Rebecca Mobberley riding Tsarina at the Australian Interschools Championship. PHOTO/OZSHOTS
EQUESTRIAN
CHRIS COGDALE
[email protected]
Wairarapa College student Rebecca Mobberley was the best of the Kiwi dressage riders at the Australian State Interschool Equestrian Championships.
The event is the largest equestrian school championships in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 2000 riders, and was held at the Sydney International Equestrian centre, the venue for the equestrian events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Mobberley is a Year 10 student and was the youngest member of the New Zealand team, who were competing in the event for the first time. The team competed in the senior competition as the other riders on the New Zealand dressage team were year 12 and 13 students. This meant that Mobberley was competing above her age group.
Each of the riders in the New Zealand team was assigned a horse for the competition. Mobberley’s loan horse was a 17.1 hands mare named Tsarina. She only had three opportunities to ride Tsarina to prepare for the event.
Mobberley was the highest scoring New Zealand dressage rider for three out of the four competitions, finishing in 12th place with a percentage score of 64.464.
Mobberley’s achievement in Australia comes after from a successful New Zealand season, in which she competed at level four – the highest level for dressage ponies in New Zealand.
Mobberley riding her pony Zak Smith won the national under 25 level four musical freestyle. She also tied for the champion level four pony but was named reserve champion on technical countback.
At the National Dressage Championships Mobberley won the first test in the International Equestrian Federation CDI-Pony competition and qualified for the ‘Dressage Spectacular’ night show. She was awarded reserve champion grand prix dressage pony, which will earn her a world ranking.
Mobberley also won the level 4B pony dressage heat and was placed fourth overall in the dressage pony of the year at the New Zealand Horse of the Year Show.
