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News
March 2013
Contenda places 2nd at Scone Horse Trials 2 Star Class
 
February 2014
Contenda places 3rd at Sydney Event after only 10 days back in work
 
After spending the last 3 months collecting semen on an almost daily basis we did not expect Contenda to have his first eventing competition only 10 days after returning to training with Shane Rose. Despite very limited preparation and only 1 jump under saddle prior to the event, Contenda and Shane finished the 1 star event in a very commendable 3 rd position, less than 2 points behind the winner. Contenda and Shanes next start will be at Scone Horse Trials in the 2*class.
October 2013
Contenda Semen now available in New Zealand and the USA
Contenda has entered quarantine where he will spend the next 3 months collecting semen for export to both new Zealand and the USA. We are very excited to be able to announce that from December 2013 Contenda's frozen semen will be available in New Zealand through Maverick Sport Horses and from March 2014 through A1 Performanhorse Sires in the USA. We have already had proven success using Contenda's frozen semen here in Australia and are very excited that he will soon have progeny representing him throughout the New Zealand and the USA. Click here for Contact details for Maverick Sporthorses and A1 Performancehorse sires.
September 2013
Contenda wins at Eventing Equestriad by 10 points
Contenda, ridden by Shane Rose has won the CCI* class by a margin of 10 points. This result was impressive in more than 1 way. Shane has been competing in Europe for the last month and only returned to Australia a few days before the event. Contenda has been spelling at Wimborne Park Stud in Shane's absence and only returned to work 10 days before the competition after 6 weeks off work.
Contenda will be competing at Lynton Goulburn Event on the 19th and 20th October before returning to Wimborne Park Stud to stand at Stud for the remainder of the stud season. Contenda is planned to be at stud until the end of January 2014 when he will return to training with Shane in preparation for the 2014 eventing season.
July 2013
Contenda Wins Tamworth International Eventing
After 2 weeks of seemingly inccessant rain here in Sydney the sun was shining in Tamworth for a great weekend of eventing. The rain followed by a week of warm dry weather created the perfect going on the cross country course - soft pliable ground but not slippery. Contenda and Shane Rose contested the 1 Star CNC class at Tamworth. The dressage on Saturday was very competitive and the standard was high with 4 riders scoring over 70%. Contenda and Shane won the dressage receiving 75% from one judge and 73.33% from the second judge to give an overall score of 74.17 or 38.70 points. Although the going was good on the cross country course the time allowed was very tight with only 5 riders out of a field of 30+ competitiors making time. The showjumping phase was held in the indoor stadium and also proved very challenging with only 2 horse and rider combinations jumping clear in the time allowed.
Shane and Contenda were the only combination to complete both the cross country and showjumping phases without penalty and went on to win the event by a margin of 10 points.
Contenda Wins Sydney Eventing Midweek Event
 
Shane Rose Riding Contenda
Shane Rose rode Contenda to win the Sydney Eventing Midweek Event 1 Star class on their dressage score. Shane and Contenda were one of only 2 horse and rider combinations to finish the event on their dressage scores. This event has been planned as a warm up for Contenda's debut at 2 Star level this coming weekend.
Contenda has his 2 star Debut at Sydney Winter Event
Shane Rose gallops Contenda during the cross country phase
In a weekend where the leaderboard in the 2 Star class changed at every phase the crowd were left until the last rider came in to know who had won the class. After the dressage the top 3 horse and rider combinations, Christine Bates on Kung Fu Panda, Robert Palm on Parklands Oakley and Shane Rose on Contenda, were separated by a mere 0.3%. After the showjumping phase Shane and Contenda were the only pair of the top 3 horses to jump clear and moved into 1 st place with a margin of 3 points over Stuart Tinney and Annapurna. The cross country phase would prove to be the final decider of the placings. Time was tight with only a handful of competitors making time. Shane and Contenda were travelling to time right up to the second last fence when an unfortunate landing at the water jump meant the Contenda did not have time to balance himself before exiting the water and had a run out at part B of the water complex. The class was won by Stuart Tinney and Annapurna with Shane and Contenda ended up placing 15th from a field of 40 riders.
June 2013
Contenda finishes a close 2nd at Melbourne International 3 DE
Contenda ridden by Shane Rose (Photo by Main Event Photography)
With less than 1 rail between first and fourth place going into the third day of competition the Melbourne International Three Day 1 star class was thrilling down to the last rider. The top 3 riders were all on their dressage score entering into the showjumping round. The pressure on the upper order was intense as any rail down would put them out of the placings. Robert Palm, riding Parklands Oakley, held his nerve to jump clear and reverse the result from the Sydney International 3 Day last month. Shane Rose, riding Contenda, jumped an excellent clear round to come second by 1.3 points.Shane rose was interviewed by "An Eventful Life" on completion of the cross country phase on Contenda. Below are his comments."....he (Contenda) certainly has got the ability to go as far as he needs to go for
4 Star and beyond, he has super super jumping ability, he is great on the flat
and he appears to gallop great....he just just gallops and jumps and doesn't gettired near the end of the course"
May 2013 Contenda colt wins 5 yo Young Showjumping Horse at Sydney CDI
This month Zach Maher and Contention (Contenda/Meridian Enya) contested the CDI New Holland Agriculture 5 year old Young Showjumping class. Winning this class required not just clear rounds but the final placings depended on which combination could jump clear closest to the optimum time. Congraulations to Zach and Contention who took out first place in this class with a double clear round at optimum time ahead of a field of 26 of the best 5 year showjumping horses in the country.
Above photo and text from The Gallery on www.horsedeals.com.au
April 2013
Contenda wins Sydney International 3 Day Event
Shane Rose jumping Contenda to victory in the 1 star class at Sydney International 3 Day Event
Contenda ridden by Shane Rose has won the Sydney International Horse trials 1 Star event with a score of 43.10. Shane and Contenda led the event from the start to finish. Friday was dressage day and saw Shane and Contenda receive a score of 76.52% from dressage judge Hamish Rogers.
After a clear cross country phase on Saturday Shane said Contenda had just done the best cross country round ever for him - he was brave, fast and careful. Sunday was the showjumping phase and saw Contenda knock down his first rail ever in Eventing competition. Despite the 4 point penalty added to Shane and Contenda's score the pair still led 2nd placed Robert Palm on Parklands Oakley to win by over 5 points.
 
 Click here to watch video footage of Contenda on the cross country course
Contenda Wins at Albury International Horse Trials
Contenda ridden by Shane Rose at Albury International Horse trials (photo by Main Event Photography)
After only 6 weeks back in work after an 18 month break from competition, Contenda was ridden to 1st place in the Pre Novice Class at Albury International Horse trials by Shane Rose. Shane and Contenda lead from the start with a dressage score of 72.8%, followed by a clear round showjumping. With a 9 point lead going into the cross country, Shane took it easy to get home safely with 3.6 time faults to still comfortably win the class by 5 points over Robert Palm riding Parklands Oakley.
Click here to watch video footage of Contenda on the Cross Country phase
Contenda gelding places 2nd in Young Event Horse class at Sydney
Crystal Conning and CP Aurelio during the cross country phase of the Young Event Horse
Crystal Conning rode her lovely grey gelding CP Aurelio to 2nd place in the 4 year old Young Event horse Class held at the Sydney International Event. The Young Event Horse class assesses the potential of young horses to excel in the discipline of eventing. All the horses are subjectively scored on their dressage, showjumping and cross country performances, the individual scores are then amalgamated to give an overall total and rank the participants. Crystal and CP Aurelio scored 112 out of a possible 150.
CP Aurelio was bred by John Phillips of Caveton Park in South Australia and is out of a Silky Baby mare. Crystal and CP Aurelio have just started their preparations for eventing this season and from what I saw at Sydney their future looks very promising. Congratulations to Crystal, John Phillips and CP Aurelio and good luck for the future.
 
Contenda offspring also competing in the Young Event Horse Classes at Sydney,the 4 yo Wimborne Constellation (left) and the 5yo Wimborne Cooperelli (right). Photos by Main Event Photography.
Contenda colt wins showjumping amongst field of 90 riders at Sydney
Contention, a 5 year old colt by Contenda out of Meridian Enya (Salute/Double Cream) and ridden by Zach Maher has beat a field of over 90 riders to win the 1.1m class st Sydney Showjumping at SIEC.Zach and Contention jumped clear against the clock to take the win. The combination were 20th out and had to wait and watch as the other competitiors including Olympic rider Chris Chugg with his imported stallion Baluga,tried to beat their clear round time.
March 2013
Contenda Progeny Shine in the Show Ring
Contenda progeny are making themselves known in a discipline that is traditionally dominated by Thoroughbred horses, the Showring. At this years Grand National Hack Show the beautiful chestnut gelding, Bindara Nureyev (Contenda/WP Mariana) owned and ridden by Merran Socha impressed the British judge to receive a top 10 ranking amongst a large and impressive line up of horses. At Sydney Royal Easter Show,the Contenda progeny Alkyra Arcrobat (owned by Belinda Scanlon) and Alkyra Conquest (owned by Susannah McGarrity) placed first and second in the led ANSA gelding.Congratulations to all the horses and their owners.
 
Alkyra Conquest yearling gelding Alkyra Acrobat - 2 year old gelding
February2013
Congratulations Wimborne Constable on passing both AWHA and ACE colt classification
Wimborne Constable (Contenda/Gribaldi)at 3 years of age
Wimborne Constable is the first Contenda son to be pass the tough AWHA and ACE colt classification process. Bred by Wimborne Park Stud and purchased by Kylie and Phillip Ewart from Mallyon Hills Warmblood Stud in Wauchope as a weanling,Wimborne Constable is deserving of his breeding approval both in terms of his pedigree and also his outstanding temperament, movement and trainability. Wimborne Constable is out of our beautiful Head Stud Book mare, Wimborne Paint It Black. Paint It Black is by Keur stallion,Gribaldi, who is also the sire of World Champion dressage stallion Totilas. Congratulations to Kylie and Phillip Ewart and of course Wimborne Constable.
January 2013AWHA Mare Classification - Top results to all our maresWe are very proud and humbled to announce that all of our mares classified by the AWHA have received excellent classification results that have seen them all allocated to the highest stud book status (Either Head Stud Book or A Grade Foundation mare) . This year we presented our first mare by Contenda (imp), the 4 year old Wimborne Constellation. She was awarded the outstanding classification score of 80.05%. Also scoring in excess of 80% is our mare Wimborne Special Edition (Stedinger/Vivaldi/Ludendorf) who recieved a 9 for type. Both of these mares are available as part of our Designer Foal Program and are great examples of what we are aiming to breed here at Wimborne Park Stud.   Wimborne Constellation at completion of breaking in at 3.5 years oldNovember 2012The first of Our Designer Foals are Born Wimborne Prada (Poetry in Motion/Flamboyant) and her colt by Contenda, Wimborne ConjurorThis season is the first time we have made our mares avilable to the general public as part of our Designer Foal Program. The Designer foal Program allows the discerning horse breeder to choose which of our mare and stallion combinations they would like to breed to produce their dream foal. We take all the stress out of breeding by doing all the hard work for you - including putting the mare of your choice in foal, caring for the pregnant mare, foaling her down and then caring for the foal until weaning at 6 months of age. For more details on our Designer Foal Program please click here. October 2012What happened in 2012?I find it both easy and hard to beleive I have not updated this news page in a full year. A lot has happened. The biggest event in the last 12 months has been the birth of Scott and my son, Samuel, in September 2011. Sam is a delightful little boy,very healthy and loves animals.He is already sitting up gleefully on his mare, Wimborne Just Jazz, and has a grin from ear to ear when she moves.
Contenda has been absent from the competition arena for the last 12 months due to a meniscal tear in his stifle. He has undergone surgery for this and has made a full recovery. Contenda will stay at Wimborne until the end of the stud season and return to training with Shane Rose in February 2012.
Contenda competing in dressage ridden by Shane Rose.
2012 has been a great year for Contenda's progeny. Contenda's oldest foal crop are now rising 6 year olds and are making themselves known in the dressage, eventing and jumping arenas. We constantly hear such wonderful feedback from owners of the Contenda youngstock and cannot wait for the next few years to pass as more and more of his progeny will enter the competition arena.
A few highlights included Meridian Contessa (Contenda/Meridian Enya), now named Contessa VI, bred by Tristan Bryan and now owned by Toni Scattergood placed 3rd in the 5 year old Young Showjumping horse class at Dressage and Jumping with the Stars. The younger full brother to Contessa, Meridian Cardinal, now know as Contention, owned and ridden by Zach Maher have won a qualifier for the Oaks Medallion and will be jumping off against the best 5 year old showjumpers Australia has to offer to win the coverted title at the end of the year.
 
Photos(Left)Toni Scattergood riding Contessa VI at DJWS (right)Alkyra Conquest winning champion ANSA and WB at his first show
In the showring, Contenda progeny are introducing the show world to just how beautiful, elegant and versatile warmbloods are with champion awards in Arabian Warmblood, ANSA and of course Warmblood classes. Names to watch out of are Wimborne Constellation, Alkyra Acrobat and Alkyra Conquest.
October 2011The Breeding Season Begins 
Count Contenda - colt foal by Contenda out of Lacona Allora ( Alimo/Argentinus) owned by Pauline Gable.Photos at 5 days old by Tanya Hobbs
The breeding season has begun at Wimborne Park Stud. Contenda and Remembrance Day's first foals have now been born and based on the quality of what has already been born we are excitably awaiting the remainder of this season's foal crop.Foals expected this season have been purpose bred for numerous different future disciplines - showing, eventing, dressage and showjumping.Keep an eye on each stallions progeny page for photos of this seaons foals over the coming months.
Contenda and Remembrance Day are now both at stud and have started to cover mares.
September 2011
Contenda wins the 1 star event at Scone ODE
Contenda, ridden and trained by Shane Rose, has won the Scone Equine Veterinary Hospital 1 Star Eventing class held at Scone. This was Contenda's second start and also second win at 1 star level. Contenda led the field from the start by scoring 69% in the dressage, followed by a clear showjumping round and then completing the cross country course with a few time penalties for being under the optimal time by a few seconds. Shane's comment after the cross country phase was that it was a particularly difficult 1 star course and that he felt Contenda went the best for him today since he took over the ride on him 10 weeks ago.
Jump In the Park Showjumping Spectacular
Contenda ridden by Shane Rose in the Jump In The Park Showjumping Spectacular
 The Jump in The Park Showjumping Specatular is an exhibition showjumping event held in conjunction with the Lyons Spring Fair at Gannons Park in Peakhurst. The fair is primarily for city people with the showjumping event providing entertainment and an introduction to horses and showjumping for those who normally would not be exposed to the horse world.The showjumping class was held over 2 rounds with the first round height set at 1.25m and the second round lifting to 1.35m. Only 32 horses, all with impressive performance records, were accepted to participate in this event. The first round saw only a handful of clear rounds, resulting in horses on clear and up to 5 penalties being invited back to jump again in the second round. Contenda, ridden by Shane Rose, had 1 rail down in the first round, putting them on 4 penalties. Contenda was jumping beautifully in the second round when he slipped on the hard surface almost falling over completely.Contenda and Shane recovered but dropped 1 rail the following jump before finishing the event on a total of 8 penalties
Contenda is Awarded the Gold Medallion for Performance by AWHA
Contenda's outstanding performance record over the last 14 months has seen him be awarded the prestigous Gold Medallion for Performance from the Australian Warmblood Horse Association. The award is based on points accumulated from competition results. Points are awarded based on the type of event the horse is entered in and also the placing received by the horse at each event, the higher the placing, the more points earned. The Gold Medallion is the highest level of performance award that a horse can receive. Congratulations Contenda!
Contenda wins the Dressage at Clarendon
Contenda, ridden and trained by Shane Rose, attended the NSW Official Dressage competition held at Clarendon for the first weekend in September. This weekend served as a warm up for the state titles and saw plenty of inform horses and riders out competing. Contenda and Shane competed in the Novice competition to win the 2C class with a composite score of over 70%. Next week, Shane and Contenda will be attending the Sydney International 3 DE held at Sydney InternationalEquestrian Centre to compete in the Pre Novice class.
August 2011
Contenda wins his 1 Star Eventing Debut
 
Contenda and Shane Rose give the Brush fence some air in the 1 star Cross Country at Camden (Photo by Main Event Photography)
Contenda, ridden and trained by Shane Rose, has convincingly won his first start at 1 star eventing competition at the Camden Equestriad. The event is always popular attracting all the big name horse and rider combinations and had in total 480 horse and rider entries this year.
Contenda and Shane led the 1 star competition from the start with a dressage score of 72.16% followed by a clear round showjumping and just a few time penalties on the cross country to win the class by 6 points.
Wimborne Conniston Exported to New Zealand
Wimborne Conniston ( Contenda /Christadorf) has been purchased by Grand Prix dressage rider Charmian Pearson- White of Auckland , New Zealand. Charmian has a very impressive dressage resume which includes Auckland and Northland Grand Prix Champion, Northland, Waitemata, Auckland and Waikato Advanced Champion, Reserve Champion Young rider of the Year, NZ "B" Dressage Squad and 3 times winner of theNZ Pony Club Dressage Champion.
Charmian is very excited about Conniston being her next horse. She plans to break him in over the next few months followed by idealic sounding forest and beach rides on the west coast of Auckland before starting Level 1 and the Young Dressage Horse Classes next season. Congratulations Charmian, we look forward to following your and Conniston's progress over the coming years.
July 2011Contenda finishes on his dressage score at Sydney ODE
with new rider and trainer, Shane Rose
 
Shane Rose competing with Contenda at Sydney weekend ODE held at SIEC
 
Contenda, ridden by Shane Rose, was one of only 2 horse and rider combinations to complete the Sydney Pre Novice ODE on their dressage score. After an impressive warm up session for the dressage, Contenda became tense on entering the competition arena to perform his dressage test. The dressage score of 63.6% was far from Contenda's best dressage result but was a fair score for the day. In the showjumping phase, Contenda maintained his record of never dropping a rail in eventing showjumping competition by jumping a seemingly effortless clear round. The cross country phase was very demanding with only 3 horse and rider combinations, with one being Contenda and Shane, completing this phase without penalty.
The class was ultimately won by Soigne Jackson riding Collateral Damage. The pair led the competition from their dressage phase to complete the weekend on their dressage score of 70% - Congratulations Soigne! Shane and Contenda finished in 6th place, with a mere 3.5 points separating 2nd and 6th place.
Contenda joined the stable of Silver Olympic Medal winner Shane Rose only 4 weeks ago.The pair will remain in Pre Novice eventing level whilst the new partnership forms and plan to have their first 1 star eventing start in the coming months.
Remembrance Day and Contenda both registered as ANSA stallions
 
Contenda Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day and Contenda have both been accepted as ANSA (Australian National Saddle Horse) registered stallions. This means progeny from either stallion are eligible to be registered and shown as ANSA horses. Contenda's first offspring to be registered ANSA, Alkyra Acrobat, has won Reserve Champion ANSA exhibit at his very first outing, followed by Champion ANSA at his 2nd outing - all of this as a weanling!
Congratulations to owner, Belinda Scanlon and breeder, Susannah McGarrity.
May 2011Contenda is awarded the Silver Medallion for Performance by AWHA
Contenda, ridden by Chris Burton, showjumping to victory at SIEC
After only 12 months of competition, Contenda has been awarded the Silver medallion for performance by the AWHA. The award works on a pointscore system where different points are awarded for wins and places in open competition. In the past year Contenda has worked his way up through the Award of Merit, to the Bronze Medallion, to the Silver Medallion and is now only 1 eventing win off being awarded the Gold Medallion!
Farewell and Good Luck to Christopher Burton
Wimborne Park Stud would like to thank Christopher Burton for all of his enthusiasm and talent in training and competing with Contenda over the last 18 months. Chris's performance record with Contenda has been nothing short of impressive. Over the past 12 months,from 13 competitions outings Chris and Contenda never left a competition without being in the prize money by being awarded 8 first places, 2 second places, 1 third place and 2 fourth places.Chris has now left Australia to train and compete in England and Europe with the goal of pursuing his dream of Olympic selection for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Good Luck Chris we look forward to cheering you on in 2012!
Contenda finishes on his dressage score to place 2nd at Quirindi ODE
 
 Photos:Contenda ridden by Chris Burton at Quirinidi ODE in the showjumping and Cross Country phasesContenda and Chris Burton have finished in 2nd place at their 3rd Pre Novice Eventing start at the Quirindi ODE. This event was the last time that Chris will compete on Contenda before leaving Australia to live, train and compete in England and hopefully be selected to represent Australia in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Contenda and Chris scored 70% in their dressage before completing the showjumping and cross country phases without penalty to take 2nd place on their dressage score. The worthy winner was Hamish Cargil riding the quality mare Starburst who also completed the event on their dressage score of 73%.
Contenda wins at Camden's Eventing Equestriad
 
Photos:(left)Contenda ridden by Chris Burton in the dressage phase and warming up for cross country (right)
 Photo above: Contenda and Chris Burton in the cross country starting box awaiting their starting orders
Photo below: Contenda and Chris leaping into the water in the cross country (photo by Main Event Photography)
Contenda, ridden by Chris Burton, has won his 2nd Pre Novice Eventing start at Camden's Eventing Equestriad.The Camden Eventing Equestriad is one of Australia's premier eventing shows. This year the show attracted over 450 entries from introductory to 3 star level. All the classes were large making for a tightly contested competition. In the dressage phase, Contenda and Chris split the judges with the judge at C awarding the pair 76.3% wheras the judge at E scored the pair with 58.89%. The resulting average dressage mark of 67.6% left the pair in 3rd place after the dressage phase behind Hamish Cargill riding Starburst ( 69.82%) and Sam Fasher riding Jeblues (68.15%). In the showjumping phase, Contenda and Chris were the only combination of the first three placegetters to jump clear resulting in the pair being placed outright first before embarking on the cross country phase. The Cross country phase, whilst predominantly flat going, required significant speed and endurance as well as bravery over the solid fences. This challenging phase saw only 4 horse and rider combinations make time and resulted in multiple eliminations. Contenda and Chris were one of the few combinations to complete this phase without penalty resulting in them securing first place to win the class on their dressage score of 48.6. A very big thank you is extended to Peter and Leone McDonald from Peppercorn Park and Peter and Judy Orr from Main Event Photography for their very generous support of the class.
Contenda finishes 4th in his Grand Prix Showjumping debut
Contenda, ridden by Chris Burton, has finished 4th in their Grand Prix Showjumping debut at Hawkesbury Show. It was a gruelling course with only Nick Taliana on his world cup horse Ambrose jumping clear to win the class. Whilst Contenda still has lot of experience to gain in these classes he undeniably showed his scope and potential for jumping these bigger fences. As a warm up the day before the Grand Prix, Contenda and Chris jumped a double clear round in the 1.10m class.This is the last showjumping outing for Chris and Contenda before Chris heads off to England to aim for selection in the London 2012 Olympic Eventing Team. Chris and Contenda will still be seen competing in eventing at the Camden Eventing Equestriad and Quirinidi ODE before Chris departs for the UK in mid June.
April 2011Contenda Wins his Pre Novice Debut at Silver Hills ODE
 
Chris Buton riding Contenda in the Pre Novice dressage, showjumping, and Cross Country at Silver Hills ODE
Contenda, ridden by Chris Burton, has won his debut start at Pre Novice level eventing at Silver Hills One Day Event. Not only was it Contenda's debut at Pre Novice Level but it was also the pairs' first eventing start of the season. After being awarded predominently 7's and 8's by dressage judge Teena Murdoch, the combination scored 73.6% in the dressage to take 2nd place after the first phase of the competition by a tiny 0.6 points to KL Kismet, ridden by Elizabeth Lowery. After showjumping clear and completing the cross country without penalty, Contenda and Chris moved into first place to win the class.
Contenda has his Mini Prix Debut at Castle Hill Show
 
Photos:(left)Contenda ridden by Chris Burton in the 1.15m class (right) and debuting in the the Mini Prix (1.35m class) at Castle Hill Show
Contenda's first outing for 2011 was competing in the showjumping at the 125th Castle Hill Show. After only 3 weeks back in work it was great to see Contenda and rider/trainer Chris Burton back in the competition ring.
It was a great start to the season. On the first day of competition Contenda and Chris jumped clear to place 2nd but a tiny 0.5 of a sec in the open 1.15m class out of 77 entries, before jumping clear again in he afternoon to place 4th in the open 1.25m class out of 65 entries.
The second day of competition saw Chris and Contenda again jump clear in the C Grade , followed by their debut in the 1.35m Mini Prix class. The course designer, Mr David Shephard, from Victoria set a challenging Mini Prix course that saw only 5 clear rounds from a large field of horses. Contenda had one rail down at the 2nd fence but showed a lot of promise in these bigger classes taking all other fences, including a big treble that challenged alot of other horse and rider combinations in his stride.
January 2011Bindara Nureyev Wins High Point Award at Victorian TTT Show Titles
Congratulations to Merran Socha and her beautiful 4 year old gelding, Bindara Nureyev (Contenda/Waterview Park Mariana (Moselfischer/Silky BabyXX) (aka Rudi)for an oustanding debut in the showing world. At their first showing outing ever Merran and Rudi went out to win their saddle class and Champion of Grade 3. Rudi also carried Merran to win her rider class and ultimately Reserve Champion Rider of the show. In recognition of these outstanding results Rudi was awarded Grade 3 High Point Horse of the Show.
"He is such a star and we just love him. His temperament is exceptional - arriving at his first show ever he let me do all the fussy show prep and then just get on and with 10 minutes warm up, off into the ring with 20 other horses."
Merran Socha about Rudi on 18/1/2011
Merran and Rudi can also be seen competing in dressage where the pair have already qualified for this years Dressage With the Stars.
December 2010Contenda Wins at the Summer Classic Showjumping Show 
Christopher Burton riding Contenda in the 1.25m class
 
The Summer Showjumping Classic held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre never fails to attract both the top horses and top riders and is the last big show for the year. This year was no exception with most classes attracting over 90 entries. There is always something special about riding in the Olympic arena, with this year marking 10 years since the world's Olympic horses and riders cantered around this very arena.
For Christopher Burton and Contenda it was an opportunity to step up a grade and have their competition debut at 1.20m and then 1.25m. The 1.20m class was an A2 class, hence the first round needed to be both accurate and fast. Chris and Contenda did just that - jumping clear and clocking up the 5th fastest time out of 93 entries.
The following day Chris and Contenda again had their competition height debut, this time in the 1.25m class. It was a big course with some very difficult lines and distances that saw only 11 clear rounds out of 96 entries. Chris and Contenda again jumped very well giving all jumps a huge clearance but were unlucky to have 1 rail down in the double thus putting them out of place contention.
To finish off a great few days of showjumping Chris and Contenda won the 1.1m class out of 100 entries. As is expected with so many entries the competition was tight and Contenda had to careful as well as fast to win this title. Contenda's huge stride helped him to the victory with Chris saying he took 5 strides in a distance that measured for 7 strides.
Contenda will now return to Wimborne Park Stud to concentrate on his stud duties until late January when he will return to training and continue his progression through the grades in both eventing and showjumping.
November 2010Contenda Wins Event at Berrima Spring Horse Trials
 
Contenda has won his first competition start back after a 3 month break whilst his rider, Christopher Burton , concentrated on the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and then his Adelaide 3 Day Event horses. After only one weeks preparation for the event, Chris and Contenda picked up from where they left off to take out first place in the Preliminary 1 Day Eventing class. Contenda was placed first after his dressage test and held onto this position with a clear showjumping and cross country round the following day.
Contenda will now start preparations for the Summer Showjumping Classic to be held at SIEC on 10th - 12th December.
October 2010The breeding and foaling season begins
2 week old colt foal by Contenda(imp) out of a TB mare
Spring is always an exciting time of the year for us as the foals that were planned and dreamed about last year are born. The first Contenda and Remembrance Day progeny for the season have now been born and are looking very exciting. Keep an eye on the progeny pages for photos of the newest arrivals.
The breeding season is also well underway with positive pregnancy results already for mares to both Contenda and Remembrance Day.
Contenda will be returning to training and competition with Christopher Burton this month. Whilst in training, Contenda will still be available for stud duties from Sunday to Tuesday every week throughout the stud season. Please advise the stud if you are planning on breeding during this period so we can make sure everything runs smoothly for your mares' insemination.
Contenda will be available everyday of the week for stud duties from mid December to the end of January 2011.
Remembrance Day is available seven days a week for stud duties.
Inspections of the stallions and their progeny in the flesh is very welcome.
Please contact the stud to make an appointment time.
September 2010
Flamboyant progeny continue their winning ways
 
Photos: (left) Pacific Coast Champions Alkyra Flamboyance and Linda Makejev, (right) Alkyra Flamboyance
and Runner up Alkyra Follow Me
The Flamboyant progeny, Alkyra Flamboyance and Alkyra Follow Me, competed against a quality field of beautifully presented show hacks to take out Champion and Runner Up Large Hack at the Pacific Coast Hack Championships. This now brings the total number of Flamboyant progeny qualified for the 2011 Grand National to 5 - Supernatural, Alkyra Elegance, Alkyra Flamboyance, Paragon Park Flamboyant and Alkyra Follow Me.
Supernatural, ridden by Mark Kenzig, presented a flawless work out under very difficult conditions at Hawkesbury Showground to be award NSW Horse of the Year in the over 16hh class.This performance was staight of the back of winning Gents Hack at Melbourne Royal and Reserve Champion Hack at Adelaide Royal.
Alkyra Elegance, ridden by Mark Kenzig, added another couple of Royal Show wins to their name after winning at both Melbourne and Adelaide Royals. At Adelaide Royal, Alkyra Elegance also carried Matt Snell to Champion rider. Alkyra Elegance now has wins at every Royal Show on the East Coast of Australia!
Alkyra Flamboyance, ridden by Linda Makejev, was awarded Champion Hack, Champion Ridden ANSA and Supreme Ridden Horse of the Show at Alstonville Show.
Congratulations to all owners, riders and connections for such an outstanding list of acheivements!
July 2010
Contenda wins at Sydney Showjump Club's Winter Championships
 
Contenda, ridden by Christopher Burton at Sydney Showjump Club
Contenda, ridden by Christopher Burton has topped off a very successful month by winning at the Sydney Showjump Club's Winter Showjumping Championships. The event was very well attended with many well known riders and horses making the journey to Clarendon to compete in the Championships. In a class with 50 entries, Contenda jumped double clear rounds and was awarded first place with his jump off round time being 5 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Thank you to Sydney Showjump Club and their sponsors for an excellent event and their generous prizes.
Contenda wins at Quirindi One Day Event
Christopher Burton riding Contenda in the dressage at Quirindi ODE
Contenda, ridden by Christopher Burton, has won the Preliminary A class at Quirindi One Day Event. At only his 3rd eventing start Contenda completed the competition with a score of 37.50, 9 points ahead of the nearest competitor. On the first day of the competition, Contenda and Chris were awarded a dressage score of 75% from judge Judy Henry before showjumping clear in the afternoon.On the second day of competition, light rain made the black soil of Quirindi very heavy and slippery and definitely added a degree of difficulty to the cross country phase. Despite this, Contenda and Chris rode clear over the cross country course to finish the event on their dressage score and take out first place. Many thanks to the sponsor of the class "More 4 horses" for their generous support and prizes.
Contenda finishes Berrima Horse Trials on his dressage score!
  
Contenda, ridden by Christopher Burton, competing in the Berrima Horse Trials
 
Contenda, ridden by Chris Burton, has finished a close 3rd in his first Preliminary level eventing start. After being awarded a dressage score of 69.55% Contenda and Chris were tied in second place |
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