At the final stop of the Canadian Young Rider European Tour, Ben Asselin, Bretton Chad, Kara Chad and Alexandria Smith placed fourth in the Nations’ Cup at the CSIOY Lamprechtshausen, AUT, held May 24–28, 2012.
On May 26, 16-year-old Kara Chad of Calgary, AB, was the lead off rider for Canada in the Nations’ Cup, riding Alberto II, a nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Stone Ridge. The pair was clear in the first round and had eight faults in the second.
Smith, 19, who lives in San Juan Capistrano, CA, had 12 faults in the first round, which was the team’s drop score, and 16 faults in round two riding her own 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion, Albatros 86.
Riding Stone Ridge’s 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, Lasall, 18-year-old Bretton Chad of Calgary, AB, incurred eight faults in round one and 17 faults, for the drop score, in round two.
Acting as the anchor rider Asselin, 18, of Calgary, AB, and Attache Stables’ Lolita, a 14-year-old Oldenburg mare also had eight faults in the first round and were fault-free in the second to help secure Canada’s fourth place finish out of nine countries.
Norway won the Nations’ Cup with a two-round total of 29. Second place went to Poland with 32, while Hungary was third with a total of 33. Fifth place was awarded to the host nation, Austria, with 41, and Switzerland rounded out the top six.
On May 28, Asselin, riding Rush, an 11-year-old Belgian Sport Horse owned by Attache Stables, finished in third place in the 4,500 € Young Rider Grand Prix Big Tour Final. The pair incurred four faults with only a foot in the water jump during the opening round, which saw only one rider finish the course fault free. In sixth place was Kara Chad, who also had four faults, riding Alberto II.
“What a great experience with a great group of kids,” said acting Jump Canada chef d’équipe, Dayton Gorsline. “We were fourth in the Nations’ Cup. I believe we will see some of these kids represent Canada many times in the future. Thank you to Equine Canada for their support in a busy Olympic year.”
To assist in making this tour possible, Equine Canada has received two very generous anonymous donations helping facilitate this forward thinking initiative to develop our next generation of Canadian show jumpers.
There is currently only one FEI team event held annually in North America—the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC)—where junior and young rider teams represent their provinces or regions in a competition similar to a Nations’ Cup.
Additional details about CSIOY Lamprechtshausen may be found at http://www.srclamprechtshausen.at/.
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