NZ poised for Rio: Jesse & Kaapachino 2nd at Boekelo after XC

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NZ Poised for Rio

PUBLISHED 11 OCTOBER 2015

New Zealand looks well on track to secure the team spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics after some brilliant efforts in the cross country overnight in the CCI3* at the Military Boekelo Horse Trials in The Netherlands.

But tonight’s showjumping is going to be critical – New Zealand must have three of the four team riders complete to secure the berth.

Young gun Jesse Campbell and his former racehorse Kaapachino rode a beautiful clear round, adding just .4 time penalties to his dressage score for finishing just outside of the time allowed. They sit on 43.5, just behind leader Chris Burton (AUS) and Monarchs Exclusive on 41.3.

For 26-year-old Campbell it was “a good day at the office”. “We had a great discussion around how to approach the (cross country) track and a good plan of attack,” he said. “Pretty much, it all came up as hoped. I was lucky to have two seriously experienced people to go out before me.”

He had every confidence in his horse too. “Kaapachino is a pretty experienced cross country horse – not only is he quick but extremely easy to turn too, which is what this course is all about.”

The two competed at Boekelo three years ago.

“I was confident this would suit him, but it was a course you really had to ride.” Campbell says the team Olympic qualification is the big focus for the showjumping tonight, but Kaapachino is capable of a clear round.

Jonelle Price and Cloud Dancer II were also clear but added 14.8 time penalties to their dressage score to finish in seventh place on 48.9.

Individual Blyth Tait and Xanthus III were in searing form to also come home clear but added six to their dressage score to sit on 49.2 in eighth place. Dan Jocelyn and Beaucatcher, who are competing as an individual combination, were clear and added 2.4 in time to their score. Lizzie Brown and her individual mount Princeton rode well to just add 3.6 time faults to sit in 34th place on 61.9. She retired Henton Attorney General during the cross country.

Team-members Jocelyn on Dassett Cool Touch and Tim Price on Xavier sit in 37th and 38th respectively. Jocelyn was clear with 9.2 time and Price added 20 faults for a run-out but incredibly still came home inside the time allowed.

The showjumping is going to call for perfection from many – there is a single rail (four penalties) between the top three, and two between the top eight.

ESNZ eventing coach Erik Duvander was very pleased with the team. “Today was a very good performance from all of them,” he said.

“They rode to team orders and delivered what was expected. The aim for tomorrow is four clears – we want as fine a result as possible. It is not just about qualifying but also being competitive.”

He had plenty of praise for Campbell, but was also very pleased to see Jonelle Price’s young horse Cloud Dancer II do so well.

“It looks as though that horse could be a real prospect for the future,” he said.

As expected the time was tight on the course, with just four coming home clear and on the right side of the clock. Six retired, seven were eliminated and five withdrawn before the cross country in the 84-strong field.

In the Nations Cup competition, New Zealand sit .3 of a penalty point behind Ireland. Just four teams remain – Ireland, New Zealand, United States and France. The other six failed to complete a full team.

The Japanese are out of the team’s race for Rio after Toshiyuki Tanaka and Ballastar Bay were eliminated during the cross country. Yoshiaki Oiwa and The Duke of Cavan sit in 28th place on 58.1 penalty points and Ryuzo Kitajima and Just Chocolate are in 47th on 76.6.

Results in the Nations Cup: Ireland 157.7, New Zealand 158, United States 170.1, France 200.3.

Approximately 60'000 people visited on the day of CROSS COUNTRY: 2015 NED-Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3* (Saturday 10 October) CREDIT: Libby Law COPYRIGHT: LIBBY LAW PHOTOGRAPHY

Approximately 60’000 people visited on the day of CROSS COUNTRY: 2015 NED-Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3* (Saturday 10 October) CREDIT: Libby Law COPYRIGHT: LIBBY LAW PHOTOGRAPHY

Click here for full results from Boekelo

The New Zealand riders, horses and owners:

  • Jonelle Price on Cloud Dancer II (owned by The Marley and Me Syndicate)
  • Jesse Campbell and Kaapachino (owned by Jesse and Dr Craig Campbell)
  • Tim Price and Xavier Faer (owned by Trisha Rickards)
  • Blyth Tait and Xanthus III (owned by Jane Lovell-Smith and Tait)
  • Dan Jocelyn and Dassett Cool Touch (owned by Therese Miller)
  • Lizzie Brown and Henton Attorney General (owned by Tessa Grant and Brown)
  • Dan Jocelyn on Beaucatcher (owned by Jocelyn)
  • Lizzie Brown on Princeton II (owned by Brown)

By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison

Photos by Libby Law/ESNZ

Jesse Campbell On Team Mission in Holland

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Marlborough’s Jesse Campbell re-routes to Boekelo

Tagged: Boekelo International Horse Trials, Jesse Campbell, New Zealand, Rio 2016 and filed under: Eventing

Marlborough-based event rider Jesse Campbell will represent New Zealand as part of the Nations Cup team competing at Boekelo in Holland later this week.

The New Zealand Eventing High Performance selectors have asked Jesse to re-route his New Zealand-bred, ex-racehorse Kaapachino from Pau CCI4* to Boekelo CCI3* in order to help his country gain qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio after they failed to do so at last year’s World Championships.

New Zealand could qualify for Rio through individual riders FEI rankings. However, if New Zealand qualify at Boekelo they will be able to travel a reserve to Rio, an option not available to the teams who qualify through FEI rankings, and a definite advantage to the NZ team who will arrive in Brazil a week before the Games begin.

Jesse said: “It is a tremendous honour to be asked to ride on the New Zealand team. Kaapachino is a gorgeous horse, but not the most gifted. His conformation makes the jumping phase hard for him and his movement is not in the same league as the horses bred for specifically for eventing, but he is a horse with a tremendous heart who tries incredibly hard for me.

“The fact he consistently achieves 75 per cent in his four star and three star dressage tests – a record for a NZ ex-racehorse, and that he consistently completes cross-country without faults and within the time, is testament to how hard he tries and the special nature of our relationship. He’s my best friend and there is no other horse I want to be riding for New Zealand at this crucial time.”

Jesse’s recent form has stood in him good stead for selection. At Millstreet in Ireland in August, he won both the CIC3* and CIC2* with Kaapachinao and Cleveland respectively.

He said: “Both horses were amazing and if Kaapy (Kaapachino) can reproduce that form it would be great. The forecast for Boekelo is for some rain and the conditions in Holland’s low lying flats will be heavy, which is very tiring for horses competing on these long format international tracks. Sue Benson, who designed the 2012 London Olympic Games cross-country course, is the course designer and it will be a true international test of accuracy, courage and endurance.“

Other countries competing include Germany, Holland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Japan and the US. The UK-based Australian riders have been in red-hot form of recent times, and the US is fully funding a team to fly from the US to Boekelo.

The competition is shaping up to be a battle of the best.

 

Waikato Rider Chasing 2016 Rio Olympics Place

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Waikato equestrian Jesse Campbell seeks Olympic spot for New Zealand team – Ian Anderson. Waikato Times

Jesse Campbell has been handed a major responsibility with the New Zealand three-day event team.

The Waikato equestrian recently got another call-up to a Kiwi team – this time one that will compete in a crucial three-star meet in The Netherlands this week that has signficant implications on New Zealand’s participation at next year’s Olympic Games.

The youngest member of the NZ Eventing High Performance squad has taken his mount Kaapachino to the Boekelo Nations Cup Championship as the Kiwi team attempts to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Campbell is joined in the team by Jonelle Price aboard Cloud Dancer II, Tim Price on Xavier Faer, Blyth Tait on Xanthus III and Dan Jocelyn on Dassett Cool Touch, with one combination to miss out.

After their disappointing World Games effort last year, Boekelo presents the NZ team with their next chance to qualify for the Olympics – instead of having to rely on  individual riders’ FEI rankings.

The advantage of NZ qualifying through this week’s event would mean their team for Rio could include a reserve – an option not available to teams who qualify through the ranking system and something treasured by equestrian teams often at the whim on how their mounts come through, travel, quarantine and vet checks.

Equestrian Sports NZ high performance eventing coach Erik Duvander said while the Boekelo event would allow him to “sign off the Olympic qualification” a little sooner than waiting on rankings, he was also focused on ensuring other horses were ready for upcoming four-star events in preparation for Rio.

“We need to be playing two games here – the Olympic qualifier and the Olympic campaign,” Duvander said.

The four-star event at Pau, France – which Campbell is also lined up to compete at – has a cross-country course designed by Frenchman Pierre Michelet, who will also oversee the Olympic course in Rio. “It is key our riders get out on his courses,” Duvander said.

“It is always a reasonably tough cross country at Boekelo and there is a strong field expected. However, the riders we have selected are all very strong and experienced, so we are relying on them to do well.”

Campbell recently won a three-star event in Ireland on former racehorse Kaapachino and made a bold showing in his four-star debut at the prestigious Luhmuhlen event in Germany in June.

“He’s a gorgeous horse, but not the most gifted horse,” Campbell said of Kaapachino.

“His conformation makes the jumping phase hard for him and his movement is not in the same league as the sport horses bred for the sport, but he is a horse with tremendous heart who tries incredibly hard for me.

“The fact he consistently achieves 75 per cent in his four-star and three-star dressage – a record for a NZ ex-racehorse – and the fact he consistently completes cross-country without faults and within the time, is testament to how hard he tries and the special nature of our relationship.

“He’s my best friend and there is no other horse I want to be riding for New Zealand at this crucial time.”

Campbell said rain forecast for Bokelo should make for a heavy, tiring course designed by Sue Benson, who designed the 2012 London Olympic Games cross-country course.

Almost 100 competitors have entered for Boekelo, including teams from Germany, Holland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Japan and the United States.

 – Stuff