Canada’s up-and-coming jumping athletes earned sixth place out of 16 teams in the $25,000 Hollow Creek Under 25 Team Event Grand Prix, held Feb. 3, 2017 at the CSI 4* Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) 4 in Wellington, FL.
The Canadian team, comprised of sisters, Bretton and Kara Chad of Calgary, AB, Kathryn Dafoe of Nobleton, ON and Nicole Walker of Aurora, ON, went up against a total of 16 teams and 53 riders from all over the globe, including the United States, Ireland, Ecuador, Brazil, Sweden, and Great Britain.
Following FEI Nations’ Cup rules, the event fielded teams of three or four riders, with four-rider teams having the advantage of dropping the lowest score from the team total. All 16 teams contested the first round, with the top six (including ties) invited forward to challenge the course a second time for final placings.
At the end of round one, Canada was in a four-way tie on eight faults, which resulted in seven teams moving forward to round two. The combined USA/Ireland team was the only one to move forward on a perfect score of zero.
First into the ring for Canada in the second round was Bretton Chad, who would prove to celebrate her 23rd birthday as the only Canadian to lay down back-to-back clear performances. Partnered with Cornishman (Cornet Obolensky x Argentinus), an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Stone Ridge Farms LLC, Bretton was foot-perfect in both trips around the course, which consisted of 12 jumps and 15 efforts, and featured double- and triple-combinations.
Next in was Dafoe, 17, aboard Eos van de Donkhoeve (Quintelier de Donk NV Gustaaf x Ohio van de Padenborre), a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by KD LAN Solutions Ltd. Coming off a clear performance in round one, the pair had eight jumping and one time fault for surpassing the time allowed of 82 seconds for a total of nine faults.
Walker was Canada’s third rider in the team order, paired with her nine-year-old Norwegian Warmblood gelding, Chaloubet (Balou du Rouet x Chapman). After incurring nine faults in the opening round, she had two rails fall in the second round, but improved her time on course to knock off the time fault and finish on eight jumping faults.
Canada’s anchor rider was Kara Chad, 21, who had a landmark season in 2016, including the honour of attending the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the Alternate for the Canadian Show Jumping Team. In round one, she lowered two rails for eight faults with Ideal de la Haisse (Electro x Barring), a nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Torrey Pines Stable, but finished the day on an improved score of four jumping and one time fault in the second round.
After applying the drop score to the team total in each round, Canada finished on a score of 21 faults for sixth place.
“I thought these young riders showed a tremendous amount of team spirit,” said Jumping Talent ID Program Advisor and team Chef d’Équipe, Beth Underhill of Schomberg, ON. “They worked together as strong, proud members of our team. I think with a little more luck in the second round, we could have been on the podium, but I am extremely proud of their performances.”
Following a tie-breaking jump-off round, the American ‘Sweet Oak/Vlock’ Team claimed the top of the podium on four faults, with the combined USA/Ireland Team taking second with eight faults. Rounding out the top three on a score of nine faults was ‘The Wall,’ a team made up of riders from Venezuela, Australia and Ecuador.
The Hollow Creek Under 25 Team Event Grand Prix is part of a series of classes targeting up-and-coming athletes from around the world during the WEF circuit. For more information and complete results from WEF Week 4 and the Hollow Creek Under 25 Team Event, visit pbiec.coth.com.
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