2/ DECEMBER 2019 THE RIDER


World Cup Continued from Page 1.


Toronto, ON. Canadian course designer


and Olympic individual silver medalist Michel Vaillancourt set a course that challenged some of the world’s best show jumping athletes and their horses in the sold-out Coca-Cola Coliseum, which was packed to maximum capacity with a crowd of 6,631 in attendance. When four riders jumped clear to advance to the tie-breaking jump-off, speed be- came the name of the game and youth shined through. The times became faster and faster until the final challenger, Allen, 24, brought the crowd to its feet with a thrilling jump-off performance riding GK Casper in a time of 34.70 seconds to overtake Bel- gium’s Jos Verlooy, 23, who had stopped the clock in 35.41 sec- onds aboard Igor. “This is a super show,” said


Allen, who was making his Royal Horse Show debut. “I did- n’t have my best week until tonight, but it all came together. It’s one of the biggest classes that GK Casper has jumped and his first World Cup. It was hard, but I knew if I got the first round be- hind me, I didn’t have to worry about the jumps as much in the second round. I could really give it a lash. “He’s always been a fantas-


tic jumper, but it has taken him longer to get to this height,” con- tinued Allen of his 11-year-old Holsteiner stallion (Canto 16 x


Quantum) owned by Ballywalter Farm. “Most horses start their first season off doing this at about nine, but this is his first season now.”


In addition to hoisting the


Hickstead Trophy, named in memory of Canadian Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze’s leg- endary mount, awarded for the win, Allen also claimed valuable qualifying points for the 2020 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Las Vegas, NV. Allen, who finished third in the World Cup™ Final when it was last held in Las Vegas in 2015, now has his sights set on a return trip.


Despite giving it his best


effort, Verlooy finished second with Igor, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (Emerald van’t Ruytershof x Nabab de Reve) owned by Graziella Janssen and Eurohorse. “The atmosphere is incred-


ible at this show, and that gives you extra motivation to do well,” said Verlooy, who won team gold and individual bronze medals at the 2019 European Champi- onships earlier this year with Igor. “At the beginning of the year, I called Bertram, and I said, ‘Let’s do a tour in America.’ I ac- tually regret it now!” Joking aside, Jos continued,


“My horse is a great horse, and I was really looking forward to today. I am very happy with my second place.” Taking third on the podium,


18-year-old Brian Moggre was the first rider to jump clear in the opening round and again set the


standard by jumping clear in the jump-off riding MTM Vivre le Reve, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding (Ustinov x Chellana) owned by Major Wager LLC. Hot off his victory one week ago in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington, the young American’s time of 35.83 seconds landed him in third place in Toronto. “Toronto is a spectacular


city and this horse show is in- credible,” said Moggre, who hails from Flower Mound, TX. “When I got the first email say- ing that I was on the wait list, I was hoping every day that I was going to get in. This is a wonder- ful show that I would love to be invited back to. My horses seem to like it as well. It is my last show of 2019 and last show of my junior career. It was very spe- cial to do that here, and it meant a lot to me and to everybody on my team to be invited here.” As the only other jump-off


challenger, 2012 Olympic team gold medalist Ben Maher, 34, pi- loted Tic Tac to fourth place for owner Jane Clark with a clear round in a time of 36.32 seconds. Rounding out the top five, Rowan Willis, 39, of Australia and Blue Movie posted the fasted four-fault performance in the opening round to edge out Eric Lamaze, 51. The 2008 Canadian Olympic Champion had a heart- breaking rail at the final fence for sixth place riding Chacco Kid for the Chacco Kid Group. Of the stunning four-horse


jump-off, Vaillancourt noted, “These riders really put on a per-


formance that was second to none. It’s so nice to put on a show in front of a crowd that is knowl- edgeable and understands the sport. They really appreciate the greatness that the competitors have shown tonight. For that alone, I’m perfectly happy with the results and feel this course was worthy of a World Cup qual- ifier.”


The Royal Horse Show has


been selected as the only Cana- dian venue to host a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League qualifier for the next three years. “To have our relationship


continue with the FEI World Cup for the next three years, carrying us into our 100th anniversary, is fantastic for the sport, it’s fantas- tic for Toronto, and it’s fantastic for The Royal,” said Charlie Johnstone, CEO of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. “I think it really has to do with the quality of what we’re putting in the ring. The Royal is about the best of the best, whether that’s in food, agri- culture, or equine sport. I think we proved this weekend that we can put on a world-class show. The show that these riders put on this evening was outstanding, and we’ll do it even better next year!” Canadian Olympic Cham-


pion Eric Lamaze was honoured as both the Leading International Rider and the Leading Canadian Rider, both presented by GroupBy, after making a tri- umphant return to The Royal fol- lowing an eight-year absence. In addition, Lamaze’s 2016 Rio Olympic individual bronze medal partner, Fine Lady 5, owned by Andy and Carlene Ziegler’s Arti- san Farms and his own Torrey Pines Stable, claimed the Lead- ing Canadian Horse title, pre- sented by Lothlorien Farm. U.S. Olympian Margie


Goldstein-Engle claimed the Leading Lady Rider Award, pre- sented by Martha W. Jolicoeur P.A. – Douglas Elliman, in a presentation that celebrated her top performances throughout The Royal’s international show jump- ing division. The $210,000 Longines


FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto closed out the CSI4*-W Royal Horse Show, held as part


celebrated victory in the $210,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto on Saturday night, November 9, at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON.


Following a blistering jump-off performance, Bertram Allen Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


of the 97th Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. More than 1,000 horses from around the globe competed for $980,000 in prize money during the 10-day CSI4*- W Royal Horse Show. For more information,


visit


royalfair.org/horse-show. Funding support for The


Royal has been provided by the Government of Canada, Govern- ment of Ontario, and the City of Toronto.


Rider and Leading Canadian Rider titles, presented by GroupBy, as well as the Leading Canadian Horse Award for Fine Lady 5, presented by John Grange (left) and Ariel Grange (right) of Lothlorien Farm.


Eric Lamaze was honoured with both the Leading International Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


Left to right: Course Designer Michel Vaillancourt, Brian Moggre, Bertram Allen, Jos Verlooy, and Royal Agricultural Winter Fair CEO Charlie Johnstone at the press conference following the $210,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


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