Ottawa, ON—Amy Millar of Perth, ON, has the lead in the 2007 Jump Canada Series standings heading into the final event of the season, the CN World Cup Qualifier, to be held November 7 during the CSI5*-W Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.
Riding Costa Rica Z, a 12-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Millar and Millarbrooke Farm, Millar began the 2007 Jump Canada Series with a fourth place finish at Blainville Jumping International in the $70,000 Grand Prix Jumping du Quebec World Cup Qualifier followed by a sixth place finish in the $60,000 BonjourQuebec.com Grand Prix at L’ International Bromont I. Millar’s second place finish in the $50,000 Miele Grand Prix at the Collingwood Festival and her fourth place finish in the $60,000 Kubota Cup Grand Prix during the Kubota Collingwood Classic quickly moved her up the standings. But it was Millar’s recent victory in the $75,000 Halton Place World Cup Qualifier at the Canadian Country Classic Horse Show for 50 points that propelled her to the top of the leaderboard with a grand total of 232.70 points.
Close behind Millar with 230.50 points is Darrin Dlin. A native of Spruce Grove, AB, currently living in Wellington, FL, Dlin’s partner is Catwalk, a 10-year-old Canadian-bred mare sired by the late Rio Grande and owned by Odyssey Venture Inc. The pair opened the 2007 Jump Canada Series with a sixth place finish in the $50,000 Grand Prix at the Classic @ Palgrave Phase I to earn 37.50 pints, and picked up many more along the way, including 50 points for his victory in the $100,000 Caledon Equestrian Park World Cup Qualifier at the CSI 4*-W Caledon Summer Festival. Recently, the duo earned 45 points for their third place finish in the $60,000 Kubota Cup Grand Prix at the Kubota Collingwood Classic and 32.5 points for eighth place at $50,000 Jumper Classic at the Tournament of Champions.
Ian Millar of Perth, ON, currently rounds out the top three with 215.00 points aboard Susan Grange’s nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Redefin. Their best performance in the 2007 Jump Canada Series was a win worth 50 points in the $50,000 Miele Grand Prix at the Collingwood Festival on August 12.
Other top pairs sitting near the top of the Jump Canada Series leaderboard include Gary Brewster of West Vancouver, BC, who is in fourth position with 202.50 points riding Hurricane while Ian Millar is also in fifth place with In Style with a total of 195.00 points. Complete standings are available at http://www.jumpcanada.ca/programs/JC_standings.html.
The Jump Canada Series has proven successful in providing a national jumper circuit with high standards of competition across the country. At the end of the Jump Canada Series, overall standings are calculated using the best six results, plus the final event in the Jump Canada Series, the CN World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix to be held November 7 at the CSI-W Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON. The winner of the 2007 Jump Canada Series will be presented with the prestigious Jump Canada trophy, generously donated by Barbara Anderson of Alberta, at the Royal Horse Show. New for 2007, the Jump Canada Series winner will also receive a $20,000 cash award, sponsored by Jump Canada, to be invested by the rider into a development program intended to support future elite performance.
Since its inception, the Jump Canada Series has recognized the achievements of such great horse-rider combinations as Beth Underhill and Altair (1999), Frankie Chesler and Ravenna Z (2000), Jill Henselwood and Toyzrus (2001), three-time champions Ainsley Vince and Catch 22 (2002, 2003, and 2004), Ian Millar and In Style (2005) and current champions Margie Gayford and Stuntman.