Toronto, On – Margot Lefebvre of Stittsville, ON, won the Jump Canada Talent Squad Final on Saturday, November 7, at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show.
Held over two days, the Talent Squad Final competition opened on November 6 with the $8,000 Alfred Rogers National Talent Squad Series Championship, Phase I, where Lefebvre and Mister Cash van der Veldmolen, her 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, finished in eighth place.
Lefebvre returned to the Ricoh Coliseum the following day to win the $10,000 Alfred Rogers National Talent Squad Series Championship, Phase II, with the fastest double clear in a jump-off time of 40.83 seconds. Lefebvre was tied with Heather MacInnis of Burlington, ON, when the points for the two phases were added together but, as Phase II carried more weight, Lefebvre was named the National Talent Squad Final Champion.
“My horse and I have a real relationship of trust,” said Lefebvre, who was also named the winner of the 2009 Jump Canada Talent Squad Eastern Division with Mister Cash van der Veldmolen. “We were a bit rusty in the ring on the first day, but we practiced our flatwork and he was really with me in Phase II. He jumped brilliantly.”
“Margot is a star,” said Lefebvre’s coach, Jill Henselwood. “She really earned her way this season by getting a summer job to pay for all of her entries. She is a natural rider.”
MacInnis, who was named the Reserve Champion, won Phase I on Friday night with the fastest clear round riding Shine of Light, a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare owned by the MacInnis Syndicate.
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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