Best friends Amelia Vernon and Laura King, both of Calgary, AB, couldn’t have asked for a better finish as the best friends placed first and second in the CET Medal Prairie Regional Final held September 14-18 at the Fall Classic tournament, hosted at Anderson Ranch, in Calgary, AB.
A total of 20 riders competed in the CET Medal Prairie Regional Final which was held in three phases over three days. The flat phase was held the opening day before riders completed a gymnastic phase and a show jumping phase over a track set by Canadian course designer Peter Holmes. Following the show jumping phase, judges Thom Brede and James Zulia, both of the United States, called back the top six riders in the overall standings for a ride-off.
In the ride-off, each finalist jumped a course riding three of the other competitor’s horses, determined by a random draw. Riders were separated from their coaches, and had to walk the course on their own. In the warm-up, once again without trainer input, the riders had only two minutes to take two practice fences before entering Anderson Ranch’s spacious indoor arena.
Vernon was sitting in fifth position coming into the ride-off, having earned a score of 80 in the flat phase, a score of 86 in the gymnastics phase, and a 68 in the jumping phase.
“I was extremely happy with my performance because the course was technical and difficult,” said Vernon of the gymnastics phase. “There was a quintuple combination, which I have never jumped before. It was a long course, and basically the winner was going to be the person who solved problems the best. My horse responded really well to the course and everything I asked of him, so I was super happy with him. It was exciting.”
Vernon’s equitation mount is Granted, an eight-year-old light bay Dutch Warmblood gelding leased from Emil Spadone.
“He’s wonderful,” said Vernon, 15, who has lived in Calgary her whole life, being the daughter of former Calgary Flames NHL goalie, Mike Vernon. “I started riding him in May, so we had a little bit of a late start to the equitations. I had a horse pass away, so we decided to try to find an equitation horse to finish the year. I got lucky with Granted. He has the best personality of any horse I have ever met. He is extremely sweet, he loves kids and he loves treats. He is like a big puppy dog.”
For the final ride-off, Vernon drew the mounts of Brigitte McDonald, who had won the opening flat phase, Shelby Edwards, and her best friend, Laura King. Luckily for Vernon, she had ridden King’s mount before.
“I was really impressed with Brigitte’s horse, he was nice to ride, and I received a score of 85 with him,” said Vernon, who has trained with Serek since she first began riding as an eight-year-old. “Shelby’s horse was pretty fun. He is really tall and I am not the largest person so I found that more difficult, and I still managed to receive an 80 on him. Laura’s horse is just wonderful. I was really lucky to get him in the draw. I received a score of 80 with him, too.”
As the scores were not announced during the competition, the riders had no idea how they had finished when called back into the ring for the final ribbon presentations. The anticipation built and by the time the third place finisher was announced, the final placings of who was first and who was second meant little to Vernon and King.
“After they announced third place and Laura and I knew we were the top two, I just started crying,” said Vernon. “I was so happy. I didn’t even care who won. In both of our minds, we felt like we had both won. I was ecstatic. I was very, very happy. I couldn’t help but cry. And Jenn was crying at the ingate. All three of us couldn’t help the water works.”
King, 16, felt the same way, saying, “As soon as they announced the third one, Amelia and I looked at each other and started grinning ear to ear. To be second to her, I could not care less because it feels like we are both winning.”
The top four finalists in each of the four regions are invited to Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair to contest the CET Medal Final, open to competitors aged 21 and under. Both Vernon and King, who are grade 11 students at West Island College in Calgary, plan to attend. While Vernon competed in the Jump Canada Medal Final when she was 12 and 13, King has never before been to the Royal, not even as a spectator.
Like Vernon, King’s mount is also leased from Spadone. King began riding Calvino, an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, since June. Reaching the CET Medal Finals was a goal she set for herself, having finished fifth last year in the CET Medal Prairie Regional Finals.
“The level of the equitation riders in this year has really risen over the past five years, in my opinion,” said tournament organizer John Anderson of Rocky Mountain Show Jumping. “On a personal level, this is very satisfying as my mother founded the CET Medal program back in 1988. Where the equitation division has lacked in the last few years, we feel like we have pushed it along and it is good to see everyone rising up to the occasion. It is a dream of mine to see an Albertan win the CET Medal Final again.”
In the past 22 years, riders from British Columbia have dominated the CET Medal Final at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, winning 56% of the time. Alberta riders have won on only three occasions with Gary Brewster winning in 1989, Jaclyn Duff winning in 2003 and Michelle Wheeler winning in 2007.
Rocky Mountain Show Jumping is one of Canada’s premiere show jumping destinations. Its tournaments are held at Anderson Ranch in Calgary’s south end, a world-class facility featuring permanent stabling for 300 horses and a grass grand prix field complete with natural obstacles. For more information on Rocky Mountain Show Jumping, please visit http://www.rmshowjumping.com/.
CET Medal Prairie Regional Final – September 14-18
Rider Hometown Horse
1. Amelia Vernon Calgary, AB Granted
2. Laura Kathleen King Calgary, AB Calvino
3. Kady Hobbins Edmonton, AB First Date
4. Shelby Edwards Calgary, AB Renaissance
5. Brigitte McDonald Calgary, AB Lancaster
6. Kendra Lyster Orr Calgary, AB Roxette
More from Horse Sport:
