Sarah Barker of Branchton, ON, rode her own Cheers to an Amateur Working Hunter Grand Championship title on Monday, November 4, at the Royal Horse Show, held as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.
Hunter competition at the Royal Horse Show came to a ceremonious close with Barker accepting the J. Elliot Cottrelle Memorial Trophy after Cheers carried her to top honours in the 3’3” Junior/Amateur Working Hunter Canadian Championship. Barker and Cheers opened the division with a second-place finish on Sunday before returning to the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Monday to win both classes over fences on scores of 87 and 90. After collecting division tricolor from a competitive field of 18 horses, Barker was presented with the Murray and Louise Cornblum Challenge Trophy.
“The Royal is always a goal and it’s our biggest event of the year, so I’m thrilled,” said Barker, who balances her time in the saddle with a full-time job as a registered nurse at Hamilton General Hospital in Hamilton, ON. “He’s the best horse in the world to me and I’m so happy because it was a tough division this year; there were some very good horses and riders. To come out on top is amazing for us.”
Barker and Cheers, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding sired by the renowned Canadian-owned breeding stallion, Cabardino, returned to familiar territory at this year’s Royal Horse Show. They secured a repeat of their championship title in the 2023 Junior/Amateur Hunter division, in addition to topping the Adult Amateur Hunter Division in 2022.
“I can count on him because he loves this horse show,” said Barker, 29, who trains with Whitney Gibson of The Summit Equine in Burlington, ON. “As a kid, I always came to the Royal so to show here in front of this crowd is exciting for me and for hunters in general.”
Cheers’ continued success is a feather in the cap of Barker after she found the horse herself from a field of two-year-olds.
“We went to Emil Spadone’s [Redfield Farm in Ocala, FL] to look at young horses and I picked him. I was lucky to stumble on such a good little horse,” said Barker of the small but mighty mount standing at 15.3 hands high.
“I remember he was very striking to look at, but he was almost a large pony,” laughed Barker, who started Cheers under saddle herself and noted that he has a home in her backyard forever. “He has grown up and is the best horse I could have ever asked for.”
Earlier in the day, Raewyn Robbins of Toronto, ON, and Spectre, owned by Braeburn Farms, won the Horse Sport Adult Amateur Working Hunter Canadian Championship before Ashley Arnoldt of Langley, BC, rode Light Might Fire, owned by Jennifer Arnoldt, to claim the Michael C. Sifton Memorial Amateur Owner Working Hunter Canadian Championship for His Grace, The Duke of Westminster’s Challenge Cup.
The Royal Horse Show continues Tuesday, November 5, highlighted by the $25,000 Knightwood Canadian Hunter Derby at 7 p.m. and crowning of the Canadian Hunter Derby National Champion. Dancing horses will shine during the evening performance when the $20,000 CDI3* Dressage Freestyle Final soaks up the spotlight in the Coca-Cola Coliseum at 8:45 p.m.
For more information on the Royal Horse Show, including daily schedules and to purchase tickets, visit www.royalfair.org/royalhorseshow.
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