Erynn Ballard’s trajectory towards Olympic glory accelerated today as the world’s second-ranked female equestrian placed BOTH first and second in the 1.55m Grand Prix qualifier at the ‘Continental’, presented by Rolex.
The Mustangs, the only FEI event on the newly-upgraded All Canada Ring at Spruce Meadows on Friday, saw Ballard beat 47 other riders on yet another exceptional course put together by FEI Level 4 course designer Marina Azebedo (BRA).
Ballard, who has yet to make an Olympic appearance despite countless other accolades, topped the leaderboard during the opening round of The Mustangs course with horses Libido Van’t Hofken and Gakhir, finishing half a second apart at 84.03 seconds and 84.53 seconds. After testing both in the the jump-off, Erynn took the top spot with Libido.
The impressive first-second ranking left Ballard on a high note, as she and the rest of the Team Canada equestrians wait to hear if they will be selected as part of the team heading to Paris in July.
“To start out so strong with these two horses, I would say the odds are in my favour,” said a beaming Ballard, who won her first 5* grand prix at Langley, BC’s Thunderbird Show Park last month. “My first five-star win was the greatest day of my career so far. But everybody that rides a pony, whether you’re a little girl, a little boy, or a teenager, you do this to go to the Olympics. So certainly it’s in the front of my mind and I’ve got the horses to do it, but I still have a lot of work to do.”
While fellow Canadian Olympic team hopeful Amy Millar was reluctant to speculate on the possibility of Canada’s first-ever all-female Olympic team, Ballard was a little more forthcoming.
“It’s a cool thought,” said Ballard. “We are a small group, but we are very strong and we are very united and we are always cheering for each other.
“I’m always hashtagging ‘girl power’ and I think that it would be a great thing for the younger generation of the sport. But at the end of the day, no matter what, we’re all teammates.”
Ballard and the other riders will be competing at Spruce Meadows over the next month, culminating with the ‘North American’ tournament from July 3-7.
Confirmation of the Team Canada Olympic squad is expected in the next few weeks.
Ireland’s Robert Blanchette took first place in the 1.40m Coril Holdings event this morning on the All Alberta Ring, atop Coupis, with a time of 73.92s. He was followed by Daniel Rihan (MEX) on Tentacion Ls La Silla, nearly two seconds behind, at 75.55s. Cassio Rivetti (BRA) finished third with Billy Dorito, coming in four seconds behind the leader at 77.95s.
Friday’s second event on the All Alberta Ring, the 1.30m Coril Holdings, saw John Perez Bohm of Columbia take first place with stallion King of Pop VK. He was followed by Ireland’s Conor Swail on Ikonic PB in second. Dylan Munro of Canada placed third with Gryffindor De Hay.
For complete results, visit HERE.
~ with files from Spruce Meadows media
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