Maree Tomkinson and Diamantina at the 2013 Australian Championships
Photo © Franz Venhaus

Maree Tomkinson has taken the first step towards claiming the title of Australian Dressage Champion for the second consecutive year after winning the CDI-W Grand Prix at the 2013 Australian Dressage Championships in Sydney, Australia, on Friday 25 October 2013.

Last year’s defending champion was the last to go in the Grand Prix and the crowd waited eagerly to see her and her mare Diamantina’s first performance at a major event in almost a year. Judges awarded the combination a score of 67.96% which moved them into first position ahead of Sheridyn Ashwood and Prestige VDL who obtained a score of 67.77%.

The battle for the top three was tight with third placed Rozzie Ryan and GV Bullwinkle scoring 67.36%.

Tomkinson was pleased with her performance but had been hoping for more of an improvement on the score she achieved last year.

“She can piaffe now quite clearly but she’s still a young horse so things will just get better," she said. "She’s an amazing horse and I’m very lucky to have her and I thought the test was a lot better and I think she has improved a lot. I’m very lucky to own a beautiful horse that gives me and all my team an enormous amount of pleasure. My Young Rider (Morgan Duell) won the CDI-Y this morning so it’s been a great day for us,” Tomkinson said.