Then it was time for the final competition of the weekend, the Grand Prix and for this class Laurie had set the riders a big task and after the weekends jumping they did all rode exceptionally well - any of these riders would have been excellent representatives of their country in Ireland - but there is only one winner and all the riders knew this and so they were all very serious as the first round started.

The weather on Saturday was unseasonally hot with a very unpleasant northerly blowing and Sunday began the same way - then just as the second round of the Grand Prix began the thunderstorm clouds rolled in and the wind swung around giving welcome relief from the stifling heat - and suddenly there was a rush for jumpers and jackets for humans and rugs for horses.

Nerves perhaps played a part for some as they made a few unforced errors over a very demanding course and we finished with three combinations producing double clears for a jump off.

Zaphod, showing what a wonderful horse he is, got caught in the weather change and finished with his cotton sheets completely covering his head, and he stood so patiently waiting for someone to rescue him - most horses would have reacted very differently!

Pictured left we see Katie Brideoake rescuing Zaphod in the downpour while others took refuge in the temporary shelter which had been set up to get relief from the heat and sun earlier in the weekend.

Pictured right: Ron Lewis in the Judges box gets himself organised for the all important Grand Prix class - no doubt he was pleased when the cool change came through as the Judges box does tend to get a little warm when the sun is out!

Pictured left: from left to right - Event Secretary, Alex Wright, Laurie and Annie Lever and Ron Lewis have an on-course meeting prior to the start of the Grand Prix.

An event of this type takes a great deal of organisation and the Levers put on a fabulous show - if I have any criticism it would be of the lack of support for the show, which now puts the whole series in jeopardy for the future. The program for the weekend was designed for riders others than those looking for the trip to Ireland with good prize money on offer and

an excellent program especially for the younger or greener horses - if shows like those at Treehaven are not supported I have grave fears for the future of the sport - more and more Agricultural Shows are dropping the showjumping and Tonimbuk Equestrian Centre has dropped their showjumping programs - if Treehaven go the same way then Victoria will soon find they are sadly lacking in shows at which to jump their horses.

Treehaven have already indicated that they are unlikely to be running the qualifiers for 2006 and this then means we need to find other shows willing to run the events - this is not always an easy task as the programs of those remaining shows are always full with little room to add yet another class along with the added administrative tasks required for qualifying events.

To any Young Riders, from all States, who would be interested in competing in the qualifiers and then the Final in 2006 you will need to email jumpingaround.com to register interest and more information about this will be posted on the News Index over the coming weeks. If enough interest is not registered then the 2005 event will be the last one to be run - and I believe this would be a sad loss to the Young Riders in Australia.

So back to the Grand Prix event - 15 combinations lined up for the starters orders and in round one, 7 combinations produced clear jumping - Amy Graham and Untold Secret; Sam Richardson and Playmate; Phillip Lever and Depardieu; Kate Brideoake and Zaphod; Jess Mills and Riverside; Hayden Kneebone and Xena who was not his nominated horse.

In round two we saw only three clears jumped and they were all double clears - they were produced by Kate Brideoake on the 20 year old Zaphod who was formerly ridden by Kate's dad, David, at World Cup level - this horse is a credit to the Brideoake family as a horse of his age who has jumped to the level he has jumped is rarely found to be in such excellent condition both physically and mentally - but this horse presents like a 10 year old horse and has lost none of his love of the fences and jumping.

Phil Lever and his current superstar, Depardieu were another combination who produced a double clear to go forward to the jump off and this horse is the other end of the scale to Zaphod being a young throughbred who has a great career ahead of him if todays Grand Prix class is anything to go by - the horse shows no lack of scope, and has a wonderful mind for the job - he is exceptionally well ridden by Phil who quite obviously enjoys jumping this horse.

And the last double clear combination for the Grand Prix was produced by Amy Graham and her 14 year old mare, Untold Secret who we understand officially retired after this class to begin a new job in life, as a broodmare. When speaking to Amy about this decision she explained that she and her parents did not want to see the mare go on and perhaps risk breaking down, to then be put into foal - they want her to go into foal as a strong healthy mare who has produced many excellent jumping results - and hopefully they will let us know, when they decide, who this very talented and lovely mare will go into foal to.

The jump off eventually saw on Amy and Phil jump off as Kate Brideoake decided that the "old boy" had done enough for the weekend and the jump off was a big track which saw the final oxer sitting at 1.40m by 1.50m.

Depardieu and Phil gave the audience plenty to see as after a refusal Phil showed his acrobatic ability by managing to somehow stay on board but this incidence obviously unsettled the horse and they finished their round with 12 faults.

Amy was last out and they jumped a super round with the horse being stretched with the toughness of the track - they finished with 8 faults which was not only good enough to give them the win in the Grand Prix but combined with Amy's win in the One Round and Jump Off class gave Amy the overall win and would see her taking the trip to Ireland.

The presentation was a very warm and emotional affair - again Annie is wonderful hostess and made everyone feel very welcome - it was an excellent decision to have presentation unmounted on the wonderful verandah of the Treehaven Cafe keeping everyone out of the pouring rain which started just as the last fence was jumped!

All the riders were presented with participation medals, sponsored kindly by Treehaven Equestrian Club and also all riders were presented with placing ribbons. Each rider was asked to speak at presentation and again they all did a great job, some obviously having more epxerience than others but this is an important part of the job of showjumpers - they must be able to express themselves well and give the sponsors value for money.

Pictured left: Annie Lever chats ringside with the Nature Vet representative about the AMMO All Wormer and other products in the Nature Vet catalogue. Without sponsors such as Nature Vet classes like this would simply not be able to run and we would ask that riders make those companies who put money into our sport their first port of call for products and services - and let the companies know that they know of them through their sponsorship - makes it worthwhile for companies to sponsor.
Pictured right and below: Although the presentation was unmounted, all the riders were fully dressed in their competition gear and lloked very smart - these riders are definitely tomorrow's superstars in so many ways.

Pictured above right: The winner of the trip to Ireland, Amy Graham who is sponsored by AMMO Allwormer thanked her sponsors for their support of her and also their support of the jumpingaround.com Young Rider Challenge series.

With boys being boys, Phil Lever and Hayden Kneebone couldn't pass up the opportunity to give winner, Amy Graham a bit of a dunking in the water fence, which she took in good humour - although Phil did seem to be running away fairly quickly once he had been freed and was up and running again.......................

Notice how Hayden was smart enough to keep his helmet on, for protection, during the "Graet Dunking Incident"!!!!

Amy will be heading to Ireland in July and we will be bringing you all the details of her trip and her progress so keep tuned in for that.

Again please note that we will be calling for expressions of interest for the 2006 series and if the numbers are not there then this series will not be run again. If anyone has comments as to why they are not interested we would also be interested to hear them. You can contact us by email and to do so click here

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