Nina Fagerstrom of Finland topped a starting field of international competitors to win the 1.35m Open Jumper competition, presented by Deloitte, on Thursday, July 21, at the CSI2* Ottawa International Horse Show in Ottawa, ON.
Fagerstrom and Notaris, a ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Maya Nayyar LLC, beat out 22 other competitors to take the win on the grass field at Wesley Clover Parks. The duo were one of six combinations to advance to the jump-off where they posted a time of 37.41 seconds to take the win by more than two full seconds over Carly Campbell-Cooper of Burlington, ON, who stopped the clock in 37.41 seconds riding Fiero Van Orti. Canadian Olympian Beth Underhill of Schomberg, ON, was the only other competitor to jump double clear, placing third with Kodaline.
In the 1.25m Open Jumper competition, presented by Juniper Farms, Canadian Olympian Hugh Graham of Schomberg, ON, rode away the winner. Aboard In The Money 3E, bred and owned by KingRidge Stables, Graham not only had the fastest jump-off time but was also the only rider to leave all the rails in place to take the win. Wednesday’s 1.25m winner, Kelly Soleau-Millar of Wellington, FL, riding Hoolie Hoo, settled for second while James Gillam of Canton de Hatley, QC, rounded out the top three with Eblesse.
Athletes at the CSI2* Ottawa International Horse Show are competing over tracks set by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil, who has the honour of being the course designer for the show jumping events at the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“Guilherme is one of my favorite course designers of all time,” said Fagerstrom following her win. “I really like to ride his courses. They’re smartly built and horse friendly. I’m excited to see what he has in his back pocket for Friday’s Open Welcome and the Grand Prix on Sunday.”
Internationally-renowned, Jorge has designed courses at a wide range of venues around the globe and has nothing but high praise for the grass field, facilities, and management team at Wesley Clover Parks.
“The grass field here is an amazing field; it’s a very interesting shape, and it has a lot of personality,” said Jorge of the only grass grand prix jumping field in eastern Canada. “It adds a lot to the horse show because of that unique shape, and the natural obstacles as well. Management is doing maintenance on the footing with the water and aerating, so the condition of the footing is really good.”
The Ottawa International Horse Show is sanctioned as a CSI2*event by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), which gives riders competing in the feature events an opportunity to earn valuable World Rider Ranking points. This distinction attracts riders of the highest level to the CSI2* Ottawa International Horse Show including Fagerstrom, who is a veteran of the 2010 World Equestrian Games, ten-time Canadian Olympian Ian Millar of Perth, ON, and newly-minted 2016 Canadian Olympic Show Jumping Team member Amy Millar, also of Perth, ON.
Jorge will be course designing for these top international athletes throughout the week, and always designs with the highest level of competition in mind.
“I like to build courses where all the jumps are related, even if they’re not on a line or in a combination,” explained Jorge of his unique style. “They’re set in a way that the rider needs to be really focused, and one jump presents a question or a consequence to the next jump. I think that tests how well-connected the horse and rider combinations are, and also how well the rider can read the questions that we, as the course designers, are asking of them.”
While the professionals appreciate the care and attention to detail that Jorge brings to his courses, junior and amateur competitors also had the opportunity to jump his tracks during Thursday’s competition. Marissa Frodsham of Ottawa, ON, won the 1.30m Junior/Amateur-Owner competition riding Azura K and, when the fences were raised to a height of 1.40m, Julia Madigan of Vancouver, BC, emerged victorious riding Farfelu du Printemps.
For more information, visit www.ottawaequestriantournaments.com
1.35m Open Jumper, Presented by Deloitte – Thursday, July 21
Rider/Hometown/Horse/Faults/Time
1. Nina Fagerstrom/Finland/Notaris/0:0/37.41
2. Carly Campbell-Cooper/Burlington, ON/Fiero Van Orti/0:0/39.43
3. Beth Underhill/Schomberg, ON/Kodaline/0:0/40.92
4. Hyde Moffatt/Brantford, ON/Quidams Rubinia/0:4/43.23
5. Carly Campbell-Cooper/Waterloo, ON/Luca Warande Z/0:4/43.53
6. Thijs Clauwers/Perth, ON/Corcovado/0:8/42.23
7. Jennifer Sarsfield/Canning, NS/Iron Man/4
8. Amy Millar/Perth, ON/Paris/4
1.25m Open Jumper, Presented by Juniper Farm – Thursday, July 21
Rider/Hometown/Horse/Faults/Time
1. Hugh Graham/Schomberg, ON/In The Money 3E/0:0/35.10
2. Kelly Soleau-Millar/Wellington, FL/Hoolie Hoo/0:4/35.38
3. James Gillam/Canton de Hatley, QC/Eblesse/0:4/39.60
4. Ian Roberts/Port Perry, ON/Copper Cove/0:4/41.88
5. Beth Underhill/Schomberg, ON/Count Me In/0:dns
6. Olivia van den Berg/Ottawa, ON/Valendro/4
7. Hyde Moffatt/Brantford, ON/Coeur de Lion II/8
8. Kelley Robinson/Russell, ON/GQ/8
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