Ottawa, Ontario—The Dressage Canada Grand Prix Freestyle Championships will be one of the main highlights of the Royal Horse Show, held November 2-11, 2007, as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, ON.Two horse-rider combinations are preparing to go head-to-head in a battle that will determine the Dressage Canada Grand Prix Freestyle Champion. As part of the featured evening performances, competitors will each perform a Grand Prix Freestyle to music on Wednesday, November 7, for Round 1, and on Thursday, November 8, for Round 2 of the Championships. The results of each test will be added together to determine the overall champion and be crowned the Dressage Canada Grand Prix Freestyle Champion.
The contenders in this year’s Dressage Canada Grand Prix Freestyle Championships include Jacqueline Brooks, riding Gran Gesto, and Canadian Olympian Cindy Ishoy, aboard Proton.
Brooks, of Mount Albert, ON, has had another successful Grand Prix season in 2007 with Gran Gesto, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding sired by Grannox and owned by Anne Welch and Brinc Ltd. The duo represented Canada at the 2007 World Cup Dressage Finals in Las Vegas in April. At the 2007 Ottawa Summer Classic CDI-W they won the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle (71.15%). Brooks and Gran Gesto added to their red ribbon collection by winning the Grand Prix at CDI-W Blainville, QC, in addition to wins in both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle (72.05%) at Toronto CNE Classic CDI-W.
Three-time Olympian Cindy Ishoy and Proton, a 10-year-old Baden-Wurttemberg gelding (Patriarch x Rosenkavalier), won the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle (70.90%) at the Paxton Farm CDI3*, Cincinnatti, OH, and placed second in the Grand Prix at CDI-W Blainville, QC.
At the Royal Horse Show, competitors will start with a clean slate. They will perform in front of a three-member ground jury that includes Elizabeth McMullen of Canada (FEI-O), Lorraine Stubbs of Canada (FEI-I) and Natalie Lamping of the United States (FEI-I).
In addition to the Dressage Canada Grand Prix Freestyle Championships, horse show spectators will also be treated to a special dressage demonstration each evening performed by previous FEI World Cup Canadian League winner Neil Ishoy and Canadian Equestrian Team shortlisted rider Gillian Sutherland.
Tickets for all Royal Horse Show performances can be purchased through Ticketmaster by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information on the Royal Horse Show, including complete schedules, please visit www.royalfair.org.
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