8/ SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2021 THE RIDER Spruce


Meadows Continued from Page 1


rounded out the top five with 44 faults.


At the end of the opening


round, Canada 1 sat at the top of the leaderboard with a single time fault. The horses and riders carried their form into the second round and, after the first three


old Swedish Warmblood mare (Plot Blue x Contender) that she owns in partnership with Artisan Farms LLC. Ballard, 40, of Tottenham,


ON, exuded skill and confidence to produce the day’s only double clear performance. Riding Jack van’t Kattenheye, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (Di- abeau x Canadian River) owned by Lindemann Barnett Sporthorses, Ballard overcame a dramatic moment at the open water in the opening round to de-


and two time faults during her second trip around the Interna- tional Ring. Last to go for Canada,


Lamaze, 53, of Wellington, FL, delivered a textbook clear per- formance with his 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medal partner Fine Lady 5, an 18-year-old Hanoverian mare (Forsyth x Drosselklang II) owned by Arti- san Farms LLC and Torrey Pines Stable. That left the Canada 1 team with only one time fault to count in the opening round. With


Amy Millar of Perth, ON, and Truman. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media / Mike Sturk


the ring today; there are a lot of memories of a lot of great wins with her here.” Having claimed victory in


the richest Nations’ Cup team event held in North America in 2006 and 2014, Canada can now add a third win in the event that’s been held since 1977 to its record.


“It’s a simple formula; you


Erynn Ballard of Tottenham, ON, and Jack van’t Kattenheye. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media / Mike Sturk


riders had jumped, there was no need for anchor rider Lamaze to return as Canada 1 had the win sewn up. As the lead-off rider, Foster,


37, of North Vancouver, BC, jumped clear in the first round but, like so many other competi- tors in the Nations’ Cup, incurred a time fault for exceeding the 82- second time allowed set by two- time Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela. Coming back in the second round, Foster had one rail down for four faults plus one time fault riding Northern Light, a 10-year-


liver for her country. Ballard was also a member of the Canadian Team riding Robin Van Roosendael when Canada won its first BMO Nations’ Cup title in 2006. Millar, 44, of Perth, ON,


also left all the rails in place throughout the two rounds of competition but was caught by the tight time allowed. Aboard Truman, a 12-year-old Selle Français gelding (Mylord Carthago x Kolibri) owned by Millar Brooke Farm Ltd. and Overlund, Millar incurred one time fault in the opening round


seven faults added in the second round by Foster and Millar, Canada’s score of eight faults had already secured the win, giving Lamaze no reason to return. “How fitting that she was


able to put in a good performance in her final gallop around this fine arena,” said Lamaze, who has indicated that Fine Lady 5 will soon be retired from interna- tional competition. “The girls did a great job today; they all rode wonderful and allowed me to not have to jump my 18-year-old mare in the second round. It was a little emotional for me leaving


get good riders, good horses, and good people,” smiled Mark Laskin, chef d’equipe of the Canadian Show Jumping Team. “Nations’ Cups are hard. It has to be your day, but it also has to not be the other teams’ day. I was quite confident, but you just never know. So much has to come together. When it works, there is no sweeter feeling. And it’s the most fun to win at Spruce Meadows. It’s home.” Speaking to the unusual cir-


cumstance of being invited to


enter two teams, Laskin said, “We felt we could put together two competitive teams, so we jumped at the opportunity. It’s hard to get invitations to jump in a Nations’ Cup, even at the three- star level. We showed we do have depth as our second team was one fault away from being sec- ond.”


The Canada 2 team put


forth a strong effort with Mario Deslauriers, 56, of New York, NY, posting scores of zero and four riding Uris de la Roque, a 13-year-old Selle Français geld- ing (Capital x Quick Star) that he owns in partnership with Aram Ampagoumian LLC. Brian Morton, 35, and now


based in Calgary, AB, provided the drop score for both rounds after posting 17 and 15 faults re- spectively with Cadillac, an 11- year-old Hanoverian gelding (Corlensky G x El Bundy) owned


by Spruce Meadows Ltd. Samantha Buirs-Darvill, 34,


of Langley, BC, impressed by jumping clear, albeit with time faults in both rounds aboard Baton Rouge, her 10-year-old Canadian-bred Oldenburg geld- ing (Banderas x Karandasj). Baton Rouge’s dam, Total Touch, is the horse Buirs-Darvill rode in her last Nations’ Cup appearance for Canada in 2010 in Buenos Aires, ARG. Riding in the anchor posi-


tion, Ben Asselin, 27, of Calgary, AB, posted scores of five and four faults respectively with The Freshman, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Namelus R x Chin Chin) owned by Spruce Meadows Ltd. and Asselin’s grandmother and Spruce Mead- ows co-founder, Margaret South- ern.


For more information, visit www.sprucemeadows.com.


The Canadian Show Jumping Team is presented as the winner of the $600,000 BMO Nations’ Cup by Scott Brison, Vice-Chair, BMO Capital Markets (right). Left to right: Erynn Ballard and Jack


Eric Lamaze of Wellington, FL, and Fine Lady 5. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media / Mike Sturk Advertise on The Rider’s Online Marketplace


www.theridermarketplace.com Searchable, Shareable,


Connected


van’t Kattenheye, Amy Millar and Truman, Tiffany Foster and Northern Light, and Eric Lamaze and Fine Lady 5 with chef d’equipe Mark Laskin. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media / Mike Sturk


Susan Dahl Continued from Page 6


be used for her horse that was running through the bridle - another common problem.


Putting My Spin on Using The Equipment That Works Best Reinersue


@KISS Reiners


About Susan Dahl Susan Dahl, ORHA/NRHA past multiple cham- pion, writer, blogger, author and clinician, re- tired certified professional horse trainer. Owner of Foundation Reining Training Centre in Durham, ON. She specializes in effective horse- manship, and reining. For more information on her services: judging, clinics or resale horses, please contact her on facebook, her website: www.reinersuehorseman ship.com or reiner- sue@hotmail.com


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