DECEMBER 2010 THE RIDER /35


Action-Packed Opening Weekend at The Royal Horse Show Offers First-Class Competition, Fun and Excitement for the Whole Family!


Holzer and Pop Art Delight Crowd at CDI3* Royal Agricultural Winter Fair


Ottawa, ON — Ashley Holzer of Toronto, ON debuted a new freestyle at the CDI3* Royal Agricul- tural Winter Fair Novem- ber 11, to the surprise of the audience, and perhaps a little to her horse, Pop Art. While the music began with the soundtrack of National Treasure, it was quickly interrupted by the sound of a ring and an answering machine. Holz- er’s voice asked the caller to leave a message, or send her a text, as she was riding at the Royal. The caller on the other end was Holzer’s daughter Emma, explaining to her mother that she had changed her freestyle music up a bit, as the Royal was all about having fun. With that, Holzer and Pop Art began their dance to the Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling.” And what a night it was!


Pop Art did seem a bit nervous at first, but being the consummate pro- fessional, Holzer pulled him together to win the class with a combined score of 75.15%. Holzer explained after the perfor- mance,


Navan, ON rode Wunder Ein, her twelve-year-old Hanoverian gelding, to music with a Latin beat. They had placed third in the Grand Prix, but the improvement of Winter and Proton left them in fourth with 65.55%. Still, Williams seemed pleased with her horse’s clean per- formance.


“Ashley Holzer of Toronto, ON, and Pop Art win Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle at CDI3* Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.” Photo Credit — Ben Radvanyi


“My horse was still pretty scared in there so it was a little tricky to ride at times but it didn’t take away from the fun I had! My daughter Emma came up with the idea to have some fun at the Royal and do a special freestyle. I realize it was not your typi- cal freestyle but it’s nice to sometimes do something different for one night.” Holzer and Pop Art are Canada’s leading dres-


sage combination, placing eighth in the Freestyle at the 2010 FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games (WEG). The 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding is owned by her mother, Moreen Nicoll, and her husband Rusty Holzer. The duo also won Wednes- day’s Grand Prix test with a score of 69.55%.


Gesto, the 14-year-old Old- enburg gelding owned by Brinc Ltd and Anne Welch. Her music built momentum and showed off the quality of his gaits. The duo placed second with a com- bined score of 71%. They had also placed second in Wednesday’s Grand Prix test with 65.489%.


After the Freestyle, Holzer was presented with the Ian Nicoll Memorial Trophy, which is given by The Royal Horse Show to the leading Canadian rider in attendance.


Jacqueline Brooks of Newmarket, ON rode her long-time partner, Gran


Port PowerSports Announces Addition of New Line


Mahindra Tractors takes Port PowerSports into the Farm & Industrial Sectors


Port Colborne, ON - September 2010 - Bill McGee, President of Port PowerSports announced last week the change of name from Port Power- Sports to Port PowerSports Farm & Industrial . This change is due to the recent addition of Mahindra Tractors - the #1 selling tractor in the world (165,000 units sold last yar), to the exist- ing lines of Yamaha, Victory, Polaris and Used Vehicles.


“Adding tractors to our line up was a natural progression to our company, given the location of our store, and the large base of agricultural and sporting customers that we currently enjoy,” says Bill McGee.


The first wave of tractors arrived Saturday, September 18th with more due to arrive at the store this week. Port’s website has already been updated with the Mahindra tractor line-up. Visit www.portpowersports.com


celebrate with all our clos- est friends is such a high- light for me. I thank Sam (Gran Gesto) for that every time!”


“It’s always such an amazing event when we get to compete in Toronto and friends and relatives that can’t normally see us com- pete are able to come watch us,” remarked Brooks. “Anytime Ashley and I are able to compete in the same show, both have great rides, and then are able to


Victoria Winter of Toronto, ON finished third, scoring 69.55% with Pro- ton, the 16-year-old Baden- Wurttemburger gelding owned by Cindy and Neil Ishoy. Proton had given Winter some trouble in Wednesday’s Grand Prix, where they placed 4th, but there was no sign of that in the Freestyle. Winter took up the reins on Proton just last fall, and the pair was part of Canada’s Dressage team at WEG in Kentucky. Simone Williams of


Liz Steacie of Brockville, ON was the first rider in the Freestyle with Spotless, her Trakehn- er-cross gelding, after plac- ing fifth in the Grand Prix test. The 15.2hh gelding is in his first year at Grand Prix, and had some tension in Wednesday’s test. The pair seemed much more relaxed in the Freestyle, and improved their score significantly, earning less than one percent less than Williams.


The Royal Horse Show is part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, which runs for ten days every November. It is con- sidered the wrap-up event of the season for the com- peting disciplines. The CDI3* was presented by Dominion Regalia, a sup- plier of ribbons to the Royal since the Fair’s inception in 1922.


The officiating judges for the CDI3* Toronto were Axel Steiner (FEI 5* — USA), Mercedes Cam- pdera Alatorre, (FEI 4* — MEX); Joan Macartney, (FEI 4* — CAN); Parajeet Chopra (FEI4* — IND); and Brenda Minor (FEI3* — CAN).


About Dressage Canada


Dressage Canada, as a committee of Equine Canada, is the National governing body for Dres- sage in Canada. Dressage Canada’s objective is to foster the growth of Dres- sage and the pursuit of excellence in the sport at the local, national and international levels. Dres- sage Canada provides sup- port and guidance to both amateurs and professionals through the following pro- grams: coaching education and programs; officials’ education and programs; rules and qualifying crite- ria; sport development; and publications and awards. For more information about Dressage Canada, please visit the Dressage section of the Equine Cana- da site or connect with us on Twitter at www.twit- ter.com/dressagecanada or Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/lp8cnd.


About Equine Canada Equine Canada is Canada’s national govern- ing body for equestrianism. A member-driven, charita- ble institution, it is the executive branch of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and the national authority for equestrian competition; the national voice for recre- ational riders; and the national association for equine welfare, breeding, and industry. Equine Cana- da is recognised by the Government of Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and the Canadian Olympic Com- mittee as the national organisation representing equestrian sport and equine interests. For more infor- mation about Equine Cana- da, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.


Author—Angela Booth Malleau


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