The second evening of competition at the Royal West Tournament ended in victory for Jill Henselwood and Quidam Blue in the $40,000 SynOil Energy Services CSI2* Cup.
Thirty-Six horses competed in round one of the Cup class with fourteen jumping clear, making it to the second round jump off. Course designer Werner Deeg set a technical track that caught many riders in the challenging triple combination.
Henselwood and Quidam Blue, rose to the occasion against the challenging track; securing the Cup class win. “I thought that tonight’s course was a little more technical and that he’s starting to stretch us a little bit, which is great for the development of our athletes. It was a really good show jumping event, it pushed us to go fast in the jump off!”
The third round of the International Championship Series will end tonight, with thirty riders returning to jump off in the finals.
Henselwood and her students have ridden exceptionally well, allowing them to qualify for the final Cup class tonight. Henselwood, a decorated Canadian Olympian knows how to prepare for the structure of a series competition. “Any championship that you do is such good practice for when its an Olympic games or a Pan American games. There is just that little bit of pressure that your performance stays consistent, that you put on top scores everyday, not every second day.”
World’s Judgement and Lisa Carlsen placed second last night with two clear round performances. Henselwood’s student, Jaclyn Duff and Pater Noster finished in a close third place finish. Caballito and Andres Rodriguez kept it consistent with their second fourth place finish in the series.
SynOil Energy Services sponsored last evening’s event and CEO John Edwards was on hand to present the Cup. “I think it’s a great start to what’s going to build into a long lasting tradition. It’s great to see world-class show jumping in my hometown. It’s a phenomenal addition to Calgary’s calendar of events.”
After experiencing the Tournament in its inaugural year, Henselwood feels it will become an important addition to her show schedule. “The show is becoming a special event. It’s an amazingly fun venue to be at. I didn’t know what to expect, and it’s my great please to be here and to be able to put experience on my horses indoors. Anyone whose not here when they hear about it, watch the videos, and see the courses are going to say it’s a must do for Canadians.”
Saturday evening at the Royal West will host the final round in the Royal West International Championship Series with the $40,000 CSI** Kubota Canada & Tractorland Cup beginning at 7:30 PM. Thank you to our generous sponsors for making these events possible. We look forward to another fantastic evening of show jumping tonight at the inaugural Royal West Tournament.
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