Candidate du Marquet, ridden by Angela Covert-Lawrence of St. Lazare, QC, was crowned the Seven and Eight-Year-Old National Young Horse Champion in the $51,000 Jump Canada National Young Horse Finals held September 22 to 26 at the Canadian Show Jumping Tournament in Palgrave, ON.

Comprised of three phases held Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the Seven and Eight-Year-Old Division of the Jump Canada National Young Horse Finals featured a total of $17,000 in prize money. All three phases were held in the Grand Prix ring at the Caledon Equestrian Park over courses designed by Germany’s Christa Hiebach with Sunday’s final held immediately before the $50,000 Caledon Cup Grand Prix. Points were accumulated throughout the three days of competition.

Having placed second in the opening phase of competition to Roberto Teran and Grand Finale 3E, Angela Covert-Lawrence and Candidate du Marquet returned to win the second phase on Friday. In Sunday’s final event, the pair had an unfortunate rail in the jump-off to finish fifth, but their consistent performances throughout the three phases gave Covert-Lawrence and Candidate du Marquet the Seven and Eight-Year-Old National Championship title.

“I think the format was super, it made you take each class seriously,” said Covert-Lawrence of the championship format which awarded $3,000, $4,000 and $10,000 for each of the three phases. “There was prize money in each class, not just in the final class. Anyone can have a bad day, especially with a young horse, but the format rewarded consistency.”

Covert-Lawrence began riding the eight-year-old grey Belgian Warmblood mare in January of this year for the Bolduc family of Rosemere, QC. The pair won two Young Horse competitions in St. Lazare, QC, and Blainville, QC, in the Eastern Division of the Jump Canada Young Horse Series to qualify for the National Finals.

“Everything I have asked her to do thus far, she has not only done it, she has excelled at it,” said Covert-Lawrence of the mare sired by Canadian River and out of Kelly d’Esquelmes by Randel Z. “I am very proud of her. She was double clear on Thursday and Friday, and then only had the last rail in the jump-off on Sunday. It was a nice way to finish the year, and gives me confidence to move her up for 2011. It was a great stepping stone to the next level, which is the grand prix. I am super happy.”

Of the Jump Canada Young Horse Series, Covert-Lawrence noted, “When you have the National Finals to look forward to at the end of the season, you are not tempted to try to move them up to the grand prix level too quickly. It is a nice way to develop your horse, and encourages owners to invest in a young horse. The program gives the young horses exposure, gives recognition to the owners, and the breeders receive good publicity.”

The Reserve Championship title went to Viggo, owned and ridden by Beth Underhill of Schomberg, ON. Having posted a clear round to advance to the jump-off in all three phases, Underhill and Viggo scored victory in Sunday’s final to earn second place overall in the standings.

An eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Viggo is by Quick Star out of Iejoor by Cantus. Underhill purchased the rangy Dutch-bred horse as a six-year-old through Paul and Emile Hendrix.

“I have taken my time developing him; he has really grown a lot the past two years,” said Underhill. “He has a lot of scope and is naturally careful but has never been particularly fast, so it was fun for me to win the final phase in such a fast jump-off.”

Of the three-day format, Underhill commented, “He was very consistent throughout the week. We had one mistake in the jump-off on the first day when I took an aggressive inside turn and had a drive-by, but I was thrilled with how he progressed throughout the Series, and that he finished up as well as he did. I am very excited for the future; he has all the qualities to be a grand prix horse.”

The top Canadian-bred horse in the final standings for the Seven and Eight-Year-Old National Championships was third place finisher, Grand Finale 3E, ridden by Roberto Teran of Colombia. Bred and owned by KingRidge Stables of King City, ON, Grand Finale 3E is an eight-year-old bay Canadian Sport Horse mare by Jamestown out of a Chin Chin mare that Teran has been riding for four years.

“She has been doing so well in the Young Horse Series,” said Teran, who won four out of five events in the Central Region including at the Caledon National Horse Show in May, the CornerStone Horse Show in June, the Summerfest Show in July and, finally, the National Capital Show Jumping Tournament in August. “She is incredible; she is ready for whatever I throw at her, even in new venues. She is so talented. She is already competing at the grand prix level, and she always wants to be the best.”

Of the Jump Canada Young Horse Series program, Teran noted, “I think it’s a wonderful program for Canadian breeders, especially for a big breeding operation like KingRidge Stables. It’s the best way to develop young horses for grand prix competition.”

Throughout the season, young horses competed in three regions across the country – Eastern, Central, and Western. The top 10 horses in each age division from the Central Region were invited to contest the National Finals, as were the top eight horses from the Eastern and Western Regions. Any invitations not used by the Eastern and Western Regions were offered to the next horse in the Central Region standings. Complete standings can be viewed at http://www.equiman.com/JumpCanadaYoungHorseSeries/

The purpose of the Jump Canada Young Horse Series is to encourage the development of young show jumping talent and to give Canadian breeders additional incentives to breed superior show jumping prospects. Competing on a level playing field, the horses are divided according to age and jump at a level suited to their development. This careful development allows the horses to gain valuable experience and advance to the higher levels of show jumping competition with confidence. The Jump Canada Young Horse Series also gives prospective buyers for the hunter and jumper markets an opportunity to view a large group of prospects in a competition setting.

For more information on the Jump Canada Young Horse Series, please visit http://www.equinecanada.ca/jumpcanada/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=88&Itemid=3.

Seven and Eight-Year-Old National Finals – Final Standings
Horse/Owner/Rider
Champion Candidate du Marquet Emmanuelle Bolduc Angela Covert-Lawrence
Reserve Viggo Beth Underhill Beth Underhill
3. Grand Finale 3E* KingRidge Stables Roberto Teran
4. Hudson Susan Grange Yann Candele
5. VDL Viper* Michelle Vandal Michelle Vandal
6. Arabella Peter Barry Laurie Bucci
7. Caprice v/d Brouwershoeve Kim Farlinger Kim Farlinger
8. Damiro van ter Notelaere Torrey Pines Stable Alejandro Karolyi
9. Sly Bonaventure Farms Lauren Patava
10. Well Time de Villa d’Arto Melissa Marcotte Melissa Marcotte

NOTE – The star * beside a horse’s name denotes that it is Canadian-bred.

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