Toronto, Ontario—David Arcand of Mount Royal, QC, secured victory in the Jump Canada Talent Squad Final by winning the $10,000 Alfred Rogers National Talent Squad Series Championship, Phase II, on Saturday, November 8, at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show.
Held over two days, the Talent Squad Final competition opened on November 7 with the $8,000 Alfred Rogers National Talent Squad Series Championship, Phase I, where Arcand and his horse, Santos Utopia, a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, finished in ninth place.
Arcand returned to the Ricoh Coliseum the following day to handily win Phase II with the fastest double clear in a jump-off time of 41.10 seconds. Arcand was tied with Margie Gayford of Sharon, ON, when the points for the two phases were added together but, as Phase II carried more weight, Arcand was named the National Talent Squad Final Champion.
“We had a bit of a slow start at the beginning of the season because my horses had to be rested due to a virus they got early in the season,†said Arcand, who was coached at the Talent Squad Final by Francois Lamontagne, winner of the 2008 Jump Canada Talent Squad Eastern Division. “Santos Utopia qualified by only competing in three Talent Squad classes this season. I am really pleased with how well my horse performed in the Final. What a great to end the season.â€
Gayford won Phase I on Friday night with the fastest clear round and placed tenth in Phase II riding Winston, a nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Wingberry Farm, to claim the Reserve Championship title.
The Jump Canada Talent Squad Series is a means of recognizing up-and-coming riders who are preparing to enter the grand prix ranks and gives them a platform to demonstrate their ability to become future members of the Canadian Equestrian Team.
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