Robert Blanchette Wins $100,000 VOLVO Canada Cup at Tbird

Robert Blanchette (IRL) had never before asked RTS LLC’s Chardonnay for speed. The 10-year-old Westphalian mare had only just stepped up to the three-star grand prix level a week prior at Thunderbird Show Park, but she passed the test with flying colors, finishing third in the $100,000 CSI3* ATCO Cup.

In the jump-off again this week for Saturday’s $100,000 CSI3* VOLVO Canada Cup, Blanchette decided to try out some new gears. The result was an emphatic victory over a contentious eight-horse jump-off. ATCO Cup victors Vanessa Mannix (CAN) and Catinka 25 settled for second, with Conor Swail (IRL) and Theo 160 third.

“I haven’t had a horse that could go that fast at that height and make it seem so easy,” Blanchette said.

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It was a jump-off to remember, as eight combinations sailed through the first round of Peter Holmes’ (CAN) 1.50m–1.60m track. Blanchette was in top form, advancing to the jump-off aboard both Chardonnay and veteran mount Coupis.

In the jump-off, Coupis was first out. The grey lost a shoe in the schooling area, which left him little time to warm-up. Still, he jumped a second clear round, but it slotted Blanchette into second behind early leader Swail, who laid down a sensational trip aboard Theo 160—a horse that has won three international classes at tbird over the course of the last two weeks. Still, Blanchette left the ring with valuable information about the track.

“I wasn’t able to go as fast with [Coupis], but I got the track down,” Blanchette said.

When Blanchette entered the Fort Grand Prix Arena for the second time, the leaderboard had changed. Mannix, Swail’s student, had outpaced her coach, taking over the top spot with Catinka 25. Blanchette did not get a chance to watch her. He simply went in the ring and rode what felt right for his horse.

“I’ve never actually pushed her,” Blanchette said. “I was always thinking that she had a lot of scope and there was no reason to make her a lower-level speed horse, so I never went fast with her. My plan [today] was to go in and ride feels what [felt] right.

“I went forward to [Fence] one, saw the slice to [Fence] two, added a stride to [Fence] three, because she landed a bit wide,” he detailed. “I thought, ‘I added a stride, so I better keep on the pace.’ I saw [Fence] four at the same pace, and I turned right and had a tight angle back to the [tbird] vertical. Then I went inside tight to the double of verticals. Before, that would have been difficult for her. She’s so scopey, she would land and almost be at [the B element]. I said ‘Whoa,’ and she listened.”

Blanchette elected to do seven strides instead of six to the final fence, but he and his mount had already done enough. He reference a quote from Swedish Olympian Peter Eriksson, expressing that it wasn’t a rider’s job to win by “six seconds.” One only needed to win by “a sixth of a second.”

The win marked the first for Chardonnay in international competition, and Blanchette sees a bright future ahead for the chestnut mare that joined his string just over a year ago.

“She’s just a top horse,” he said. “I think for me, it takes a year to get to know them. It’s been a little over a year now, and we’re just getting there. This horse show is so good. The footing is so good, and the course design is so good that you can really move a horse up.”

Stella Chernoff (CAN) and Chinell topped the $5,000 MarBill Hill U25 League 1.40m. (tbird/Quinn Saunders)

Stella Chernoff Rides to Second Consecutive Victory in $5,000 MarBill Hill U25 League

Sixteen-year-old Stella Chernoff (CAN) was a familiar name atop the leaderboard in Saturday’s $5,000 MarBill Hill U25 League 1.40m. But after winning Thursday’s 1.35m jump-off event, Chernoff’s second consecutive victory in the division came aboard a different horse.

This time, her winning mount was the 9-year-old Chinell, who was simply dominant on the day. Crossing the timers of Peter Holmes’ (CAN) 1.40m speed track in 66.16 seconds, the pair was more than five seconds faster than runners-up Hayley Mercer (CAN) and Crown Royal (71.19 seconds). Justine Cha (CAN) and Texas completed an all-Canadian podium (78.41). The top three were the only combinations to complete the course without fault.

“Our turns were pretty good. I was pretty efficient around the course,” Chernoff said. “Our rollback to the liverpool [stands out]. I think that helped us with our time. [Chinell] came out really nice this morning, and [it carried into the show ring].”

Chernoff brought two mounts forward Saturday, and both will return for Sunday’s $15,000 MarBill Hill U25 League Grand Prix. While Fay finished with 12 faults, Chernoff came away with valuable information about the course.

“On my first horse, it was just about learning how all the lines were riding,” Chernoff said. “The course was riding different from how we walked. That definitely helped me out for my second horse.”

Chernoff and Chinell are a newer partnership. The mare was imported in February, and Chernoff has placed her focus on improving rideability and adjusting her ride to best suit her horse.

“When I first got her, the first time I rode her, we were doing poles on the ground, and I remember we could barely do a lead change, and she was running away with me,” Chernoff recalled. “I had no control at all! It’s been a [process] working on her rideability.”

Chernoff credits a good deal of improvement to an equipment change. She currently rides both Fay and Chinell in hackamores.

“When we changed [her bit] to a hackamore, the rideability became so much better,” Chernoff said. “It’s been a lot of learning to trust each other, and that’s helped a lot. I kind of needed to learn how she wanted to be ridden. She wasn’t like any horse I had ever had before.”

Competition at the Summer Fort Festival comes to a conclusion Sunday with the $15,000 MarBill Hill U25 League Grand Prix.

All classes from the Fort Grand Prix Arena will be live streamed on U.

$100,000 CSI3* VOLVO Canada Cup

Place / Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time

1. Chardonnay / Robert Blanchette / IRL / RTS LLC / 0/0 39.95
2. Catinka 25 / Vanessa Mannix / CAN / Vanessa Mannix / 0/0 40.02
3. Theo 160 / Conor Swail / IRL / Conor Swail / 0/0 40.66
4. Baton Rouge / Samantha Buirs-Darvill / CAN / Samantha Buirs-Darvill / 0/0 41.13
5. Coupis / Robert Blanchette / IRL / Robert Blanchette 0/0 41.48
6. Livestream 2 / Lisa Carlsen / CAN / Lisa Carlsen / 0/0 41.63
7. Etalon / Kyle King / USA / Carlotte Maclean / 0/4 39.45
8. Buddy Bounce / Darrin Dlin / CAN / Dorothy Dlin / 0/8 43.26
9. EZ Ace / Justin Prather / CAN / Bradon Equestrian Ltd / 4 73.76
10. Beneficial / Alicia Gadban-Lewis / CAN / Alicia Gadban-Lewis / 4 75.85

$5,000 MarBill Hill U25 League 1.40m

1. Chinell / Stella Chernoff / CAN / Stump Lake Ranch & Cattle Co. / 0/66.16
2. Crown Royal / Hayley Mercer / CAN / Hayley Mercer / 0/71.19
3. Texas / Justine Cha / CAN / Christine Cha / 0/78.41
4. LCC Diamond Dazzaler / Lia McHardy / USA / Caledonia Stables / 4/72.54
5. Fiventum Kieni / Nyah Chernoff / CAN / Stump Lake Ranch & Cattle Co. / 4/73.29
6. Princesa / Shaelynn Enders / CAN / Joyce Enders / 4/79.47
7. Lestat OLD / Ashley Arnoldt / CAN / Jennifer Arnoldt / 8/71.62
8. Diamir 4 / Anneke Power / USA / Karianne Boyce-Lockhart / 8/72.93
9. Vainqueur de Brekka / Anneke Power / USA / 8/73.14
10. Fay / Stella Chernoff / CAN / Stump Lake Ranch & Cattle Co. / 12/65.25