Canadian Premier at tBird Kicks Off with MLSJ Event

FEI competition commenced Thursday as competitors brought forth their mounts for the opening day of Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) at Thunderbird Show Park. Winning the first CSI5* event, the $1,000 Two Phase 1.40m CSI5*, was Tanner Korotkin (USA) and NE President Van Koekshof.

Eighty competitors came forward in the $1,000 Two Phase 1.40m CSI5* to familiarize themselves and their horses with the atmosphere and take a shot at the track designed by Canada’s Peter Grant. The course offered a total of 12 obstacles, the first six of which represented the first phase before riders advanced to the speed phase for the final six obstacles. The short course presented opportunities to take risks and be quick, including two sharp rollback turns and long bending lines. Early in the order, Korotkin and his newest mount, a 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, cruised around the speed phase.

“He’s a newer horse,” remarked Korotkin on NE President Van Koekshof. “I’ve only had him for about two months now. He’s still 9 years old, and the plan was just to get him more confident going at a quicker pace. We just cruised around; he was jumping great. He’s in great form for the rest of the week and it was super round. We just turned out to win it.

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“He’s got his own attitude, his own way of going,” continued Korotkin. “But he’s very, very scopey. We have high hopes for him to do some very big classes in the future, hopefully get him into some bigger grand prix along the way. For right now we’ll keep him in the speed classes, but he’s got all the scope in the world and all the talent in the world, so we’re just going to keep going with him and see what happens.”

Korotkin, age 21 and brand new to the MLSJ tour on team Spy Coast Spies, recently acquired the ride from British rider Ben Maher. Since October 2021, Maher piloted NE President Van Koekshof to 11 FEI starts with a 27% clear round rate, according to JUMPR App. With Korotkin in the irons, the horse’s clear round rate has improved already.

Korotkin himself has leapt into the world of professional show jumping since his impressive junior career came to a close, jumping up to 1.60m with a 34% clear round rate over 225 international starts. At the 1.60m level, Korotkin boasts a 50% clear round rate across 14 starts, indicating good odds for the competition to come at tbird and throughout the MLSJ season.

Friday’s schedule of CSI5* events will feature the $8,800 Maui Jim 1.45m Speed CSI5*, the $5,000 MarBill Hill U25 1.40m and the $73,400 1.50m Jump-Off CSI5*, all previewing the thrilling competition to come Saturday evening with the $200,000 MLSJ Team Competition CSI5* and Sunday’s $218,000 MLSJ Grand Prix CSI5*.

$1,000 Two Phase 1.40m CSI5*

1. NE President Van Koekshof / Tanner Korotkin / USA / / 0/0 38.65
2. Fasole Du Seigneur / Alexis Sokolov / USA / Hot Horses LLC / 0/0 38.99
3. Nadal Hero & DB / Conor Swail / IRL / Conor Swail / 0/0 40.50
4. Cozumel / Patricio Pasquel / MEX / Patricio Pasquel / 0/0 40.84
5. Oak Grove’s Carlyle / Daniel Coyle / IRL / Ariel Grange / 0/0 42.06
6. Beneficial / Alicia Lewis / CAN / Alicia Lewis / 0/0 42.66
7. Picador / Jordan Coyle / IRL / Elan Farm / 0/0 44.21
8. Coquelicot VH Heuvelland Z / Sean Jobin / CAN / Sean Jobin / 0/0 44.77
9. Chato Lou / Kent Farrington / USA / Haity McNerney & Amalaya Investments / 0/0 44.80
10. Dreamin Blue / Sam Walker / CAN / Tal Milstein / 0/0 44.90

Opening FEI competition Thursday morning was the $1,000 Two Phase 1.40m CSI2* with Maddy Riddle (CAN) and her mount Cato Minor J, a 15-year-old Westphalian, capturing the rider’s first ever FEI victory.

Fifty-eight horse-and-rider combinations tested the Peter Grant-designed track. Featuring 12 numbered obstacles in total, the course allowed riders to navigate the first seven obstacles with clear efforts in mind, then the final five obstacles were designed as the speed phase. Riders who opted to continue the course picked up the pace and galloped from fence to fence, covering the entire expanse of the arena in the second phase.

Navigating the first phase flawlessly, the Alberta native kicked into gear after fence seven and used her gelding’s natural footspeed and massive stride to cover the ground efficiently without taking any unnecessary risks. Crossing the timers in 31.64 seconds, the amateur rider finished only one one-hundredth of a second quicker than the second place finisher, Mexican team veteran Patricio Pasquel and Alicia, whose second-phase time was 31.65 seconds. Ireland’s Conor Swail finished third with Gamble in a time of 31.84 seconds.

“He’s a relatively new horse for me,” Riddle commented. “I got him last year and showed him in a handful of classes, then he actually had an injury and was off for the rest of the year. So I’ve really only jumped him in about seven or eight classes. A really good friend of mine sold him to me. She knew when she had the horse that he was a good match for me. From the moment I sat on him I knew that ‘Cato’ was going to be a good one for me.

“He likes to throw his head around and play,” continued Riddle. “For me, I just get along with that. I don’t mind it when they want to play a little bit. If they’re playing, I think they’re having a good time and then I’m having a good time; it’s supposed to be fun.”

CSI2* competition continues Friday with the $37,000 Grand Prix Qualifier CSI2*, where riders will try their hand at qualification for Saturday’s $37,000 Grand Prix CSI2*.

$1,000 Two Phase 1.40m CSI2*

1. Cato Minor J / Maddy Riddle / CAN / Maddy Riddle / 0/0 31.64
2. Alicia / Patricio Pasquel / MEX / Patricio Pasquel / 0/0 31.65
3. Gamble / Conor Swail / IRL / Asta Torokvei / 0/0 31.84
4. Havana / Kassidy Keith / CAN / Cheryl Keith / 0/0 31.91
5. Caya / Shauna Cook / CAN / Sheilagh Kelly / 0/0 31.96
6. Dante 108 / Arash Rahmati / IRI / Solmaz Golamhosseini / 0/0 32.08
7. Golden Eye / Matthew Williams / AUS / First Joy Holdings, LLC / 0/0 32.25
8. Dandy / Matthew Williams / AUS / HD Horses LLC / 0/0 32.43
8. The Freshman / Ben Asselin / CAN / Attache Stables / 0/0 32.55
10. Joevaro N / James Arkins / USA / James Arkins / 0/0 33.14

More information available at tbird.ca. Complete results from the Canadian Premier here.