dressage.

On Saturday (Cross Country day) Blameitonthebear went well and finished clear and under time to move up to 3rd place.  Koko Black jumped super and tackled all the tough lines like an old pro however he had a frustrating stop at a simple fence that dropped him down the placings.  Statford DeMarco was going great guns and on track to finish clear and under time until the second last fence which he jumped well but landed and went lame.  Sadly he has sustained an injury that will end his eventing career.  It was a very sad day for the Bimbadeen Park team, Marco has been a part of our family for nearly 6 years and we were devastated that he was injured, he will however have a long and enjoyable retirement in a paddock at Bimbadeen Park. 

Showjumping day saw Koko Black move up to 4th place with a great clear jumping round.  An unlucky rain for Blameitonthebear moved them down to 5th place.

Our young horses were the stars of the team.  The Bimbadeen Horses just missed out on a clean sweep of the age classes.  Emma Scott's very flash Jenburn Monyana won the 6 year old class.  The lovely WP Midnight Oil ridden by Jessamy Walsh won the 4 year old class and scored the highest overall score across all age classes.  Penny Ledner's lovely Jaybee Alabaster baby Jaybee Alerich ridden by Shane placed 2nd in the 4 year old class.  Niki and Wisteria Lane places 2nd in the 5 year old class.  David and Sandra Burton's Statford Neo performed well considering he only had four days work since May and placed 6th in the 5 year old class.  Rachel Watt's had her horse Ziggy Starrdust in the 6 year old class and placed 8th.  In the final round (jumping indoors) all the horses went well and handled the situation very well.  Emma horse Jenburn Monyana was named the overall champion.  All were very proud of all our young horses and are excited about the future with them.

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Camden CNC (29-20 August)

Unfortunately several of our horses were balloted out so spent the weekend at home.  Of those that attended there were good results including Shane and APH Moritz placing 3rd in the 3*, Shane and Statford DeMarco were 10th in the 3*.  Koko Black continued his consistant run to be 2nd in the 2*, Taurus was also in the 2* but was a little distracted in the dressage but finished in 12th place overall.  Blameitonthebear that is owned by Robert Palm and Mark Schembre placed 3rd in the Pre Novice. 

It was disappointing that the committee decided to cancel the Prelim and Intro cross country.  Shane was in 3rd place in the Prelim with Peter and Leone's PPP Samuel Swashbuckle who scored a fantastic 77.2% in the dressage.  Jessamy Walsh was also in the Prelim with WP Midnight Oil and also missed out on the cross country run, we disappointing as they were in 2nd position and the horse in first place was not going cross country.

Emma Scott had her two horses in the 2*, Jenburn Monyana really stepped up to the challenge in his first 2* start.  Mustang had a stress free run and is now starting his preparation for Adelaide CCI4*.

Niki had two horses balloted out buy did ride Milford Monarch in the 2* and he cruised around his first 2* but finished out of the placings.

Rachel Watts also had a horse balloted out but did have a good run on Mr Madoodoe in the Pre Novice.

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Competition Plans: Shane and Niki have both planned their horses program for the remainder of 2009.  Go to Shane or Niki's tab and select calendar to view the competition plans for each horse.

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NSW Dressage Council - Clarendon (9 August)

Shane and Niki headed off to tackle the dressage riders.  Niki was very happy with Wisteria Lane, they competed in the official Novice classes and placed 1st and 2nd a great performance from the 4yo at her first official dressage outing.

Shane had APH Moritz and Taurus in the Elementary and Medium they are still green at this level but Moritz placed 3rd in the Elementary and 7th in the Medium.  Taurus was 7th in the Elementary and 16th in the Medium. 

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In July we finished the upgrade of our training gallop track, it now has an all weather surface to ensure perfect going every day of the year no matter the weather.

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Quirindi CIC (25-26 July)

Quirindi ran their first CIC competition as it was a great event.  The Bimbadeen Park team went well with Jessamy winning the Introductory on Baz who was only at his second outing, he is proving to be a lovely young horse with a wonderful temperament.  Niki won the Prelim with Wisteria Lane scoring an outstanding 78% in the dressage, together they went on to win the class by over 12 penalties.  Niki also rode Sir Dex and Milford Monarch but finished outside the placing's.

Shane had two horses in the Pre Novice and placed 2nd with Glenorchy Cash and 5th with Blameitonthebear. 

Rachel had an unfortunate fall in the Pre Novice so did not ride in the Prelim with her second ride.

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Berrima CNC (18-19 July)

Rachel's new horse Ziggy Starrdust showed his potential for the future by winning the Prelim class.  Rachel would have also been 4th on her other horse however jumping the wrong fence cross country ensured that did not happen.

Jessamy took Baz (by Mantovani) out for his first competition and he went fantastic and behaved like an old pro.  He was 3rd after the dressage, Jess gave Baz a lovely relaxed cross country ride to introduce him to eventing so time penalties dropped them out of the placings however Jess was thrilled with the way he went.

Niki just had Wisteria Lane who went well but a steady cross country round kept them out of the placing's.

Shane had two horses in the Pre Novice however one fell of the tail gate of the truck and the other had a temperature so neither of these horses went cross country.

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Sydney CNC (4-5 July)

Shane had a successful weekend winning the CNC2* with the very exciting Koko Black, he also placed 6th with Statford De Marco in the two star.  Blameitonthebear went well in the Pre Novice.

Niki enjoyed a good weekend with Wisteria Lane placing 3rd and Sir Dex 5th in the Prelim.

Emma was 2nd in the Prelim on Lee Hokianga's Glenorchy Cash and she placed 4th in the intro on her new horse Wild Nights who is currently for sale (see Horses for sale page).  Rachel's horses went well and look ready to move up the grades.

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Melbourne Three Day Event CCI (5-8 June)

Emma was the star of Melbourne Three Day Event putting in a very impressive performance in the CCI3* to place 3rd with Mustang.  This combination have really established themselves at this level and are on track for Adelaide CCI4* were they have the opportunity to prove to the National selectors that they should be part of the World Equestrian Games Team in 2010.  Emma also placed 2nd in the CCI1* with Jenburn Monyana and was named runner up in the Palmer Higgs Marketing Award.

Niki rode Milford Monarch (Archie) in the CCI1*, Archie went well in the dressage to be in the top 10 in a huge field of nearly 70 horses.  He jumped fast and clear cross country to move up 3 places.  An unfortunate two rails in the showjumping moved them down to 16th place.  Overall a pleasing performance for Archie who is still only 6 years old. 

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Eventing Equestriad Australia - Camden CIC (16-17 May)

A very busy competition for Niki and Shane who are also members of the organising committee.  Many hours have been spent in the lead up to this competition as part of the organising committee.  If all riders were a member of at least one organising committee our sport would be a great deal stronger for the future.  Professional riders should not rely on volunteers to run the sport, they should roll their sleaves up and get involved.

In between running the show Shane managed to win the CIC3* with All Luck who is back on form, Moritz was having his first three star start and showed his inexperience cross country glancing off two arrowheads, however Shane was pleased with him and thinks he is a star in the making.  Shane and Koko Black made the step to two star with ease and placed 2nd.  PPP Xia Jiang is quiet established at Pre Novice level now and went well to finish 8th.

Niki rode Ladybrook Remington in the CIC2* however time penalties cross country kept them out of the placings.  Milford Monarch jumped super to move up the placings to 7th place in the CIC*.  Dex is very consistent and brought home 2nd place in the prelim he finished on a score of 19, adding nothing to his dressage score of 86%!  Kirra was a bit spooky cross country and picked up 20 penalties.

Emma Scott had a successful event placing 3rd in the CIC3* on Mustang and 8th in the CIC* with Jenburn Monyana.

Rachel Watts had a good weekend with her new horse Doogie, however time penalties for going too fast cost her the win.  They eventually finished 7th.

Robert Palm rode his flash new horse Blameitonthebear for 3rd place in the Pre Novice

Michelle Robson did not have a great weekend with WP Flawless who did not understanding the arrowhead in the main arena.

Most importantly the Bimbadeen Park Team won the teams event and took home the beautiful trophy which we will try to retain next year.

Overall a successful weekend especially considering it was the first event this committee have run together.  Have a look at the competition website and make sure you are there in 2010. www.eventingequestriadaustralia.com.au

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Sydney CIC-W (2-3 May 2009)

A busy weekend for the Bimbadeen Team with 13 horses competing.  Shane and All Luck continued their 'no luck' theme at World Cup qualifying competitions picking up an uncharacteristic stop cross country to drop down to overall 10th place.  Emma Scott and Mustang performed very well to place 5th in this tough class. 

In the CIC2* class Moritz and Shane went well to place 6th, Moritz will now step up to 3* next start.  Michelle Robson and WP Flawless were right up in the placings however a couple of unlucky rails saw them drop to 10th.  Niki and Ladybrook Remington managed to jump the wrong side of a flag at the water to pick up 20 faults leaving them out of the placings.  Shane and Taurus jumped clear cross country however they tripped up the bank out of the water and 'Arvey' pulled up a little sore so did not showjump.  The CIC1* saw a win for Shane and Koko Black with Niki and Milford Monarch placing 5th.  Emma Scott had Jenburn Monyana in the CIC1* and they finished 11th.

Jess Walsh had just finalised the sale of her horse Sergundo so was have her last ride on him, he jumped a great clear cross country round.  PPP Xia Jiang went well but picked up a few time penalties to finish 10th.

Niki youngsters went well with Kirra finishing 2nd and Dex 3rd in the Prelim class.

The Organising Committee did a great job and ran a fantastic competition, with a new look cross country course that rode well.

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Berrima CIC (18-19 April 2009)

Shane had a good weekend with his younger horses with Koko Black winning the CIC* class.  Shane also finished 2nd in the Pre Novice on Statford Neo (by Statford Novalis) a great performance for this promising 4yo that was have only his 3rd career start.  PPP Xia Jiang continues to improve with every outing and placed 7th in the Pre Novice. 

Emma Scott rode a her own Jenburn Monyana into 5th place in the CIC1* a great result for this horses first one star start.  Emma also rode 'Con' who placed 3rd in the Intro class (see horses for sale section for more information on 'Con').  Rachel Watts took 'Jessica' to Berrima for her first outing and they went well to finish 9th (Jessica is also listed on our horses for sale page).

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Kihikihi CIC-W - New Zealand (10-12 April 2009)

In an effort to chase FEI World Cup points Shane and All Luck (Lucky) headed to New Zealand for the first World Cup qualifying competition for the 2009 season.  Lucky put together a solid test but still has lots of room for improvement, after the dressage Shane and Lucky were in 2nd position behind Megan Jones and her wonderful horse Kirby Park Irish Jester who performed an outstanding test.  The cross country was big and tough, lots of interesting lines that had us all thinking.  Lucky was fantastic and made the course look easy right up to the 2nd water, this was a tough line of massive tree stumps.  Shane cut the line from the first to the second and Lucky really did not even see the fence and incurred 20 penalties for a run out.  Shane was very angry with himself for getting the line so wrong.  However Lucky pulled up really well and jumped a good showjumping round to finish in 6th place.

Whilst in New Zealand Shane also picked up a catch ride on a horse called 'Santos', this horse is normally ridden by Jenna Mahoney however Jenna had a fall from a racehorse and hit a telegraph pole so was sidelined with a few injuries.  'Santos' went well but had a very frustrating stop cross country at a very simple fence.  He jumped all the tough lines really well.  Santos finished in 9th position.

Shane had a fantastic time in New Zealand and was really well looked after by the committee and the New Zealand riders, but did head home annoyed at himself and thinking about what should have been.  Megan finished on her dressage score and was a very deserving winner of the competition.

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Albury CIC (28-29 March 2009)

A great weekend for the team at Bimbadeen Park.  We made it a clean sweep of the FEI classes.  All Luck (Lucky) and Shane won the CIC3* class, this was Lucky's first start since the 2008 Olympic Games and Shane was really happy with his performance.  Lucky showed what a great cross country horse he is with Shane not pushing him to make the time rather just giving him a nice round and letting Lucky coast at his own speed, which ended up being the 2nd fastest time of the day.  Shane and APH Moritz won the CIC2* with Taurus also ridden by Shane finishing 3rd in the same class.  Niki and Ladybrook Remington won the CIC1* and Shane and Koko Black finishing 6th in the CIC1*.  Shane also won the Prelim with Blameitonthebear who was having his first start, this horse is owned and normally ridden by Robert Palm, however Rob is currently on the sidelines with a broken collarbone.  Shane's other Prelim ride PPP Xia Jiang went well and finished on his dressage score.  Niki placed 5th on her new ride Sir Dex in the Prelim. 

Emma Scott and her Pre Novice horse Jenbern Monyana placed 5th in the Pre Novice and proved he was ready to move up to one star next start.  Jess Walsh topped off a great weekend by winning the bareback highjump on Saturday night, she was the only one to clear 1.35m.

Shane and All Luck will now head to New Zealand for the first World Cup Qualifying competition of the season, he will then compete in the Australian World Cup Qualifying competition which will hopefully gain him a starting place in the World Cup Final which will be held in Poland later this year.

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 Castle Hill Show (21 March 2009)

A day of showjumping for our team with most horses jumping well, most not fast enough to feature in the places however He's the One won the 'C' grade class and placed 4th in the Mini Prix.  He's the One is owned and normally ridden by Robert Palm, unfortunately Rob is unable to ride due to injury.

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Scone CNC (14-15 March 2009)

It was great to hear the Scone Horse Trials has secured a new sponsors deal with Mt Arthur Coal, which will assist Scone run successful events in the future.  Shane rode Cleddau Bobby Dazzler who was having his first start in a while and performed very well to lead the dressage, he jumped clear showjumping and cross country but a few time penalties in the cross country dropped him down one place to finish 2nd overall.  Shane young guns Taurus and APH Moritz went well to finish 2nd and 4th in the CNC2* respectively.  Shane also rode the Statford Neo who is the first Statford Novalis baby to compete.  Statford Neo is a lovely horse and showed his potential by winning the Prelim class at Scone.  Shane's other rides Koko Black and Statford Novalis both had a frustrating 20 penalties cross country to finish out of the placings.

Niki rode Ladybrook Remington to 2nd place in the CNC1*.  Niki's other ride 1* ride Milford Monarch is finding his feet at one star level and had a silly glance off at the apex.  Niki also had her two new horses in the Prelim both were quiet green cross country and a shame as Wisteria Lane was leading the dressage with a great score of 72.4%.

Emma Scott and her wonderful partner Mustang went very well to finish 3rd in the tough 3* class, Emma also finished 5th in the Pre Novice with Jenbern Monyana.  

Jessamy Walsh and her horse Sergundo would have finished in the placings had she not got so many time penalties for going too fast cross country.

Robert Palm did not have a great weekend and ended up at the local hospital with a broken collarbone as a result of a fall in the 3* class.

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Sydney CNC (18-19 & 21-22 February 2009)

It is always a great way to start the year with the Sydney double event.

Niki took a few horses to both the midweek and weekend event.  Performances were a bit rusty however Sir Dex managed to finish 3rd in the midweek Intro class which was exciting as it was there first start together.  At the weekend event Wisteria Lane finished 2nd in the Intro class and showed potential as an eventer.

Michelle Robson had a great event with her horse WP Flawless to finish 5th in the large 1* class at the midweek event.

Shane only attended the Weekend event Taurus started the year with a solid performance to finish 2nd in the 2* class.  APH Moritz was also in the 2* and was very keen cross country which resulted in run off.  Koko Black is a new ride for Shane and they went well to finish 2nd in the 1* class.   PPP Xia Jiang went very well in his first start to finish 4th in the Prelim.  Bentley Biscuit who is better known as a racehorse superstar, Bentley Biscuit is now trying his hand at eventing and seems to be enjoying it, he went well in his first Prelim event but did get time penalities for going too fast!  Statford Neo also having his first start finished 7th in the Prelim, Neo is an exciting horse for the future. 

Emma Scott had a good start to the year placing 2nd in the 3* with Mustang and 2nd in the Prelim with Jenbern Monyana.

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