APRIL ISSUE PRESENTED BY HATTON & LILLY HORSE FLOATS |
HORSE OF THE YEAR REVIEW
Abbie Deken and Guiliani Photo: Dark Horse Photography
PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR DEKEN Article by Jess Roberts
Giuliani wins Abbie Deken her very first Horse of the Year title (that was swiftly followed by her second title!) Despite attending HOY for almost a decade, a title win has remained elusive for Deken until now, with her impressive Kinnordy Gym Bello gelding Giuliani taking out the L3. It was a three-way battle between Deken, Rebecca Rowlands (Solo), and Sophie de Clifford (Kinnordy Golda) as the trio leapfrogged each other over the course of the four tests. Deken had enough points in hand after a second placing and a win in the title classes – the freestyle and 3D respectively – to take the spoils, Rowlands coming in with reserve It was great to see Auckland’s Julie Evans in fourth place – earlier in the season she and Dantelegro had made the trip to Manfeild to compete at the Central Districts Championships. Julie evented in a previous equestrian life and was concerned this experience was affecting her amateur dressage status – or how she viewed it. But maybe this strong performance at HOY proves that riding skills are not lost – simply rekindled. Southland’s Allie Harper was super thrilled with her Rosari Ringo Star in the hands of Tyler McKee. An injured knee has kept
Allie out of the action recently and her hopes to ride at HOY were dashed – but the long trip from Winton was still successful Giuliani is out of well-known Anamour mare Ashanti, both of whom were bred by Debbie Smith. Ashanti was last year’s L5 champion at HOY – beautifully produced by Sophie de Clifford – and sadly lost her battle with illness recently. This made Giuliani’s win even more special. “I plan on training Giuliani all the way up [the levels] and hopefully we can do Debbie and Ashanti proud,” says Deken.
LEVEL 3 HORSE OF THE YEAR 1st: Abbie Deken (Giuliani) 2nd: Rebecca Rowlands (Solo) 3rd: Sophie de Clifford (Kinnordy Golda) 4th: Julie Evans (Dantelegro) 5th: Kelly Pearson (Don Arion) 6th: Tyler McKee (Rosari Ringo Star)
Right: Rebecca Rowlands and Solo were runner up L3. Photo: NZequine
36 | DRESSAGENZ BULLETIN | APRIL 2017
Abbie Deken and Giuliani Photo: Dark Horse Photography
Photo by Dark Horse Photography