Estupendo, owned by Vivien Lipshut and trained and ridden by Dave McKinnon.
Roger Fitzhardinge reports from Dressage@Willinga
Words and photos by Roger Fitzhardinge
Willinga Park really turned on a sensational weekend of dressage. Event Director for Willinga Park, Cathie Drury Klein put on a competition over two days from Preliminary to Grand Prix, and tests for all level for the Para riders.
The weather was absolutely sensational. A balmy 20°C both days with blue skies and no wind. As per usual, Willinga Park, the amazing facility at Bawley Point on the south coast of NSW, showed yet again absolutely outstanding attention to detail in every facility and in every way. The competition was beautifully run and beautifully received by all competitors. There was a very good gathering of spectators for a small, friendly and competitive competition. There were 85 horses entered and 200 tests ridden, with not only local judges, but also judges from Victoria. The quality of entrants was high and there were some very good horses and some very good tests and percentages well over 70% gained over the two days of competition.
Probably the most exciting test of the weekend, if you had to choose from so many at so many levels, was from the chestnut gelding by Jazz, Forlan, in the Grand Prix on Sunday. This upstanding wonderful horse, owned by Carol Oatley and ridden by Dave McKinnon, produced a 72.5% Grand Prix test, which was a personal best.
Dave McKinnon and Forlan.
Dave has taken his horse very slowly, developing an amazing bond on this slightly timid but seriously expressive and talented horse. Allan (as he is known) has a serious grasp on all the movements, with great passage, great balance in the changes and the pirouettes, and the piaffe is definitely developing, which was the movement that created some anxiety from within him. The test was certainly not over done, but beautifully ridden in harmony and balance with Dave taking total control and care of Allan’s mental attitude towards the test. It was obvious with a smile on Dave’s face, and the many times that he rewarded the horse with the pat during the test. It was so obvious to see how Allan responded with the most fabulous look. It is now with his confidence in the arena, developed thorough attentive training and riding, that for sure it’s just the beginning of putting a bit of icing on the cake. There is plenty of gas left in the tank here. With the such positive and non confrontational input from the Oatley’s and from Lyndal in Germany, as well as from Dave’s wife, Robbie, this horse has every chance to go to the top. Everyone realises this horse’s potential and attitude and they all work with the goal of producing of positive times and patience with no expectations.
The horse that took the accolades in the Small Tour class and the Advanced classes was from Victoria in Bloomfield Sekuona. He is by Sezuan out of the famous mare Anouk (imp. Netherlands). She has produced many top horses and is by Jazz. This young leggy brown horse shows lots of ability with good elastic paces and a very nice uphill way of going, scoring over 70% in the Prix St Georges and Advanced classes to be unbeaten. This horse is one to look out for in the future.
Justine Greer on Bloomfield Sekuona.
Yarramee Fonzie and Justine Greer did their second Grand Prix test for second place behind Forlan, and a good percentage of 68.2% for this combination. Fonzie was very successful all the way through the levels and for his second Grand Prix, that percentage is super encouraging!
On asking Justine why she would come up for a small competition from Victoria to New South Wales at Willinga Park, she replied:
“For goodness sake. Just have a look around here… who wouldn’t travel eight hours to come up to a competition like this. The venue, the stables, the fabulous surfaces, the atmosphere, the friendliness amongst the riders and the organisers and all the Willinga staff. It is really a dream competition venue and of course the horses perform so well with the amazing positive vibe this venue exudes!
“You couldn’t keep me away from Willinga Park; it is like one great big holiday doing the best thing you could ever imagine… that’s riding fabulous dressage horses in fabulous surroundings and a fun atmosphere that’s always positive.” Justine Greer also had a pony that’s just gone over height called Daily Dancer. They gained very good percentages in the Medium test and also the Elementary.
Another horse to take the eye that is coming up through the ranks now was D or Danseur, ridden by Lyndal Yelavich and owned by Karen Miller. The first test was a first place with 70.203% in the Medium 4.2, and then a third placing in the Advanced 5.1, a second placing in the Medium 4.3 and a sixth place in the Advanced 5.2. This imported big chestnut gelding is really starting to come in to his own now, and has become more and more confident in the competition arenas.
Lyndal Yelavich on D or Danseur.
In the Novice tests it was Clare Wickens and Hollands Bend Sinatra who took out both the 2.2 and 2.3 with scores over 70% as well.
Justine Greer also had a very beautiful upstanding black Friesian, Dirk T Van Sessing, who also was at the top of the leaderboards in the Elementary and Novice tests. He was probably one of the other very exciting horses that we have not seen very much of in Australia. He is owned by Katrina Routson.
Estupendo, owned by Vivien Lipshut and trained and ridden by Dave McKinnon, won the Medium Tour classes. Dave is feeling his way with his expressive horse, who gained an over 70% score in winning the Inter A. This gelding has a very distinct face and in front absolutely looks like Valegro. Imported from Holland, he can really show some expressive work; he has great passage and elasticity in all the trot work, and the canter work and pirouettes are coming together as he gets stronger. It’s easy to see this horse will get very good marks in the future, and with Dave’s confidence and ability to maintain a great balance, he has every chance to also become top of the leaderboard.
Congratulations have to go out to Willinga Park, and Terry and Ginette Snow, for producing the most amazing facility. The vet clinic is now finished and in full swing and the breeding program is getting ready for the coming season.
Willinga Park took on an initiative for a dinner on the Saturday night and it was totally booked out for 130 people, and this wasn’t just competitors. In fact, it was mainly people from the local area, Bawley Point, and people from Canberra who simply came down specifically for the meal, and for the feeling of the ambience of the venue. Some stayed in Bawley Point on the beach in the villas there, and some chose to stay in the pavilion at Willinga Park.
It was a fantastic day and a fantastic dinner at night, and the following day there were several bus trips for those visitors. Have just come from the Willinga Park experience, they were also showed around the facilities and it was amazing for everyone there.
Well done Cathie Drury Klein for pretty well single-handedly pulling off this show for Willinga Park. It was outstanding… ask anyone who was there! It was relaxed, it was good fun, everyone enjoyed it and of course there were also the outstanding crème de la crème of horses!
Results from Dressage@Willinga can be found here.
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