Anushka PSH, a 12-year-old Hanoverian, deserves much credit for a winning season, according to Piopio dressage rider Kath Corry. PHOTO TAKE THE MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
Piopio dressage rider Kath Corry has won the prestigious National Masters Series top 10 league for a second year with her horse, Anushka PSH.
She does not take personal credit – that goes to her hardworking 12-year-old Hanoverian.
“[Ana] has come out on top, which is great. She’s been a real solid performer.”
One of the season’s victories was winning the Wendy Richards Memorial Trophy, a two-part event in Taupō.
The duo also came sixth in a musical freestyle series. For this, riders select their own music to accompany a dressage test – Corry chose artists including David Bowie, the Eurythmics and Fleetwood Mac.
The aim was to choose tracks complementing the horse’s movement.
Another highlight was competing against top international riders in the Livamol World Challenge.
The event allowed equestrians in geographically isolated countries such as New Zealand to compete against a global field without having to travel overseas with their horses.
“Forty horses are nominated in New Zealand to compete in their grade; it gives you an idea where you are and world ranking. Ana was fourth in her division in New Zealand,” Corry said.
In some ways, despite the results, it had been a season of ups and downs. Each of her three horses – Anushka PSH, Ganache MH and Freya RS – qualified for Horse of the Year, but then two were injured, one after the other.
“One went unsound and the other one required surgery. So, they’ve both been recovering. I’m happy to say they’re now back in work and it’s just a slow build up again.
“I ended up competing with just the one throughout the season.”
Another low was finding out that Horse of the Year would not take place because of Cyclone Gabrielle, Corry said.
“You can imagine … the horse community was all pumped [because] Covid’s gone, we’re really ready for this. And then Cyclone Gabrielle.
“So that was quite a major, but you get over it.”
Although the season is winding down, Corry’s horses will stay in work through the winter.
“They do get breaks, but instead of getting three months out in the paddock, they might get two weeks.”
And the work keeps going through the off-season, whatever the weather.
“There’s not a day goes by when I don’t wake up, leap out of bed, go down there, do the horses … it can be the worst day. I know I’ve still got to get out there and do it, and I love it when I get out there. I just put a raincoat and leggings on and do the same thing.
The horse and rider team were sponsored this season by Jan Sutherland from Take The Moment photography, Canter for Cancer, Kate Carter Vet Services, and Your Sound and Lighting in Te Kūiti.
Corry said her husband, Jerome, had helped her in many ways, including listening when she was memorising a series of dressage tests, which can be highly detailed, and offering last-minute reminders where appropriate, according to the competition’s rules.
