Thirty-two riders started on a clean slate in the Individual Jumping Final in Lima over a colourful first-round course designed by Guilherme Jorge (BRA) that featured a tough line from the water to a pair of skinny verticals (11 AB) which betrayed a lot of riders, including Canadians Mario Deslauriers, Nicole Walker and Erynn Ballard. Only four clear rounds emerged, with Mexican Eugenio Garza Perez and Armani Sl Z topping the leaderboard at the break.
Mario Deslauriers was looking for vengeance after a disappointing number of rails in the Team Final on Wednesday aboard Amsterdam 27, a nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Wishing Well Farm LLC and Luga LLC. Unfortunately, with the bogey fence 11A down as well as the last, his score of eight put him in 14th place. “That was a tricky line,” he admitted. “It’s two tall verticals and we’re going downhill a little bit and they’re skinnier than the other rails. It’s always a hard test for a horse to make him add a stride. My horse jumped a good water, the distance was not terrible, but his head was up and he didn’t focus. But I’m happy with him.”
He added, “The last fence was a bummer, but my horse jumped well. I think he’s learning a lot here – that’s a lot to throw at a nine-year-old.”
Nicole Walker and Falco van Spieveld, her 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, also incurred four faults at 11A. “I had the same problem,” she said. “My horse is a bit older, but I think when I landed from the water I just didn’t read it properly, and it’s hard to bring them back again and be bouncy and have the right shape going in so that they can use their bodies properly.” Their speedy round landed in 6th place at the end of the first round.
Erynn Ballard and Fellini S, Ilan Ferder’s nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, unfortunately brought an end to their streak of clear rounds at these Games and finished with eight faults. “I have to say I’m not disappointed in my horse at all,” said Ballard afterward. “He’s a nine-year-old and it is his fourth time [jumping] this week. His energy felt good, but again it was much bigger today, probably more technical. I would compare it to a five-star Saturday Night Lights for sure. It’s a big challenge and we ask a lot of these horses. There’s plenty of atmosphere here today that changes their concentration as well and I think I got unlucky at the liverpool [#6]; if I had to ride it again, I would ride it the same way and hope for better luck. ”
The second round course was larger but did not include the tricky technical aspect of the water-to-verticals. Just 23 were invited back; all the Canadians improved on their first-round scores, with Walker and Falco going clear, Deslauriers and Amsterdam with a rail and a time penalty for 5; and Ballard with just four faults this time around.
Four riders tied with a two-round total of four faults, including Walker and Falco, and were left to fight it out for the bronze medal over a shortened jump-off course. First up, a very determined Beezie Madden set a blistering pace with her clear trip aboard Breitling LS – a feat that could not be matched by any who followed, although Walker came the closest with four faults in 44.18, just edging Eve Jobs of the US with Venue d’Fees des Hazalles to finish fourth overall.
“The horse was getting a bit tired by the third round, and when it’s Beezie you’re trying to catch, that’s never easy,” said Walker, smiling. “So I thought I’m just going to give it my best and go as fast as I can and I’m very proud of my horse.”
The three Canadians were pleased with what they would be taking home from this Pan Am experience.
Mario summed it up with, “We came here to qualify for Tokyo – that’s the positive. I think we were all well-mounted and we had a good team and a medal would have been nice, but it didn’t happen. I think Erynn and my horse grew a lot; Nicky’s is seasoned and he performed very well through the Games. Lisa also got some good experience out of it. Today we had three in the Final and we all jumped pretty well. So I think we come out of here gaining good experience and we can step it up for Tokyo.”
Results – Individual Jumping Final
Gold: Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, Sirene de La Motte (BRA) 0/0
Silver: José María (Jr) Larocca, Finn Lente (ARG) 0/1
Bronze: Elizabeth Madden, Breitling (USA) LS 4/0/0
4. Nicole Walker, Falco van Spieveld (CAN) 4/0/4
13. Erynn Ballard, Fellini S (CAN) 8/4
15. Mario Deslauriers, Amsterdam 27 (CAN) 8/5
For complete results, click here.
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