Olympian Shane Rose dominates at Adelaide Equestrian Festival

World-class athletes have been challenged by a gruelling course at one of Australia’s biggest sporting events.

For any other rider, an international competition in front of 20,000 spectators is a daunting and rare occurrence.

But for Shane Rose, a three-time Olympic medallist in the equestrian sport of eventing, riding four horses to Olympic qualifying success is just another day at work.

The world-class eventer is the overnight frontrunner for the 5 star class at this year’s Adelaide Equestrian Festival – a one of a kind event showcasing the highest competing athletes in the centre of a CBD.

Andrew Cooper gallops through the Adelaide CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Record breaking crowds poured through the gates of historic Victoria Park in Adelaide to witness the thrills and spills of one of the biggest sporting events in the southern hemisphere.

The Adelaide Equestrian Festival’s three-year pandemic hiatus didn’t stop record breaking ticket sales for its first year back, with as many as 25,000 tickets sold before the event’s most popular phase on Saturday.

Spectators enjoying a drink next as riders contend the 3 star course. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Spectators from all backgrounds filled the east parklands from 9am, stretching from young families with children to party animals ready to kick off their heels as the horses tackle a gruelling gallop and jumping course.

But all eyes were on the cross country course, spanning up to 6km with 67 horse and rider combinations competing from all over Australia and New Zealand.

Crowds at the Adelaide Equestrian Festival in Adelaide. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The event has broken records, selling more tickets on the first day than in the entire 2019 event. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Scoring for eventing has riders competing for the lowest penalty score throughout the three phases of dressage, cross country and showjumping, with any incidents on course costing them up to 20 penalties for refusals and elimination for falls.

Three-time Olympic medallist Shane Rose on Virgil during the Cross Country 5 star event. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Rose, who has four horses across this year’s event, said Adelaide was an integral part of his contention for Olympic consideration.

“All four horses I’ve brought to Adelaide have a chance of making Paris Olympics, so Adelaide is a big step in my Paris journey,’’ he said.

“For me, Adelaide is the closest thing you can get to competing in Europe. You are galloping through big crowds in Rymill Park. It’s a big thing for horses to compete in an environment like that.”

Rose and his horse Virgil are currently leading the 5 star competition, with Sam Lyle and BF Valour only 5 penalties behind them going into the final phase.

“It’s important that we have our horses run in Adelaide – Virgil’s qualifying for Paris here,” Rose said.

The event is running in Adelaide until April 23. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The 3 star competitors tackled the course first, but not without several incidents.

Ten out of the 37 riders were either eliminated after falls or retired during their runs, with the final fence proving to be the bogey on course.

New South Wales young rider Oliver Barrett rode an exceptional round, maintaining his overnight lead after scoring 26.1 in the Dressage phase on Thursday.

NSW Oliver Barrett competing on Sandhills Special, leading the three star competition. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The only South Australian rider in the 3 star class, Luke Jones rode his thoroughbred Spirit smoothly around the course and through the challenging water jump, accumulating penalties for going over the optimum time.

South Australian Luke Jones riding Spirit. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Guests enjoying hospitality packages by the Rymill Park lake included members of parliament and ministers, local horse breeders and Olympic riders.

Riders in the Olympic qualifying 5 star event, as well as the 4 star event hit the course later in the afternoon, keen to make an impression on the selection committee ahead of Paris 2024.

South Australian rider and former Olympian Megan Jones on Toulando during the Cross Country 4 star event. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

South Australia’s own Olympian Megan Jones saw crowds cheering and applauding as she made her way through the finish line, finishing the second day in 10th place for the 4 star overall.

Katlyn Fletcher on Pumpkin rides through the water at Rymill Park as thousands cheer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The afternoon courses saw three people each in the 4 star and 5 star eliminated or retired on course.

Rose is also on the leaderboard for the 4 star competition, coming in third place behind Shenae Lowings and Andrew Cooper.

The event will resume on Sunday with the final show jumping phase set to decide the winner of each class.