Lisa Coupe won the New Zealand league FEI World Cup final yesterday at Tauranga, while defending champ Katie McVean made history in taking the series for the third consecutive year.
McVean and her home-bred mare Dunstan Daffodil - a half sister to her World Champs superstar Delphi who was sold for an undisclosed multimillion dollar deal to Saudi Arabia last year - had to settle for fourth after having an uncharacteristic refusal at the wall in the jump-off.
While the series win gives them the right to represent New Zealand at the world final in The Netherlands in April, McVean has decided she won't be going.
Last year she and Delphi finished sixth equal at the world final, which McVean says would be a big ask for Daffodil.
"I would have loved to take Daffodil but it is so far away and very expensive," she said. "She's never jumped that big, either. At least with Delphi, we had been to Spruce Meadows, so I knew she could jump the heights."
McVean competed with a lower back fracture which she says wasn't painful as much as awkward. "I just wasn't as strong as usual so I wasn't riding well but my horses looked after me."
She plans to have a quiet winter in New Zealand and will look at taking a few horses to the United States in 2013, and in the meantime, will defend the Olympic Cup at the New Zealand Horse of the Year Show in Hawke's Bay in March.
Nine started the world cup class in Tauranga, with four going clear and through to the second round. Coupe and her eight-year-old Bates Amaretto MVNZ were first out and set a cracking pace.
"When I first walked the course I thought it was challenging, but not too big," says Coupe, who had two into the jump-off.
She and her horses have truly hit a purple patch, but going first she knew she had to give it everything with former series winners Simon Wilson on Swinger and McVean on Daffodil following her.
Coupe laid a mighty challenge, going clear in 47.67. Wilson and the 17-year-old Swinger took a brick in the wall and stopped the clock at 52.63, while Coupe and My Ocean Wave dropped a rail and picked up time faults for third spot.
"Beetle (Amaretto) was just such a machine, he just couldn't have gone any better. I never really thought I would win the final, even though we've had a good lead-up."
She too is having a quiet couple of weekends before the series finals in Hawera in early March followed by the Horse of the Year Show later that month.
Coupe bought Amaretto as an unbroken two-year-old and has carefully brought him up through the grades.
"He's just an amazing horse," she said. "Incredible!"
• Olympian and World Champs representative Samantha McIntosh showed she's settling back into life in New Zealand with a convincing win in the horse grand prix on Saturday.
The 36-year-old who moved home from Europe mid 2011, rode her classy imported mare Estina to victory with a double clear round in 49.02 seconds. She was also fifth on the stallion Don Quattro who she's only recently started riding.
Twenty-two started the class, with just four going through to the jump-off. First out was the in-form Rosie Commons and her Aussie-bred Glenara Chandon, who set a cracking pace at 44.06 seconds but dropped a rail.
Next out was Natasha Lammers and Telestory who clocked a steady 51.54 and also took a rail.
The experienced Catherine Cameron and I Reckon dropped two fences and stopped the clock at 48.02, which left the way clear for McIntosh to take the honours.
Earlier in the show Cameron won the two 1.3m classes aboard her rising star Lights Out.