The day started off cold and the dark skies suggested rain was going to definitely be a part of proceedings in Lang Lang today but the wind was the thing everyone could have lived without - especially the course crew who at some stages found themselves holding fences up while the riders jumped them!

The first class of the day was the D Grade Championship and again there 80+ starters in the class and the final results were:

1st - Melissa Froesch and Glenara Monet
2nd - Angela Dobbin and Premier Dollars
3rd - James Harvey and Baxters Irish Town
4th - Andrew Lamb and DP Ricarda
5th- Murray Sproull and Homewood River Queen
6th - Julie Sproull and Brown Nova

Pictured above left - James Harvey riding the Irish Sport Horse gelding Baxters Irish Town which is by Celtic Winners imported stallion Celtic Blue Diamond, who was sold to live in the USA. This horse was bred by Gary Baxter who is currently cruising the Carribean while recuperating from heart surgery and we wish him all the best in his recovery.

Pictured above right - Melissa Froesch in the saddle of another of her own bred horses proving that Australian's can breed quality horses and don't need to travel to Europe to buy horses - we have them right here in Aus! Melissa breeds using her own Grade A jumping mares who have proven performance and technique combined with scope and she then covered them with the stallion she was jumping through to World Cup, Warlord. It seems to me that all Melissa's horses have scope and the want to be clean and they are the two main ingredients for showjumpers surely.

The A & B Grade Championship started in overcast conditions with rain definitely on its way. The Championship was run under AM% rules meaning the result would be found from the combined score from two rounds.

Seventeen combinations lined up for starters orders in round one and 14 came back for round two.

The unluckiest rider award for the weekend went to Hayley Chlossy and Medicine Man when they were going great guns in round two and had a fall at the final fence eliminating them. Both horse and rider were fine and walked out of the arena with nothing more than a touch of hurt pride perhaps.

Round one gave us just two clear rounds, from Andrew Lamb and Morris Clarke and there were 8 four fault first rounds.

The final placings were:

1st - Andrew Lamb and DP Silky - C/C - 51.67secs
2nd - Morris Clarke and Contagious - C/C - 65.01secs

3rd - Brook Dobbin and Belcam Advisor - 4/C - 57.20secs
4th - Wes Joyce and Irish Ace - 4/4 - 49.12secs
5th - Kane Chester and Warlord - 4/4 - 49.60secs
6th - Caroline Price - Kaaponic - 4/4 - 59.28secs

Pictured above left - Andrew Lamb and DP Silky in winning style at Lang Lang. While chatting ringside we discovered that this horse was actually named by Murray Sproull who at the time had two for breaking from Andrew. He named one Smooth because it was smooth and the other was named Silky, because....yes you guessed it, the horse was silky! And yes the names stuck!

Pictured above right - a very happy Morris Clarke in the saddle of the bouncing rubber ball named Contagious. Morris, from Mortlake in country Victoria, Australia is having a ball traveling with this very talented gelding who he quite obviously has a great partnership with.

Pictured above left - Brook Dobbin will surely have paid his diesel this weekend with another excellent placing with Belcam Advisor.

Pictured above right - Caroline Price, wife of successful racehorse trainer Mick Price had a great round on the handsome Kaaponic.

Pictured above left and right - Russell Hearn and Luxembourg really jumped hrough the worst of the rain today when it went from light to heavy, to blinding in the space of 12 fences!

So ended the weekend in Lang Lang with the rain driving down and nobody complaining after such a long spell of incredible heat and in a State which so desperately needs the rain.