Australia’s Fiona Selby and Tacita Post Personal Best Score to Win World Cup Pacfic League Final Grand Prix
5 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Australia’s Fiona Selby and Tacita Post Personal Best Score to Win World Cup Pacfic League Final Grand Prix
BONEO, Australia, Dec. 13, 2019–Fiona Selby rode Tacita to a personal best to post a clear win In the World Cup Pacific League Final Grand Prix Friday to decide the sole representative from the region to go to the Las Vegas annual championship Final next April.
Fiona, 36, and the 16-year-old Warmblood mare scored 69.652%, surpassing the pair’s previous best of 67.913% set in Sydney two months ago. They were awarded the top spot by all but the New Zealand judge on the panel who put them in second.
New Zealand’s Wendi Williamson on Don Amour MH, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding, placed second on 67.261%, well below the pair’s high of 69.087% at the same Sydney World Cup event. Wendi and the New Zealand-bred horse produced the highest international Grand Prix score by any horse in Australia in the Grand Prix Freestyle the next day.
Wendi is campaigning Don Amour seeking a second World Cup appearance after she and Dejavu MH became the first New Zealand to win a World Cup start in 2017, but was eleminated in the Grand Prix at Omaha.
Paulina Carnovale on Captain Cooks was third on 67.000% in the competition that had only five combinations. Raging fires and dense smoke over large sections of the east coast of Australia likely caused several withdrawals.
The Freestyle to determine the league champion is scheduled for Saturday.
Results:
CDI-W World Cup League Final Grand Prix
Judges-E-Mary Seefried-AUS H-Jane Ventura-AUS C-Clive Halsall-GBR M-Helen Hughes-Keen-NZL B-Anne Praine-FRA
Pl. | Horse | Rider | E % | H % | C % | M % | B % | Total | |
1. | TACITA | Fiona Selby | 69.457% | 68.043% | 68.913% | 69.022% | 72.826% | 69.652% | |
2. | DON AMOUR | Wendi Williamson (NZ) | 66.957% | 66.196% | 67.283% | 69.130% | 66.739% | 67.261% | |
3. | Captain Cooks | Pauline Carnovale | 64.891% | 68.587% | 66.630% | 68.804% | 66.087% | 67.000% | |
4. | DIAMOND STAR | Sally Rizzuto | 66.087% | 66.413% | 65.326% | 64.674% | 66.739% | 65.848% | |
5. | Diva Royale | Holly Cutler | 63.152% | 65.326% | 61.848% | 64.783% | 63.478% | 63.717% |