WITH Dressage with the Stars only a month away, many competitors had their young horses out to fine-tune them.
Two of Victoria's leading clubs shared the weekend at Werribee Park to give riders a double chance.
The Victorian Dressage Club's young horse day on Saturday saw some excellent babies gaining their qualifying scores.
The big improvement has been in the pony section, with 12 entries in the four-year-old class, with Sharyn McCombe's Welsh Cob, Warmblood cross Yarramee Smarty Pants and Angela Taylor's imported German pony Rosewater Driving Miss Daisy scoring in the high sevens.
And in the five-year-olds Sharyn McCombe's Arabian-bred Yarramee Fancy Pants, and Penmain Stud's Penmain Posh easily made the qualifying scores.
In the big horse section, the four-year-old high scorer was the Ferraro Rocher mare, Fendi F, ridden by Samantha Cesnik, with Kerry Mack's home-bred Mayfield Limelight close on her heels. Jason James scored equally well on J.C. Halle Berry in the other ring.
Carol Simpson's Tasman Park Fanfare was super for her rider, Sue Chandle, winning one of the five-year-old class with a score of 8.04, with Kim Wright Smith's Yarra Valley Just Jingle winning in the other section.
Morgan Duell's Florinzz won both the six-year-old classes.
The club also provided competition for the high-level horses, with Kerry Mack and her favourite Mayfield Pzazz winning the Grand Prix and Intermediate II, and Fay Hinchcliffe and the bold, scopey Northen Leandso winning the Prix St Georges test.
The multi-discipline part-Clydie Tulloch Ard, who has mixed his career as a show hunter and Garryowen winner with considerable dressage success, won the Intermediate I FEI test.
Macedon Ranges held its own competition the following day and copped the worst of Victoria's vicious windstorm.
Despite the valiant efforts of the Werribee Park staff in using 100 sandbags to support the modern plastic arena surrounds, they kept falling down.
Adam Benson won the advanced 5A class with Brookwood Park Feuergrass and Kendalee Whelem, ridden by Sue Leslie, won the Advanced 5B.
Tracey Lee's Chelladonna and Jodie Barnes' Kildara Cosmic were winners in the medium level classes and Sara Love won the elementary 3D with Florentina, while Christine Seivers won the 3B with Estrella.
Stephanie Dijkstra won the novice 2D with the home-bred AEA Ricochet and Caroline Colby took out the novice 2B with Jaybee Aloisi.
The four-year-old young horse winner was Rhiannon Pettigrew's Liberty Grand Illusion, and in the five-years-old, Antony Bartlett, riding WS Donnerman, scored high in all sections to win.
Claire Hawkey's Sunkist won the six-year-old section.
