26/ SEPTEMBER 2019 THE RIDER


Nicole Walker Continued from Page 25.


an easy course in the first round or the second round,” explained Walker, whose sole rail came at the fence that was knocked down continually in the first round – the ‘a’ portion of a skinny double combination of 1.60m verticals that followed the open water jump. “And, when you have Beezie you are trying to catch, that’s never easy – so I thought, ‘I’m just going to give it my best and go as fast as I can,’ and I’m very proud of my horse.” Walker, who is the current


Canadian Show Jumping Cham- pion with Falco van Spieveld, continued, “I’ve had most of my career highlights on Falco. He’s the only one I’ve ever ridden on the senior team. We have such a strong bond; I think we just really trust each other, and he gives me the confidence to do those tight turns and jump those big jumps. It’s definitely been a week to re- member.” After leading the Canadian


Show Jumping Team to a fourth place finish and therefore a berth to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with


three consecutive clear rounds, Ballard was standing second in- dividually at the close of the team competition. However, the 32 horse-rider combinations invited forward to contest the individual final (further whittled down to 23 for the second round) started on a clean slate, with all scores wiped. Riding Fellini S (Vermont x


Rash R), a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Ilan Ferder, Ballard set off in the first round, tackling the 12 jumps and 15 efforts set by Brazilian Course Designer, Guilherme Jorge (FEI 4*). No part of the course could be taken for granted and just four would prove to jump clear. However, there were a few spots that proved especially difficult – the open water to a skinny double combination at 10 and 11ab that caught Walker, and a vertical at jump seven, posi- tioned at a bending line after the triple combination, and set flush against the VIP pavilion. Rails fell at both spots for


Ballard and Fellini S, bringing their score to eight faults. Round two saw the duo improve to four faults, lowering just one of the additional 12 efforts asked of the


finalists – a liverpool vertical that was the second component of a line requiring a massive jump in over a square oxer. In fact, the oxer was another obstacle that hit the dirt repeatedly throughout both rounds, and while the pair jumped it clean, the effort caught up with them six strides later at the delicate vertical. This brought their cumulative score to 12 faults to finish 13th overall. “I have to say, I’m not dis-


appointed in my horse at all,” said Ballard, 38, who will next be gunning for a spot aboard Fellini S in Tokyo. “For a nine-year-old and his fourth and fifth time in this week, his energy felt good. The course was much bigger and more technical today, so it’s a big challenge. We ask a lot of these horses, but we walk away from this feeling like we’re ready for what’s next, so overall it’s very positive.” Canadian Olympian and


team anchor, Deslauriers, 54, also made it through to both rounds of the individual final, riding Ams- terdam 27. The 17th entry into the stadium in the first round, it would take until the 23rd in the order (silver medalist Larocca) before the crowd saw a clear,


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Erynn Ballard and Fellini S. Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley - www.tetleyphoto.com


with Deslauriers and Amsterdam 27 being added to the list of vic- tims at fences 11a and 12. “After the water is two tall


verticals; we’re going downhill a little bit, and they are skinnier than the other rails,” explained Deslauriers, speaking to why 11ab proved so challenging. “It’s always a hard test for a horse to (come back so quickly after the water), and going downhill to a skinny you can see more experi- enced horses settle, wait, and focus. Younger ones are not there yet. But, my horse felt good today and jumped well. I think he is learning a lot here.” In round two, Deslauriers


and Amsterdam had a heart- breaker rail at the final fence on


course, a vertical celebrating the next Pan Am Games set for 2023 in Santiago, CHI, and went just over the time allowed for a total of five faults. This put their final placing just a few spots behind Ballard in 15th on a total of 13 faults.


“I think we were all well


mounted and we had a good team here,” said Deslauriers, speaking to the overall performance of the Canadians throughout the week, including


teammate, Lisa


Carlsen, 54, of Okotoks, AB who contributed strong performances to the team competition aboard Parette


(Passoa VDL x


Barinello), her 13-year-old Bran- denburg mare. Deslauriers


concluded,


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“Today we had three in the final and we all jumped well. So, I think we come out of here gain- ing good experience and we can step it up for Tokyo.”


For more information on


equestrian events at the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games, please visit www.lima2019.pe/en.


Additional results coverage


and behind-the-scenes content can be found at www.eques- t r i a n . c a / e v e n t s - results/games/ridetolima, and be sure to check out EC’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for unique content, including Pan Am photo albums.


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