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2008 Olympic Games
Japan, Australia, New Zealand Contest for Olympic
Qualification
February 1, 2008
 Three nations, Japan, Australia and New Zealand
are contesting two team places for the 2008 Olympic
Games in Hong Kong. The nation who doesn't win a team
place will have the
opportunity
to contest
an individual place from the World Dressage Rider Ranking
List. Australia is holding its qualifier on February
4 at the CDI-W Sydney while the Japanese have their
selection trial in Cannes, France on January 31. New
Zealand will be the
last
nation
to compete.
Dressage New Zealand has selected a team to represent
New Zealand in the
Asian
Pacific
Regional Qualifying Competition to be held at Tielcey
Park, Palmerston North on 7th February 2008:
- Kallista
Field - Soda (Pahiatua)
Our first ever dressage Olympian 29yr old Kallista
has the ride on Soda, the 16.1hh Uraeus gelding previously
competed by her mother Sharon. This combination were
runners up to Hartstone & Landioso at the Zilco
North Island Championships. Kallista has her imported
Sandro Hit stallion, Salutation, and her home bred
Weltmeyer mare, Waikiwi both competing successfully
at small tour level with a single-minded ambition
to again represent NZL at the highest level
- Jody Hartstone - Landioso (Raglan)
Jody (32yrs) is the current Zilco North Island
Grand Prix Champion on her Holsteiner partner,
the dark brown stallion Landioso. This combination
qualified for the 2006 World Equestrian Games following
a very successful tour to the Sydney CDI where
she was also winner of the Prix St Georges International
Derby. Jody also enjoys playing polo, watching
basketball and eating banoffipie washed down with
a glass of Matua Paretai Savignon Blanc 2006
- Nicole Magoffin - Jaybee Anzac (Queensland)
29yr old Nicole is based at Mt Nathan near the Gold
Coast in Queensland and rode for the NZ team in Sydney
on her 16.1hh brown Australian warmblood, Jaybee
Anzac. Nicole also represented NZ in the International
PSG Derby at the Sydney CDI in 2007. Nicole will
be at the Palmerston North venue to support her team
mates.
- Bill
Noble - Vincent St James (Waingaro)
At 57yrs, Bill is the master of the team with a
wealth of experience training and competing Grand
Prix horses. Based at the magical Brooklands Park
in the Central Waikato, Bill has two horses entered.
Vincent St James, the 16.2hh Wharf’s Son
TB X co-owned by Sally Elwell who holds both the
current NZ Grand Prix Champion and Horse of the
Year titles and Dean Hewetson‘s BJK Concord
by Catango II.
Nicole Magoffin will compete in Sydney The remaining
New Zealand based riders will compete at Tielcey Park,
Palmerston North
on 7th February.
Once
the successful nations are determined, National
Federations will have the opportunity to select riders
for their Olympic team. These may be entirely different
from the team of riders who qualified the nation.
The qualifying event qualifies the nation, but all
riders
to be considered for Olympic Games participation
must also earn two Minimum Eligibility Scores (MES)
of 64%
in the Grand Prix Test. These must be earned at
different
international events from two FEI O judges from
a two nations other than that of the rider.
Because
only two team spaces exist for Olympic competition
and three countries with riders qualified to do so,
regional qualifiers must be staged by Japan, New
Zealand and Australia. Originally the qualifier was
planned
for Sydney late last year but an equine influenza
outbreak resulted in each country having to stage its
own qualifier
with the same judges traveling to all three competitions.
The
judges are Mariette Withages (Belgium, current Chairman
of the FEI Dressage Committee), Dieter Schuele (Germany),
Mary Seefried (Australia), Jan Bird (New Zealand)
and Minako Furuoka (Japan).
Photo: Kallista Field
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