So to the main class of the weekend - the 13th leg of the Pacific League World Cup Qualifier - the penultimate qualifier with the final being held in Sydney at the Tempo show next weekend. As we came into this round Gavin Chester and Warlord II are holding a narrow lead of just two points from Paula Hamood and NV Capone. Paul Asthanasoff and Wirragulla Nicklaus are just 5 points behind Paula and from there the field drops nearly 20 points to Adam Mellors.

Leeson Sirrett built a track which saw most fences between 1.45m and 1.50m with good spreads on a course which saw the fences come up fast and furious and then a break for horse and rider and then again there were the combination fences with related fences on both sides of the combinations - all true tests of riders ability to ride their horses in a steady and consistent rhythm. Leeson's courses do not sit kindly with the "kick, pull, yank" style of riding and today was no exception. The track also included a 4.2m open water which caused less problems than possibly expected, heralding a great day when Australian horses become comfortable with open water.

Sadly for the Northern Victorian Showjumping Club, Sydney's jumping fraternity saw fit to run a pre-Tempo show up against one of the well established world cup shows and this definitely affected numbers all weekend and this world cup would have to have been one of the smallest entries in many years at Shepparton but this did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of those who started in the class, nor did it deter the spectators, many of whom were locals who had come to see the jumping horses.
Leeson,- pictured right - is a local to the Shepparton area and has been involved in showjumping in the area for many years as well as being a Senior national Selector for showjumping - his dedication to the sport is never in question!

Spectators took advantage of the trees around the arena to hide from the sun - pictured left - while others enjoyed getting out in the sunshine while watching the jumping - pictured below.

Unlike Sale last weekend, the
public were invited to walk the world cup course this week but there were plenty of warnings for people to not touch the tall fences as it would be dreadful if a rail fell on someone - so all due care was taken and the public were once again free to wander about the track and see just how tall the fences were that the 13 combinations were about to undertake.
Some walked with their kids in tow - pictured right - where others walked with their pooches on lead - pictured below!
Some pooches decided to give it a miss and sleep through the public course walk because they had seen it all before - pictured below
While Buster - pictured below full of the chat with his gorgeous set of choppers - preferred to stand ringside and chat with folk, while his trusty human Fiona John, also found time to catch up with friends.
Scottie Barclay - pictured right - returned home from Ireland this week and took a trot
around the world cup track as did Michelle Strapp and Amy Graham - pictured below.
Some who were not quite tall enough to see over the fences got a helping hand on a tall set of shoulders - pictured below
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