Toronto native Sean Jobin was crowned the new Canadian Show Jumping Champion on Saturday night, November 4, in front of a full house at the Royal Horse Show, held as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.
The $150,000 Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping Championship was held over two phases on Friday and Saturday nights. Following Friday’s speed test, riders returned to the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday evening in reverse order of standing to tackle the two-round finale, where the top six from the opening round advanced to the all-deciding second round.
Saturday’s opening round shook up the leaderboard after Jay Hayes of Orangeville, ON, delivered a clear round with the eight-year-old Hope VA to maintain his score while David Samuel Pegg of Cannington, ON, dazzled the crowd with the second clear of the evening aboard Gin Tonic 158, his 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Graf Top x Satisfaction FRH). As the penultimate combination to contest the first round, Jobin piloted Coquelicot vh Heuvelland Z to a fault-free effort. Anticipation mounted as Friday’s winner, Vanessa Mannix of Calgary, AB, entered the Coca-Cola Coliseum as the final challenger on a score of zero riding Carmela Z, her 12-year-old Zangersheide mare (Candillo 3 x Nissan Caretano Z). To the crowd’s dismay, the third element of the triple combination fell, putting Mannix on a score of four penalties.