A South Coast showjumper and her horse are better off for the experience after placing in two divisions at the Sydney Royal Easter Show last month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
St Peter’s Anglican College student Lucy Evans, 15, of Tuross Head, and her warmblood mare Viva Joy, out of renowned showjumping champion Vivant, finished second and third in two junior showjumping (1.20m to 1.30m) classes.
It was the first time Evans and Viva Joy had jumped in front of thousands of spectators at the showground arena, and the pair took the first day to adjust to the buzzing show atmosphere.
Overall, I was in the top 10 (in all events), so I was over the moon about that.
- Lucy Evans Sydney Royal showjumper
“Everyone would ask me if it was nerve-racking,” Evans said.
“At the start it was, because I did not know how my horse would handle the atmosphere of it.
“But once I got there, she was really calm and chilled out, and it made me feel 100 per cent better.
“Then I could go out there and do my rounds and not stress about anything. I went out there and did what I normally do.”
On day two she finished second by one hundredth of a second and on the following day, in table A again, she finished third.
“There were four of us in the jump-off,” Evans said of the third day.
“I had the fastest time, but I had a rail.
“I would have won that day if I did not have the rail, but I was still really happy with third.”
On the final day, the competition level lifted a notch for the grand prix.
Evans, who hit two rails on her first round, survived the first cut and was in the top 25 per cent of riders taken to a jump-off.
Unfortunately for Evans she knocked another two rails, and was relegated to seventh overall for the grand prix.
However, the teenage rider was pleased with her results.
“Overall, I was in the top 10 (in all events), so I was over the moon about that,” she said. “The grand prix was really difficult. I think they saved the toughest for last.
“The courses were good, but on the last day it was really tough, the jumps were high.”
When asked of what lessons she learned, Evans said the overall experience will put her in good stead for future shows.
“I learnt that the grand prix was a lot different to a normal round,” she said.
“Speed does not really matter in those types of classes, you have got to do clearer rounds. I learnt how to tackle those technical courses and to enjoy it, really.”