Oaks Sport Horses was incredibly proud to see Oaks Ventriloquist deliver an outstanding World Championship campaign with Tom McDermott at the FEI Jumping World Championships in Aachen, finishing as the highest-placed Australian combination in the final individual standings.
Competing against the very best combinations in the world, Tom and Venti produced a series of performances that once again demonstrated the quality, consistency and heart that have made this partnership such an important part of Australian jumping.
The 14-year-old Australian Warmblood gelding, by Vivant out of a Rex Z mare and bred by Oaks Sport Horses, began his World Championship campaign in Wednesday’s opening speed competition before returning on Thursday for the first round of the team competition. It was here that the combination produced one of the standout Australian performances of the Championships, jumping a beautiful clear round over a demanding Aachen track.
That performance helped Australia to 15th place in the final team standings and, importantly, saw the pair qualify among the top 60 combinations to continue into Friday evening’s second individual round.
Back under the lights in Aachen’s magnificent Main Stadium on Friday night, the pair once again rose to the occasion. Over another challenging championship course, they finished with just five penalties, completing their World Championship campaign on a total of 10.30 penalties and an excellent 38th place overall.
To see an Oaks-bred horse performing with such confidence on one of the biggest stages in international showjumping is something very special for everyone connected with Oaks Sport Horses.
Oaks Ventriloquist’s journey from Australia to the World Championships is a wonderful reflection of what Australian breeding can produce. At 14 years of age, he continues to compete at the highest level of the sport, and his performances throughout Aachen showed both his class and his tremendous partnership with Tom.
We are incredibly proud of Tom, Oaks Ventriloquist and the entire team behind them, including owners Alison and Tessa Newton and Greg and Jennie McDermott, groom Ella Harjula and everyone who has played a part in this remarkable horse’s career.
From Oaks Sport Horses to the World Championship arena in Aachen, Oaks Ventriloquist continues to make us enormously proud.
