Winner Linda Dobson with Lucy Galovicova and Ben Carter of KenTaur Australia, and owner of AS Indigo Vincent Siciliano. Photograph:www.horseplayphotos.com.au

And talented young rider, Anna McGregor, kept the pressure on with her 16.2 chestnut thoroughbred gelding Mandarin, finishing just two seconds behind the winning combination. Anna won the same class last year on Mandarin.

The experienced combination of David Dobson and Argyle Stables Nagaro rode into third place just under two seconds behind Anna, with all three placegetters finishing on eight penalties. David also finished fourth on Argyle Stables Pico Bello, the combination which had won the previous World Cup round at Perth Royal Show.

Three combinations finished the first round clear, but with only eight riders in the class and Linda Dobson electing to retire her young horse Noblewood Park Caesar and Chadd Donovan withdrawing his young horse Westphalia Park Amicus from the second round, the remaining riders were all invited back to the second round.

The minor placings were Alison Rowland on Sennic in fifth, and Chaise Ludgate on Barrabadeen Tycoon in sixth place.

Linda Dobson said she felt Indigo was progressing very well and feeling much more mature in his approach to a big class.

“I'm looking forward to increasing the pressure on him over the next six months to really add to our experience and test his capability," Linda Dobson said.

"The arena, jumps and tracks looked fantastic, and it is always a great experience to ride at Brigadoon with a large crowd which is clearly knowledgeable and enjoying the entertainment."

"The arena footing was quite unstable at one end, meaning the horses tended to worry about their balance and this did show up in the second round with all the horses tending to jump more cautiously," Linda said.

Course Designer Peter Cooke set a testing track over 12 fences with a total of 15 jumping efforts. Earlier classes had revealed a hard pan under the surface in some critical areas and Peter did a masterful job of using the 70m by 35m indoor arena without creating major problems for the World Cup horses.  The brightly coloured equipment and lush plant decorations added considerably to the spectacle of the evening as well as providing a challenge for the horses.

The course was a solid 1.45m track with some testing lines including the last through fences 10 to 12 beginning with a 1.55m wide oxer four strides after coming away from the in-gate, a further seven strides to a 1.50m vertical on the right rein, and a five stride line to the left to another 1.50m vertical. A treble at fence seven coming diagonally down the arena proved the most testing, with four combinations having a rail at either the first or second element.  

The course was shortened for the second round and increased in size. The vertical at fence eight out of the turn, followed by a large oxer liverpool fence proved very difficult for all riders however this was more due to the footing rather than the difficulty of the fences.

Peter Cooke said he was very disappointed with the stability of the arena surface as the horses tended to show some uncertainty in the second round, however it provided a good class for the crowd and together with a very high standard Young Rider class held earlier, the spectators all had a fantastic night's entertainment.

"I have always enjoyed designing courses in the State Equestrian Centre arena as the facility has excellent crowd viewing and you can provide something for everyone watching," Peter Cooke said.

"It is very challenging to design a course at the World Cup level when you have a limited number of starters as it is important to make sure the standard is maintained, as well as provide a sufficient challenge for the experienced horses, a development for younger horses and riders and make sure we have a good competition for the crowd and sponsors."

The class was sponsored by KenTaur saddlery with $7,500 in prize money. To recognise the sponsors a tack room was constructed in the middle of the arena which included saddles, bridles, gear and riders apparel, and featured the KenTaur saddle which was presented to the winner. The novel display provided interest for the one thousand spectators who took the opportunity to walk the course before the World Cup class.

The crowd was swelled with spectators from the National Polocrosse Championships also being held at Brigadoon, with polocrosse riders marvelling at the sheer size of the jumps as they walked the course before the event.

After the two World Cup rounds held in Western Australia Linda Dobson has 18 points, David Dobson has 16 points and Anna McGregor has 10 points.  Leading the FEI World Cup Qualifiers in Australia after ten rounds is Amy Graham (SA) on a total of 83 points, from Clem Smith (Qld) on 78 points and Julia Hargreaves (NSW) on 63 points.

The FEI World Cup Qualifying rounds now move on to Victoria with the next competition to be held at Shepparton on 9 November 2008.