Te Aroha teen Rylee Sheehan may have been the youngest in a field of New Zealand’s best one-shore jumpers but he held his mettle and won the nation’s biggest showjumping purse at the Takapoto Classic 2023 in Cambridge.

Twenty top combinations lined up in the Land Rover Gold Tour Final, the culmination of three days of competition over courses designed by one of the world’s very best in Frank Rothenberger.

The seven clears from the opening round were joined by another six on four faults to come back for the second round. That’s where the pressure really came on, with five going clear but only Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke), the oldest in the field, aboard Central Park and Rylee finishing on zero faults. But it all came down to time, and Rylee’s 46.36-second effort was just too good for Maurice’s 56.25 round.

Coming in second in the Gold Tour Final was Olympian Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) with Central Park, third was Daniel Blundell (Auckland) on Cadenza NZPH, fourth was Brooke Edgecombe (Waipukurau) on LT Holst Andrea, fifth was Sam Van Lierde (Cambridge) on Cadillac NZPH, sixth was Vicki Prendergast (Matamata) on her homebred mare Selena C, seventh was Jeremy Whale (Hampton Downs) on Dolce NZPH, and eighth went to Tegan Fitzsimon (West Melton) on Windermere Cappuccino.