Ottawa, ON—While the current Olympic equestrians were planning strategy for their next show jumping course in Hong Kong, a trio of riders with some Games’ experience between them were facing off a little closer to home.
The jump off in the $40,000 NCSJT Grand Prix included Jay Hayes from Orangeville, Ont., who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on his grey bucking stallion Zucarlos, and Americans Leslie Howard and Peter Leone. Howard won team gold in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and team silver with Leone in 1996 in Atlanta.
Lauren Hunkin, who rode to her first Grand Prix victory in June—and followed it up with her second a week later—was the only other rider in the field of 20 to keep all the fences intact and complete the course in the allotted time of82 seconds. She was also the first rider on course and her careful, controlled round on Larry, a dark brown 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Synergy Farm, made navigating designer Guilherme Jorge’s 13 jumps look achievable, if not easy.