JULY/AUGUST 09 FEATURE - OH CANADA! NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Canadian Horse Journal July-August 09 issue Online Feature
Canadians Dominate at Spruce Meadows’s National
By Melanie Huggett, with files from Spruce Meadows
The National Tournament, the first international tournament of Spruce Meadows 2009 season, featured some of show jumping’s biggest names, with riders coming from around the world to compete on June 10 to 14. But it was the Canadians who dominated the action, winning nine out of ten classes in the International Ring.
In the first test of the tournament, the Enbridge Cup, Canada’s Mario Deslauriers and Ardeche Van De Zelm, a nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, beat out 65 other horse-rider combinations for the win. America’s Beezie Madden and Danny Boy rode quick and clear in the 18 horse jump-off, but Deslauriers was slightly quicker, stealing the win by only a hundredth of a second.
Deslauriers repeated his victory later in the week, winning the Nexen Cup Derby, one of the most challenging events in the sport, on the 15-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Paradigm. Only two horse-rider combinations advanced to the jump-off, Deslauriers and Pablo Barrios of Venezuela. Barrios rode Sinatra, his Dutch Warmblood gelding, through a perfect jump-off round in 46.94 seconds, putting the pressure on Deslauriers.
“Paradigm’s a fast horse. I just had to stay on track,” said Deslauriers. And that he did, finishing clear in 43.15 seconds.
Deslauriers and Paradigm had already proven their talent earlier in the week, winning the 1.5 metre Prairie Mines & Royalty Ltd. Cup in a two horse jump-off against Norman Dello Joio of the U.S.A. riding KLM Jimmy.
Ian Millar also had a stellar week, winning three classes and placing third on the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Redefin, in the Nexen Cup.
In the ATCO Midstream Winning Round, Millar’s round could not be matched, as he and Redefin finished the course clear in 45.67 seconds. Ireland’s Eddie Macken on Tedechine Sept were second, with Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa and Cazino third.
Millar’s Olympic mount, the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding In Style, also showed his strength at the National. In Wednesday’s ATB Financial Cup, Madden, Millar, and Eric Lamaze all vied for top spot in the jump-off. Madden was first into the ring with the 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion, Judgement, putting out a clear round in 39.68 seconds. Second into the ring and with the advantage of watching Madden ride before him, Millar rode clear and beat Madden’s time with 38.96 seconds. Only Lamaze on his Olympic stallion Hickstead were left to challenge Millar’s win, but the pair could not match Millar’s time, finishing in 40.17 seconds and settling for third.
Millar and In Style did it again in the $200,000 CN Reliability Grand Prix on Saturday. This time, Millar would be challenged by nine other horse-rider combinations in the jump-off. First into the ring, Millar and In Style rode a brilliant round, finishing clear and in 43.37 seconds. The final entry of the jump-off, Rodrigo Pessoa and his Dutch Warmblood gelding Rufus, looked as though they would go clear and beat Millar’s time. But at the last jump, Rufus knocked the rail, leaving them in fourth. A single rail would also defeat Eric Lamaze — the same bicycle jump that cost him the CN International last September.
Despite his disappointing loss in the CN, Lamaze did not leave the National Tournament empty handed.
In Thursday’s Spectra Energy Cup, Lamaze and Hickstead went up against Canadian teammate Jill Henselwood on the Dutch Warmblood gelding, Black Ice, in the jump-off. “Jill is a great rider but Black Ice isn’t her number one horse. So I was very conservative with Hickstead, hoping Jill would have a rail down,” said Lamaze of his jump-off plan. His plan paid off, as Black Ice took a rail on the second jump, giving Lamaze the win.
Lamaze also had success with one of his new mounts, Lord du Janlie, a ten-year-old Selle Francais gelding. In the TransCanada Parcours de Chasse, Lord du Janlie showed his speed, beating America’s Will Simpson on Nadia, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, for the win. “He’s a fast horse. He has a big stride and knows where he is on the course. He is definitely a speed horse and never seems to be tired,” said Lamaze.
The popular ATCO Structures Double Slalom was also won by a Canadian: Calgary, Alberta’s Brie Etcheverry riding Pilgrm Van De Paddepoel, her 10-year-old Warmblood gelding. In the slalom, two riders race against each other over parallel courses. Taylor Bland and Tango Las Marismas finished second.
The only class not won by a Canadian was the RBC Capital Markets Winning Round. Riding Exclusive, an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, Beezie Madden was able to overpower her competition with a perfect second round. It was Exclusive’s first trip to Spruce Meadows’s International Ring. “You never know how they will react in this ring, but I didn’t have any reason to believe she wouldn’t be successful,” said Madden after her win.
Photos: Mike Sturk, Spruce Meadows Photography
We hope you enjoyed the Canadian Horse Journal July-August 09 issue Online Feature