Adelaide Horse Trials 2009

The 2009 Adelaide Horse Trials are over with some sensational efforts from the Victorian riders (and fans) who made the trip into the sweltering city of churches.

There are plenty of places on the web where you can get a full and unbiased report of the Adelaide Horse Trials. Here you'll get a wrap up of the Victorians.

Andrew Hesseltine with Warrego Winchester rode a scintillating cross country round coming in much quicker than anyone else and moving from the mid 20's after dressage into 3rd position. When he came into the show jumping ring, only one rider of the previous 20 had jumped clear. Andrew looked nervous but determined and kept it all in check to ride the second clear round. Shane Rose and part time Victorian, Claudia Graham both had 2 rails making Andrew the winner.

In the CCI **, Katja Weimann looked the winner all the way to the very last fence which rolled meekly off and with it she dropped into second place. When you look at the results of the CCI**, it looks a bit like Katja vs New South Wales' best.

Amanda Howell went into the show jumping in 4th place after excellent dressage and cross country phases and rode an accurate and controlled show jumping with her only fault coming in a line of 4 fences of maximum dimension. This left her in 4th place and firmly in the eye of selectors.

Other Victorians included Cassie Lowe riding one of the better rounds of the day, Simon Tainsh and Mighty William showing improvement again in this phase, Catherine Davies with an almost perfect round interupted by a sliding halt, sort of rear and clever save in the horrible line of 3 show jumps down the hill, Amanda Habjan giving Tommy every chance, Crystal Conning who looked like she was going to jump clear but didn't quite and Edith Kane and ESB Irish Justice. Adam Benson made an impression on the last day with an amazing show jumping round to complete his first CCI****.

There were a few of the Victorians who have had better events and didn't complete, but a big well done to you all regardless!

Description:

Adelaide is one of those events that are so much more than just the experience of an event. Sure, it costs a lot just to enter and camp before you start filling your truck with diesel and eating, but it is well worth it for the experience if you can do it.

Being on the edge of the city in a park, it's a bit like doing an event in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Huge crowds add to the excitement and you get to compete against most of the best horses and riders in the land. This can only help you improve.

There are few events like this one in the world.

Getting there:

There are a number of ways to come.  Once there, at the bottom of the BIG hill into Adelaide, the city traffic starts and about 5 km into town, there is a road to your right called Fullarton Rd. A km or two along this and you will see the old race track on your left and come to a big roundabout. This is where the camping and stabling is. Turn left here.

Facilities:

The camping area is now close to the stables and there are toilets and showers available. As the venue is close to town (and to the pub), eating out is common.

Stables are the portable type and aren't very big. The canvas tent stops the flow of air so they can get hot and stuffy.

These facilities are quite a long way from the competition arenas and planning and preparation are the key as leaving something behind can be a disaster. A bike is almost a must for the event.

There is a trade village where just about anything can be bought if you've forgotten, lost or worn something out.

Tips: If you plan on going to the Black Tie Trot up ball, make sure you've got a crowd going.

It is usually hot at this time of year in Adelaide and getting there with a fresh horse will require stops along the way and travelling during the cooler parts of the day.

Courses

CIC**

CCI**

CCI****

All courses are of international standard and therefore of a difficult standard....

Warm up areas:

Dressage arenas are quite good and you are then moved into the competition arena one full test before your time to ride.
XC warm up includes real fences.
Showjumping warm up is a on a football oval and you move to the competition area when your test is close. This wasn't in the best of spots in 2009.