ANNA TRENT BOOKS A TICKET TO THE WORLD CUP FINAL

   It's viva Las Vegas for Anna Trent. The 23-year-old from Hawke's Bay won the World Cup (NZ) series in the most tense of finishes at the Larsen Sawmilling Equestrian Championships in Gisborne, booking a place to the final in Las Vegas in April and a berth in the New Zealand tri nations team to take on Japan and South Africa.

Joining her in the team will be Simon Wilson (Waipukurau), Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) and Robert Steele (Hawera).

When the final points for the eight round series were tallied, Trent and Wilson were tied on 55 points from their best four rounds. The crown went to Trent on count back – she had three wins to Wilson's two.

Trent, who rides for New Zealand Performance Horses, now needs to sit down and work out the logistics of getting to Vegas for the April final.

For NZPH, which is owned by former All Black captain David Kirk, Sydney based Gordon Fell and Ocean Beach's Warwick Hansen, the win is a big one. “It proves purpose bred horses are the way of the future for New Zealand,” says Hansen, who was so confident Trent would win that he booked tickets to the World Cup final a week ago.

NZPH breed Selle Francaise horses who are purpose bred for showjumping. “To win a series like this is an important one for the blood line and shows the consistency of NZPH horses.”

But the final will be a challenge for even the best of combinations. NZ Olympic vet and World Cup (NZ series) vet Tim Pearce says there is nothing harder for New Zealand combinations than the World Cup, which is held indoors. New Zealand rarely has indoor events. “It's the degree of technicality and consistency of competition that is so hard for our horses and riders. The World Cup is certainly the hardest of the championships we attend.”

Trent is more than aware of the challenges ahead and says she and Cortaflex Muskateer NZPH will be doing a power house of training before they fly out. “It's incredible,” she says, “and I know this horse is capable of rising to the challenge.”