Horse of the Year - Olympic Cup

Horse of the Year - Olympic Cup

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It’s been a thrilling finale to the Land Rover Horse of the Year Show in Hastings this afternoon, with Olympian Clarke Johnstone living up to the hype, crowned NZ’s 3 Star Eventing Champion aboard his grey gelding Balmoral Sensation.

Johnstone was sitting top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday’s cross country phase and never put a foot wrong, wowing the crowds with a perfectly executed ride and a stylish final showjumping display to clinch the coveted NZ 3 Star title.

In today's other drawcard event The Olympic Cup, a capacity crowd packed the premier arena for what was a nail biting battle between the youngest rider in the field Briar Burnett-Grant and experienced Aussie raider Clint Beresford riding Emmaville Jitterbug.

After two clear rounds each, the pair returned for an exhilarating jump off but it was 17 year old Burnett-Grant from Taupo riding Fiber Fresh Veroana who reigned supreme, clinching the Olympic Cup for 2018.

And Hawkes Bay rider Olivia Apatu proved home is an advantage, taking out the prestigious Farmlands Pony of the Year class riding Alasaan Arzu.

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