Mathilde Candele, 16, of Orangeville, ON, won the Jump Canada Medal Final on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 11, 2025, during the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON, part of the 103rd Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
Following the completion of regional and provincial Jump Canada Medal Finals, the top 20 finishers from across Canada were invited to contest the Jump Canada Medal Final Championship for the Leslie and Elsie Usherwood Trophy.
The hunt seat Final consists of three phases: a jumping test, a flat test of the top 10 riders, and a top-four ride-off. Jumping counts for 60% and the flat phase is 40% of the final score. The initial jumping course contained 13 efforts that included combinations, a walk-to-counter-canter transition near the in-gate, and several sections that required a bolder or quieter pace.
From there, the top ten riders were invited to move forward to test their skills in the flat phase, before progressing to the final-four ride-off – coincidentally comprised of four grey horses! This challenging phase required several canter fences, a trot fence, two simple changes of lead and a turn on the haunches at the walk. Candele (daughter of Olympian Yann Candele) executed the final test brilliantly aboard Origi Vd Bisschop, a Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Prix Ventures LLC, edging Kiera Smith (Cabaliero 2), Addison McQuaker (Cape Corofino) and Julia Carr (Chevalier De Charmeur) for the victory.
Candele has proudly represented Canada on medal-winning teams at the North American Youth Championships in Traverse City, MI, for the past four years, including this summer with Corner Pocket Z ‒ a horse she is also riding here at The Royal in the Junior/Amateur Jumper division.
This was her second year competing in the JC Medal, but her first win. “My horse is super-talented and I really wanted to give him the chance to do well in this class, as it’s a very fun one,” said the grade 11 student. “I’ve always looked forward to Jump Canada because there aren’t too many equitation classes in Canada, so it was really good to win one.”
Candele admitted that she and ‘Freddy’ (nicknamed after his owner Freddy Vasquez) are both fairly new to the equitation ring. “I started riding him this winter in Ocala, so we kind of learned together and that just made this a lot more special. He’s so smart. He’s improved so much and he picks up things so quickly. He’s just a really good partner.”
She explained how she prepped for this event: “At home, we try and do everything. I watch a lot of the finals in America and try to replicate that as much as I can.” She admitted that she was fairly apprehensive going in and felt a huge sense of relief after the first round. “I was really, really nervous for this class and wanted to do well. I was really proud of my horse and so grateful for my team, they’ve worked so hard for this.”
Judge Tony Sgarlata of Raleigh, NC, praised the course designer. “Meghan Rawlins made a terrific course, focusing primarily on the track and the rider’s ability to maintain rhythm. It offered a direct line, a bending line, single jumps, and a combination off each lead. The riders needed to lock in on the track, but remain smooth while maintaining correct position.”
While he remarked that he would have liked to have seen more hand gallop and change of pace in the line to jump six as requested in the course chart, “the position of the riders, the smoothness, the soft contact of the horse’s mouth, correct release, were all crucial elements in judging the class. The riders we felt were the most consistent, riding well and purposefully under pressure, stayed near the top throughout. Some riders had beautiful positions, but simply had some bad luck navigating their ride. But overall we saw a lot of strong basics in the riders, and good positions.”
For a complete results, as well as the full Royal Horse Show schedule, live scoring, live streaming information and more, visit www.royalfair.org.
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