Now, it’s official, Naomi’s a star

By Melissa Donchi
LAUNCHING Place equestrian Naomi Mays has won first place in the One Star Junior Section at the 2007 Horseland Melbourne International Three Day Event.
Often described as the equine equivalent to a triathlon, contenders competed in dressage, cross country and showjumping. Naomi rode Mayfield Dante and achieved the top score of 63.7 from judges.
With more than 150 of Australia’s top equestrians competing in the Queen’s Birthday event, the competition was being touted as a ‘road to Beijing’ with many of the senior riders seeking selection for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
While Naomi is too young for Olympic selection, that’s not to say she can’t dream.
“It’s definitely something I want to do in the future,” she said.
Now in its 51st year, the Horseland Melbourne International Three Day Event is the oldest three-day event in Australia.
Chairman of the organising committee Mike Sullivan said the popular three-day event continues to go from strength to strength.
“We had a record number of entries this year and crowd numbers were up once again,” Mr Sullivan said.
“It underlines the great strength of three-day eventing in Australia and the impact of Melbourne, in particular, in our gold medal success.”