Amelia Vernon of Calgary, AB, won the Jump Canada Medal Final on November 8 during the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.
Following the completion of regional and provincial Jump Canada Medal Finals, the top finishers from across Canada were invited to contest the Jump Canada Medal Final Championship at the Royal Horse Show. In September, Vernon and Granted won the CET Medal Prairie Regional Final at the Fall Classic tournament, hosted at Anderson Ranch, in Calgary, AB.
At the Royal, Vernon navigated the challenging 12 obstacle course flawlessly riding Granted, a 10-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Emil Spadone of Redfield Farms.
“I am really happy to win because this has been a really stressful and exciting year,” said Vernon, 16. “I am thrilled that it is ending on such a great note. I competed at the Jump Canada Medal Final when I was 12 and 13, so it has always been a goal to win.”
The Jump Canada Medal Championship course, set at a height of 1.09m (3’6”), rode forward while incorporating broken lines, tight rollbacks, two combinations, natural jumps and a skinny wall without wings. Out of the 29 entries, eight riders were invited back for the flat phase where riders were required to show a sitting trot, as well as the three gaits of walk, trot and canter in both directions. For the final test to determine the overall placings, the top four riders remained in the ring for a ride-off over a shortened course. The riders were asked to design a course themselves, with the requirements being to show two fences at a canter, one at a counter-canter and one jump at the hand-gallop. Vernon, last to go, demonstrated all the elements perfectly to remain the judges’ top pick.
“Amelia has been riding with me since she was eight years old,” said Vernon’s coach, Jenn Serek, a Canadian Grand Prix rider and Equine Canada level 2 coach. “All of my riders have been creating their own ride-off tests during practice their whole careers. We are so proud of Amelia.”
Finishing in second position was Zoe Beckerman of Toronto, ON, with her own horse, Barrichello DDH, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding.
“My horse is actually a jumper, so for him to go in the ring and jump around so nicely made me very pleased,” said Beckerman, who was also the runner-up in 2010.
Victoria Soucier of Caledon, ON, earned third place riding Capriato, owned by Windy Hill Farm, while Brigitte McDonald of Calgary, AB, and Lancaster, owned by James, Susan and Brigitte McDonald, rounded out the top four.
Jump Canada Medal Championships
Placing / Rider/ Hometown
1 / Amelia Vernon / Calgary, AB
2 / Zoe Beckerman / Toronto, ON
3 / Victoria Soucier / Caledon, ON
4 / Brigitte McDonald / Calgary, AB
5 / Nora Gray / Owen Sound, ON
6 / Brooke Stafford / Mississauga, ON
7 / Kendra Martenfeld / Toronto, ON
8 / Mackenzie Clark / Orangeville, ON
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