July 2002 - Guy, selection and me...

Firstly a Guy Wallace update. Guy has now been moved to Westmead Hospital Brain Injury Unit for Rehabilitation. He is receiving physio, speech therapy and occupational therapy each day – at the end of which he is exhausted and sleeps a lot. His tracheotomy has been removed and he is now alive without any support. At the time of writing he has shown no inclination to speak but does seem to recognize some people when they come to visit. He does seem interested in letters although whether he can read or not is not really known at this stage. Progress is slow, exhausting and probably looks as though he could be at Westmead for the next 12 months.
Since my last column I’ve done clinics in WA, VIC, NSW and QLD and the interest in Guy and the concern and awareness has been profound and moving. Please keep beaming those thoughts in to Westmead Hospital where this very serious battle is being fought by Guy and his band of friends, supporters and family. They need every bit of help they can get.
Australian selection trials have continued and as far as eventing is concerned a couple of new-and-exciting contenders have emerged, along with some last minute form for the tried-and-tested Sydney Olympians. Sammi McLeod’s amazing Sydney performance was what we all knew she could do, but nevertheless we were very relieved to see her do it. Her dressage test was breath-taking by any standard and in my opinion had it been at an Olympic Games or WEG, it would have been below 30 penalties. She did however still score a remarkable 37 penalties for her dressage test. She went clear across country both jumping and time, and had just one time penalty in the showjumping. The partnership of Sammi McLeod and Frederick Hunter is probably as great as any of the all time great partnerships. I just hope for her sake and our sake that the opportunity for international recognition comes her way at the WEG.
In September, absolutely tearing the northern hemisphere apart is Pippa Funnell on Supreme Rock. As the reigning European champ, and having just won Badminton, there is little doubt the international critics are going to tip Pippa as firm favourite to become the new reigning world champion at the WEG in September. For those of us back here, it’s very exciting because there is little doubt that with Sammi and Frederick Hunter Australia now has the firepower to take Pippa on head-to-head in all phases with Frederick Hunter probably being a little stronger than Supreme Rock in the showjumping.
Second at Sydney was Stuart Tinney and the mare, Ava. This just cemented Stuart’s place in the squad with Stuart also being in consideration with his gold medal Sydney horse, Jeepster, pending fitness considerations.
Third place went to the Adelaide 3 star winner, 19 year old Jessica Irvine Brown riding Belcam Aaberdeen - yet another mare by the Warmblood stallion, Aachen – who is also the sire of Ava. It will be interesting but I believe Jessica’s performance is good enough to get her into the training camp for the WEG.
Fourth was Megan Jones on Kirby Park Irish Hallmark. Megan just did not give Hallmark the ride of her life in either the dressage or the showjumping – make no mistake, she rode the horse fantastically but when she gives that horse the perfect ride, she can score better than she did at Sydney. On the other had she rode the 5th placegetter, her young horse, Kirby Park Irish Jester, like a rider possessed and his result was absolutely his very best shot on the day. In my personal opinion, Megan has turned in a great performance on what could be considered a bad day with Hallmark, and on a good day, this could be considerably improved. I also feel that her performance at Adelaide last year was slightly lessened due to her having to ride to team orders on the cross country. Team orders were given with a view to winning the Tasman Cup against the Kiwis, which the Australian team duly did. This win was the first time ever Australia has beaten New Zealand in the Trans Tasman, so nobody is questioning the wisdom of the team tactics. I just hope it’s not going to come back and haunt Megan as an individual. By my reckoning, Hallmark should make the squad to leave Australian shores.
There were other outstanding performances at Sydney with Claudia Graham pushing her way up into the top end of riders putting their hand up for selection. I guess the really disappointing result from an Australian point of view was Wendy Schaeffer’s return to the top group of riders coming unstuck with neither of her horses completing. Both Othello and Sun Glo are superstars of the future and it’s easy to say in hindsight, but perhaps her bid was a little premature which is a bit like criticising someone for training too hard.
Punchestown 3DE in Ireland turned up a left field threat, Lucinda Fredericks led from start to finish on her horse, Ballyleck Boy. The whisper is that it was a seriously outstanding performance with a tough field and a tough course. Lucinda is generally recognized by other riders as being skilled and very tough. There does seem to be a little question mark about Lucinda not having an Australian passport, although she is married to Australian, Clayton Fredericks. I understand that this was only an Australian requirement for team membership, and that the EFA had a meeting recently and an Aussie passport is no longer required, so she should be available for Australian selection. It is important that we all recognize that we are after the very best Australian team possible to go out there and win our very first World Championship. Lucinda really has to now be considered as a really strong contender for the Australian team.
My brother Matt also competed at Punchestown and placed 7th on Bonza Puzzle after incurring some time penalties on cross country. Matt really ranks this horse as his next superstar and it is interesting that this horse is by the Australian Thoroughbred, Family Ties.
And so, on to Saumur 3DE where Phillip Dutton and his Sydney Olympic horse, House Doctor have posted a 3rd place. Brook Staples came 4th on his Sydney Olympic horse, Master Monarch. Both of these boys will be included on the squad on these two horses, all things being equal.
I am writing this column as I truck my way across the Queensland border heading into the final selection trial. Werribee of course is the same weekend and so I am planning to add a little bit to this after the results come in. However just to amuse myself , I’ll take a quick peek into the crystal ball and suggest that we are looking for a fabulous run from David Middleton on Willowbank Jack to confirm his place on the squad, or possibly the team. We are wondering if Tarsha Hammond and Fuzzy Logic could cause an upset and win. It’s certainly time for her. The whisper is that Rialto and Amanda Ross are in unbelievable form on both the flat and over jumps. Has she got this brilliant but wayward individual under control on the cross country? If she can control him, he’ll run the time, if she can’t then time penalties are a problem in terms of consideration for Spain.
Rising stars to watch in the Melbourne field are John Bird and Will Enzinger.
For me, this is the second year in a row that I have missed Melbourne 3DE. Last year I swore I wouldn’t come back to the Brisbane CDI unless they changed the dates so they didn’t clash. Well they didn’t change the date, but they did make it the final Australian dressage trial for the WEG, so bugger – HERE I AM AGAIN!
Stilton is going really well and I can admit, with a bit of a knot in my stomach, that we are going to give it our best shot. I just gotta gotta win the Grand Prix class. Use the Inter II on the Friday as a warmup, try and round the girls up on the Saturday in the Grand Prix, and show off like made in the Freestyle on Sunday. Really sophisticated strategy.
If I go great I’ll add the results to this column, if I don’t go so well, there will just be a blank spot. I’m signing off momentarily, but will be back with a final update in four days…

Return to the top of the page

HOME