The Canadian Show Jumping Team finished in second position in the BFL Canada $70,000 CSIO3* Nations Cup of Caledon, held Thursday, July 17, at Caledon Equestrian Park as part of the Angelstone Events summer show series. This was the first-ever Nations Cup held at Caledon, the site of the equestrian events for the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games.
Teams from Canada, Ireland and the United States began the first round Thursday evening, with all returning for the immediate second round.
The all-female Canadian team was comprised of Vanessa Mannix of Calgary, AB, with her own Carmela Z; Carly Campbell-Cooper of Omemee, ON, with Ashlynn Crowley and John Jamieson’s Baretino PS; Nicole Walker of Aurora, ON, with her own Panter JVH; and anchor rider Amy Millar of Perth, ON, with Team Eye Candy and Millar Brooke Farm’s Jagger HX. The team was supported by Chef d’Équipe Ian Millar and Team Manager Karen Hendry-Ouellette.
The course, designed by Germany’s Olaf Petersen, featured 15 jumping efforts at a maximum of 1.50m height and included a substantial open water.
The three lead-off riders each delivered clean rounds (Sloane Coles and Ninja JW Van De Moerhoeve for the USA, Vanessa Mannix and Carmela Z for Canada and Conor Swail and My Lady Lavista for Ireland) before the course ‒ and the time allowed ‒ began to take their toll.
Canada’s first round included another clean round from Nicole Walker and Panter JVH, four faults from anchor rider Amy Millar and Jagger HX, and eight faults from Carly Campbell-Cooper and Baretino PS, which became the drop score, taking the team into the second round on a running total of four. At that point, Canada sat behind the Irish on zero and the United States with just one time fault.
By the time the second round started just after 7:00 p.m., a cool gray mist had settled in and rain began to fall.
Canada’s second round produced clear efforts from Carly Campbell-Cooper and Nicole Walker, four faults from Vanessa Mannix and five from Amy Millar (which became the drop score for round two), leaving Canada on a final score of four overall. The U.S. was able to hold on to finish on their one time fault from the first round, while Ireland had an unfortunate second round, producing an uncharacteristic 33 total faults between the three riders.
Reflecting on Canada’s performance, Chef d’Équipe Ian Millar commented: “I’m very proud of our riders tonight. They rallied from the first round to finish in second place. I’m particularly proud of Carly Campbell-Cooper. She had a very difficult first round – we discussed it and made a different plan – and she rode it perfectly in the second round and gave us a critical clean round. Nikki Walker was the star, delivering a double-clear, and Vanessa Mannix and Amy Millar were right there as well. That’s what Nations Cups are all about – it’s a team effort. And they worked as a team tonight. That makes me very proud.”
Team Canada will now head to Michigan for the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival in Williamsburg (Traverse City). The CSIO3* Traverse City Nations Cup is currently scheduled for 1:00 p.m. local time, Thursday July 24, with the CSIO3* Grand Prix scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Saturday, July 26.
Results here.
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