Israel’s Daniel Bluman riding Gemma W triumphed in the $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto on Saturday evening, November 11, in front of a sold-out crowd to close out the 2023 Royal Horse Show, held as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, in Toronto, ON.
British course designer Kelvin Bywater set the challenging track for the star-studded field of 20 riders representing seven countries. In his Royal Horse Show debut, Rene Dittmer of Germany delivered the first clear with Corsica X. Just a few rides later, Canadian talent Vanessa Mannix of Calgary, AB, thrilled the home crowd with a fault-free effort aboard Carmela Z. Then it was Kent Farrington of the United States, currently third on the Longines World Rankings, who added his name to the jump-off list with Greya, a nine-year-old Oldenburg mare (Colestus x Contender) owned by Kent Farrington LLC. Bluman with Gemma W, and young British star Jessica Mendoza, 27, with I-Cap CL Z, also managed to find the clear path, bringing the count to five to contest the all-deciding jump-off.
First to go, Dittmer, who has notched several top placings on his first North American indoors tour, had an unfortunate four faults, leaving the door open for the remaining challengers. Mannix once again left all the poles in the cups, crossing the timers in 36.29 seconds to the delight of the packed house. Farrington followed with a slick round and even faster time of 34.32 seconds to take over the lead. Knowing his target, Bluman pushed Gemma W to the limit, stopping the clock at 33.28 seconds. Mendoza gave him a run for his money, but when the time showed 33.60 seconds, it was Bluman who was victorious. Mendoza finished in a very close second, Farrington claimed third, and Mannix was the top Canadian contender in fourth.