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3 Sth Australians Selected for World Equestrian Games Squads

Megan Jones and Kirby Park Irish Jester, the winning combination at last year's8217;s Adelaide International Horse Trials, together with Atlanta Olympic Gold Medallist, Wendy Schaeffer and Koyuna Sun Magic, have been selected on a travelling squad of six Australian horse / rider combinations which leave for Germany on August 8th.



Jones and Schaeffer, both of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, have been long time friends, team-mates and competitors throughout their riding career and are both delighted to have achieved selection together on the Australian Team travelling to Aachen, Germany, to compete at the World Equestrian Games, (WEG). The WEG is the World Championship for the equestrian sports of Three Day Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Carriage Driving, Endurance and Vaulting. The competition is to be held on August 24 - 27th.



Jones & Schaeffer, together with Athens Olympian, Rebel Morrow of NSW, and WA's8217;s Sonja Johnson, formed the successful team of 4 girls which won last year's8217;s Trans Tasman contest with New Zealand, which was held in conjunction with the Adelaide International Horse Trials.NSW's8217;s Shane Rose and Victorian, Janelle Pitts, have also joined the four girls to travel to the training camp in Germany where they will be joined by Australia's8217;s most successful overseas based riders 's8211; Olympic Gold Medallists Andrew Hoy, Matt Ryan and Phillip Dutton as well as the husband and wife equestrian team of Clayton & Lucinda Fredericks.



Australia has scored a bonus in gaining the services of internationally renowned German dressage trainer, Harry Boldt, to help with team dressage training together with overall coaching from our National Eventing Coach, Wayne Roycroft. Wayne has coached Australia to 3 consecutive Olympic Gold Medals. Final selection of the 6 combinations to compete for Australia at Aachen will take place in mid August at the training camp and, as always, is very dependent on the fitness, soundness and form of the horses. Jones, who has excellent Australian form with 2 wins and a third in their last three major events, must be highly favoured to gain selection in the Team of four. Schaeffer, the Atlanta 1996 Team Gold Medallist and leading rider, is on a younger less experienced horse but has had a win at the Sydney International last year and successfully competed at the highest four star level.



If Jones and Schaeffer both make the selected six, there will be two SA riders in the Australian Team for the first time internationally since Gillian Rolton and Schaeffer rode successfully for Gold at Atlanta 1996, where co-incidentally, a young Megan Jones groomed the winning horse, Sunburst, for her friend Wendy Schaeffer.



Samantha Blunden, from Virginia, will be joining her team-mates Tristyn Lowe and Kayla Brewer, to represent Australia in the Vaulting category, the equivalent of gymnastics on horseback. This is a great spectator sport where the competitors do their routines on a horse moving at a consistent pace on a circle.



Luke Jones, from Oakbank, is also leaving the country to compete at Burghley Three Day Event in the UK. Luke and his horse Soul finished the World Cup qualifier, recently held in Melbourne, in second place which gives him automatic entry into the final to be held in Sweden later this year. His trip to the UK is designed to give him the chance to compete and consolidate his efforts on the world stage during the leadup to the final.



For more information please contact me during office hours, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm Mon to Fri on (08) 8234 2700 or my mobile at any time 0429 888 003.



Angela Yeend

Executive Officer

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