There was plenty of action on day one of competition at the Burton New Zealand Open with Slopestyle pre-qualifiers and qualifiers taking place under perfect blue skies at Cardrona Alpine Resort.A field of 65 men and 18 women battled it out for just 16 and 5 spots, respectively, to join invited riders in the semi-finals, which will take place on Friday, August 13th. The custom built course was in pristine condition with the first feature offering a choice between a down-flat-down round bar or a round down bar, the second feature was a choice between an up box or a gap to flat box, followed by three jumps measuring in at 45-feet, 55-feet, and 75-feet, then finishing with a quarterpipe to goalpost / hip.Leading in the men’s competition was Benjamin Farrow (USA) with a second run score of 89.67 points which he earned with a frontside blunt 270 out, tailslide 270 out, switch backside rodeo 540, frontside 720 double grab, backside 720 melon ending with a tail tap on the goal post feature. Jamie Nicholls (GBR) was only a fraction behind with 89.33 points, also on his second run, which started with halfcab-to-50/50, 180-to-switch 50/50 180 out, Cab 900, frontside 720 mute, and backside 1080 late cork. Rounding out the top three was Sam Hulbert (USA) with a score of 87.67 points. Others riding strong and advancing to semi-finals included Robbie Walker (AUS), Arthur Longo (USA), and Adrian Krainer (AUT). James Hamilton finished in 13th and was the only New Zealander to advance.