When Schools Collide – By Bella Harvey

When Schools Collide - By Bella Harvey

When Schools Collide

By Bella Harvey

Last Thursday my school (Whangarei Girls High) sent me and a few other classmates out to Kaikohe for the NSSSA Combined Training. This is a fun interschool competition, which runs much like the teams show hunter in my last article. Each rider would complete a dressage test and a round of jumping at their selected height. 

There were four classes to choose from; 65cm, 75cm, 90cm or 1.05m. Each height had a corresponding dressage test which got more complex as the jumps got higher. Each team was made up of four riders, and the overall score for the team was made up by these riders. There were rosettes awarded for individual dressage, individual overall, team dressage and team overall. 

I was lucky enough to have a friend take one of my horses up for me so I could compete both Fred and Aria. Fred had a nice dressage for 5th place and two rails in a tricky show jumping at 90cm. I was very happy with him nonetheless as him and I are still relatively inexperienced at this height. Aria was a bit tense for her dressage but didn’t do too badly, and did a lovely clear round of show jumping.

The team dressage placings for this competition were: 

Whangarei Girls High Gold- 1st 

Huanui Silver- 2nd

Huanui Blue- 3rd

Northland Homeschoolers/KIS- 4th

Overall teams placings:

Whangarei Girls High Gold- 1st

Huanui Silver- 2nd

Northland Homeschoolers/KIS- 3rd

Huanui Blue- 4th

I think I speak for all of us when I say that the Kaikohe Combined Training day is a highlight in the school calendar. I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy a day off school with the horses? Northland Secondary Schools Sports always does a great job of running this event and I enjoy their interschools competitions- even when they are delayed by 6 months because of Covid-19! 

Photos courtesy of Tori Laurie and Iris Van Velsen