AUGUST 2019 THE RIDER /13 Team Canada Places Sixth At SVAG FEI Reining World Championships For Young Riders And Juniors


Ottawa, ON, July 17, 2019 – Three young Albertan ath- letes found themselves in Givrins, SUI, from July 9-13, 2019, where they challenged the SVAG FEI World Cham- pionship for Young Riders & Juniors, earning sixth place overall. Despite being the only


team competing on borrowed horses, Grand Prairie’s Cha- lyce Head, Calgary’s Alexan- dra Hibberd and Carbon’s Delaney Michelson pulled off an impressive result for Team Canada, and had the experi- ence of a lifetime in the process. Head led the charge in


the Young Riders Team Com- petition on July 12, riding pattern #5 on David Roux’s seven-year-old Quarter Horse stallion, Whiz For Ever (Top- sail Whiz x Jacs Little Pine). They flew through their round to earn a score of 215.00 for an impressive eighth place. Head’s top-10 placing


comes as no surprise, as the 16-year-old has been making her mark on the reining world in North America: she trains with top American coach,


Abby Lengel, made the finals at the 2018 National Reining Horse Association Youth Fu- turity, and was the 2018 Na- tional Reining Breeder Classic Youth 14-18 Cham- pion.


“I was told about the


World Championships and felt that it would be an amaz- ing opportunity for me, and it would be awesome to repre- sent my country,” said Head. “A lot of amazing riders com- pete in the World Champi- onship, so I wanted to make sure that my pattern place- ment was the best it can be so I didn’t give anything away.” Next for Canada on the


Young Riders leaderboard was Hibberd, 20, and Juice Lili Gun (JD Colonel Whiz x Lil Ruf Peppy), a seven-year- old Quarter Horse mare owned by Francoise Haingue. The pair’s score of 204.50 put them in 25th place. “Being able to compete


at a show of this calibre was the best experience of my life,” said Hibberd. “Leasing horses was tricky, as we were the only team not competing on our own horses, but I knew that in the end as long


Ontario Cowgirls Qualify For The Canadian Finals Breakaway


Three breakaway ropers qualified for the Canadian Fi-


nals Breakaway. The qualifier was held on July 6th at Lane Tree Farms in Rockwood, hosted by John & Anne Scully, Ross Scully and Hailey Stoddart. The Canadian Finals Breakaway (CFB) is a two day


event to be held October 31 and November 1, 2019 in the Centrium at Westerner Park, Red Deer, Alberta during the Canadian Finals Rodeo. Top breakaway ropers from across Canada will com-


pete in a Semi-Finals on Day 1, with the Finalists competing in an exciting elimination style finals on Day 2. The winner will be named the first Canadian Open Breakaway Cham- pion.


In addition to a historic payout, the winner will receive


a trophy bronze donated by renowned artist Linda Stewart and Vaughn Stewart of Bronzart Casting worth over $5000. The Canadian Finals Rodeo is a world-class rodeo


event that brings together the very best rodeo athletes and fans from around the world. Over a six-day period, you can catch high energy performances from Canada’s top athletes in events like Bareback, Bull Riding, Steer Wrestling, Ladies Barrel Racing, and more. With 120 competitors and seven performances, including the Rising Stars Junior Canadian Fi- nals Rodeo.


as I had fun and showed my lease horse the best I could, it would be worth it. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to compete alongside with.” Immediately following Hib-


berd in the standings was Michel- son, who competed just weeks before her 18th birthday. She nav- igated A Chick In Hollywood (Hollywood Reckless x High Brown Hickory), a 11-year-old Quarter Horse gelding owned by Clothilde Alboud, to 26th place on a final score of 203.50. “Training with and compet-


ing alongside the best youth rein- ers in the world, some of which were professional trainers and World Equestrian Games competi- tors, was an honour and a pleasure


all in itself,” said Michelson. “An- other special part of the experience was finally being able to fulfill my dream of showing in the legendary CS Ranch arena. And finally, meeting so many wonderful people from all around the world that also share my passion for reining was amazing. Thank you to Equestrian Canada, Alberta Equestrian Feder- ation, Reining Canada, Reining Al- berta, all of our wonderful sponsors, our coach Reno Pom- mier and our groom Clothilde Al- boud, because this experience never would have become possible without all your help!” The scores of Head, Hibberd


and Michelson combined to put Canada on a total team score of 623.00 for sixth place. Team Ger-


many took the gold medal with 646.50, while France and the United States narrowly followed just .50 points behind, each scoring 646.00. France ultimately claimed silver after the tie breaker, and the United States collected bronze. Head returned to the ring on


July 13 for the Young Rider Indi- vidual Final, where she and Whiz For Ever placed 17th on a score of 208.00 riding pattern #9. Chade McCutcheon and Smart Little Dunnit of the United States brought home the gold on a score of 227.50, and the silver medal went to Yessie van der Zwan and Walla Whiz N Tari BB of the Netherlands with an even 222.00. Belgium’s Nimroid Vannietvelt and What a Wave was close behind


on a score of 221.00 to secure bronze. “My favourite thing about


this sport would be that it is very humbling,” commented Head. “We are riding horses that have a mind of their own and don’t always want to cooperate. Even if you come out of your run super happy and have a great score, there is always some- thing you can learn and make bet- ter for the next run. Every horse you ride will be different, so you can keep improving your riding and never stop learning things. That’s what I love most about this sport.” For more information on the


FEI World Championship for Young Riders & Juniors, visit: www.cs-classic.com/en/start.


Canadian Finals Breakaway Roping qualifiers, Claudine Wolfe, Beaujana Simpson and Barb Lillie with John Scully


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