Oaks Sport Horses were very well represented over the weekend at the Larapinta FEI World Cup Show. The word “Oaks” appeared in the name of 29 horses competing at the show! They were competitive across the whole spectrum of classes from the World Cup Qualifier, right down to the 0.70m classes on arena 4 and we are delighted with some of the very solid results they achieved.
Our winner over the weekend was mare Oaks Diamantina, expertly piloted by Sarah Duggan. They took out the second round of the Mini Prix and afterwards Sarah could not contain her praise for the mare. Sarah described her as “amazing and both brave and careful, which is a hard combination to find.” Sarah said that “Diamantina wants to win as much as she does.” A single rail down in both rounds of the two-round Mini Prix final saw them finish in a very creditable sixth place.
One of the five combinations which finished in front of them were Emma Collins and another Oaks mare, Oaks Abracadabra, who completed the two rounds collecting just four faults. Having two horses in the top six in the Mini Prix at a major show is a result we can be very proud of.
It was also a successful weekend for Oaks Conjuror and Clem Smith. In a warm-up class for the World Cup over 1.45-1.50m, they placed second, only beaten by the eventual winners of the World Cup class. In the World Cup, they lived up to the form, finishing in a very creditable fourth place, collecting just two rails during the class over a tough course.
Sam Overton and our World Cup Series winning gelding Oaks Cassanova had a mixed weekend. In a class on the Thursday, they finished a fantastic third having put together a fast clear round. Despite going into the World Cup leading the Australian Series after two rounds, a couple of uncharacteristic refusals saw them eliminated.
There were no such issues for Oaks Cardinal and Robert Goodwin. Robert and the gelding were very competitive in the 6-bar competition held after the World Cup, managing to finish equal fourth. Robert also placed third in combination with young mare Oaks Bring It On in an open 1.05m class. Rounding out a very solid show for Robert, he and mare Oaks Costa Rica had a wonderful double clear performance in the 1.25m Open Championship, being pipped by just 0.28 seconds for the win.
Oaks were well represented in one of the major classes of the show when Oaks Kestrel with Sienna Holdsworth-Rose in the saddle were fourth in the second Leg of the Stal Tops Australian Young Rider Series. They had a great clear first round, however, picked up a couple of rails in the second round to just miss out on a place on the podium.
Also finishing in fourth place, this time in a Junior 1.15-1.20m class, were gelding Oaks Kingfisher, with Queensland Youth Squad member, Jaycia Trace aboard, after putting in a fast clear round.
Victorian visitors Ally Lamb and gelding Oaks Ever Red, put in a clear round, but were just 2 seconds off the pace in coming fifth in the 1.25m Lady Rider class.
It wasn’t all about the prizemoney and placings. Several of our Oaks horses did well at their own level completing clear rounds.
Oaks Everest with Sam Overton in the saddle competed in a 1.10m class and a 1.15m class finishing both classes clear, with a highest placing of 11th in the 1.10m class. Also ridden by Sam, mare Oaks Cheetah appeared twice over the course of the show, on both occasions over 0.90m. While the best they finished was in 18th place, the rails were left undisturbed during both rounds. We look forward to seeing the heights these young horses might reach over their career under the expert guidance of Sam Overton.
Finally, we acknowledge the performance of Oaks Eclipse. Eclipse is a young mare who was foaled in 2020 and competed in just one class, a Special Two-Phase, over 0.70m. Ridden by Georgia Cassidy, the pair completed both phases clear to finish a very creditable 19th out of a total of 66 starters.
So much success already and so much to look forward to as these young horses mature and hopefully fulfill their promise.