Ottawa, ON—Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, ON, won the Canadian World Cup League with a total of 62 points to secure her invitation to the 2008 World Cup Final in Goteborg, Sweden, from April 24 to 27. Henselwood and Darrin Dlin, who finished fourth in the Canadian League standings, have both accepted the invitation to represent Canada at the 2008 World Cup Final.
With a second place finish at the $100,000 World Cup Grand Prix at the CSI-W Tournament of Champions and a win in the $100,000 President’s Cup World Cup Qualifier at the Washington International Horse Show, Henselwood earned 20 points at each event. These points combined with a fifth place finish at the $50,000 Grand Prix CSI-W at Desert Circuit III, for 13 points, and an eighth place finish at the $50,000 Grand Prix CSI-W at Desert Circuit IV, for eight points, both at HITS Thermal, in California, easily moved Henselwood to the top of the standings with 62 points. For all of the events, Henselwood of Oxford Mills, ON, was riding Black Ice, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Stacie B. Ryan and Juniper Farms.
Finishing second place in the standings is 1984 World Cup winner Mario Deslauriers of Bromont, QC. Receiving 20 points for both his victories in the $100,000 American Gold Cup World Cup Qualifier in Moreland Hills, OH, as well as the $50,000 Grey Goose Vodka World Cup Qualifier in Southampton, NY, Deslauriers, riding Paradigm, a 13-year-old Belgium Warmblood gelding, also netted seven points for his 10th place finish in the $100,000 CN World Cup Grand Prix at the CSI-W Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON. In Florida in the $100,000 Zada Enterprises Grand Prix at the Wellington Masters, Deslauriers earned an additional nine points to finish with a total of 56.
Keean White of Cambridge, ON, finished third in the standings. With a third place finish in the $75,000 Canadian Country Classic at the Halton Place Horse Show that earned him 20 points and an additional 15 points gained for his third place finish in the $100,000 National Horse Show Grand Prix in Wellington, FL, as well as nine points for his 11th place finish at the $100,000 Grand Prix World Cup at the Summer Festival, in Palgrave, ON, and two points at the $100,000 American Gold Cup World Cup Qualifier in Moreland Hills, OH, White has a total of 46 points.
Six points behind, in fourth position, is Darrin Dlin, a native of Spruce Grove, AB, who now resides in Wellington, FL. Dlin was awarded 18 points for winning the $100,000 Caledon Equestrian Park World Cup Grand Prix in Palgrave, ON, as well as 20 points for his victory at the $70,000 Grand Prix Jumping du Quebec World Cup at the CSI-W Blainville Jumping International in Quebec. Dlin and Odyssey Venture Inc.’s Catwalk, a 10-year-old Canadian-bred Oldenburg mare sired by Rio Grande, added an additional two points at the $75,000 Green Cove Springs Grand Prix in Florida, for a final total of 40.
Currently residing in California, Chris Pratt of Belfountain, ON, opted to earn his points in the U.S. West Coast World Cup League and qualified for the 2008 World Cup Final as an additional rider for Canada. In the FEI World Cupâ„¢ Jumping Rules, any competitor from another League living in a country of the League in which he is participating who has gained at least as many points as the lowest placed competitor qualified for the World Cup Final, qualifies to attend the Final. Despite qualifying, Pratt has decided to decline the invitation to attend the 2008 World Cup Final.
The Canadian World Cup League closed on March 30, 2008, when the final World Cup League events in the U.S. West Coast, with CSI-W San Juan Capistrano, and U.S. East Coast, with CSI-W Tampa, were held. The 2008 World Cup Final will be held in its birthplace of Göteborg, Sweden from April 24–27, 2008.
For complete standings, please visit http://www.jumpcanada.ca/programs/WC_standings.html.