Fifteen-some years ago, Ayla Martinoff jumped the Maui Jim Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park for the first time. It was her first ever grand prix and it didn’t go to plan.
“I only left, like, five jumps up in it,” she laughed.
On Saturday evening, the Langley-based rider found redemption on her homebred mare A Crown Royale. Not only did Martinoff complete the course, she posted the only double clear on the day to take home the win—and a new pair of Maui Jim sunglasses.
“I’ve never won sunglasses before, so I’m really stoked!” she enthused.
Martinoff has every reason to be thrilled. There were no free rides in Joey Rycroft’s 1.45m track. Only two pairs mastered the 1.45m first round course to advance to the jump off and it was two podium regulars in Martinoff on A Crown Royale and Sarah Lottis with Rhapsody. In the end, only Martinoff managed the elusive double clear.
“I thought the triple combination [in the first round] was a little bit quiet with not a lot going on. So I thought, get super straight and be very steady there,” she explained of the tricky combination.
Over the short course, Lottis was the pathfinder but dropped an early rail at fence two and another before the end of the course, leaving the door wide open. For Martinoff, managing the jump off meant managing her horse’s stride and her own expectations.
“My strategy was to not knock one down, but still ride forward enough to not knock down,” she continued, noting that the pair had a lacklustre performance in Calgary, AB the week prior.
“We were at Spruce Meadows last week and we jumped in the 1.30ms and I did not have a clear round. I don’t know if she was a little under impressed or what. It was really good experience, we got a ribbon. But it was frustrating. And then we came here and I switched the bit [to a full cheek snaffle] and that felt so good. So I think [it was] just the experience of going so forward on the grass [at Spruce Meadows] and then coming back here and just being a bit more impressed with the bigger jumps.”
The pair crossed the timers in a conservative 46.18 seconds but most importantly left all the rails in the cups.
Martinoff and A Crown Royale have had a spectacular season at tbird jumping to 8 podium finishes to date in 2024. Sunday’s Grand Prix marks their biggest win of the season. Next week, they’ll attempt to do one better in the CSI2* division at the BCHJA Fall Finale, the final week of international competition at tbird this year.
But keep an eye out for her expanding homebred string at tbird in 2025.
“[A Crown Royale] actually has a baby coming up next year—a four year old by [Tracey Epp’s] Chicago.”
$20,000 Maui Jim Grand Prix 1.45m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. A Crown Royale / Ayla Martinoff / CAN / Ayla Martinoff / 0/0 46.18
2. Rhapsody / Sarah Lottis / CAN / Kevin Lottis / 0/8 42.66
3. Havana / Kassidy Keith / CAN / Kassidy Keith / 4 82.4
4. Diamond / Kyle King / USA / Strasburg Morin Inc. / 4 85.16
5. Maria 111 / Samantha Buirs-Darvill / CAN / Bryony Reid / 4 86.7
6. Captain / Shannon Haney / CAN / Shannon Haney / 4 87.96
7. Unique Star / Kyle King / USA / Ritz Fuente LLC / 8 91.33
8. Iowa B / Travis Root / USA / Lindsay Wendt / 8 93.4
9. Jus de Seminka / Reagan Tomb / USA / Greg Tomb / 12 87.39
10. CMS Garadice Shore / Karianne Boyce-Lockhart / USA / Karianne Boyce-Lockhart / 12 87.54
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