Terrific Finish to the Bow Valley Classic Show Jumping Tournaments

Calgary’s own John Anderson made it two for two, winning both the $31,000 CSI2* Bow Valley Welcome Classic and the $31,000 CSI2* Tribute to Mothers Grand Prix during the Bow Valley Classic II show jumping tournament held May 18 to 22 in Calgary, AB.

Having also won the $31,000 CSI2* Rocky Mountain Grand Prix on Thursday, May 14, Anderson claimed three out of four Grand Prix events held during the opening tournaments at Anderson Ranch in Calgary’s south end. Only Lindsay Wendt of High River, AB, prevented Anderson from making a clean sweep, guiding her horse, Chanel, to victory in the $31,000 CSI2* Cymric Brae Grand Prix on Saturday, May 14, during the Bow Valley Classic I show jumping tournament.

In Thursday’s $31,000 CSI2* Bow Valley Welcome Classic, a total of seven competitors were able to advance to the jump-off after successfully clearing the obstacles set by Canadian course designer, David Ballard. The first jump-off challenger, Lindsay Wendt riding Billy Autumn, set the target by jumping clear in a time of 41.39 seconds.

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Anderson followed, and was able to make some tight turns early on the course to improve on Wendt’s time, crossing the timers in 40.73 seconds. None of the five horse-rider combinations that followed were able to improve on Anderson’s time, giving the 1988 Canadian Olympian yet another victory with Terrific, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding.

“Lindsay was the very first rider in the original order and I was second, so it was not like we had any advantage in the draw,” laughed Anderson, himself a little surprised at his run of success. “For the jump-off, we were warming up in the hail, but we are hearty Albertans! Lindsay went first in the jump-off on Billy Autumn, and I had found that horse for her in England. I knew the horse, I had ridden it – it is fast and it’s careful. I knew Lindsay was going to be fast, and she was. The only way to catch her was to be slick in the turns and, thankfully, Terrific can turn on a dime and give you nine cents change!”

Owned by Lead Partners, Billy Autumn is a 14-year-old mare that carried Wendt to the Jump Canada Talent Squad Western Division Championship in 2008, and has gone on to be a competitive at the grand prix level.

“I had heard about the horse jumping as an eight-year-old in Aachen, Germany,” recounted Anderson. “It came from British rider William Funnell, and it is the horse that has really helped Lindsay to get to the top levels.”

Jacklyn Duff, 24, of Edmonton, AB, took third place after turning in a clear round in a time of 41.52 seconds riding Airtime. The only other double clear of the day belonged to Anderson and Ashtin’s Sevita for fourth place. Ashtin’s Sevita is a new ride for Anderson, who has taken over the reins for owner Kirstin Russell.

“The Russell family has been a big supporter of our tournaments over the years and when Kirstin was going to Europe to spend time traveling, she approached me to ride Sevita,” explained Anderson of how the partnership with the 11-year-old Danish Warmblood mare was formed. “Sevita is all woman! You have to handle her very delicately. She’s very temperamental. She is tiny; she is really quite small. She’s just so slick! She’s careful and she’s got a great attitude. She’s attentive, and she’s fun.”

Hot off their win on Thursday, Anderson and Terrific returned on Saturday to contest the $31,000 CSI2* Tribute to Mothers Grand Prix. After jumping the first round clear, Anderson joined four other competitors in the jump-off. This time, he had the advantage of being the last to go, and knew exactly what he had to do to win.

“Lindsay went in and was quite fast, and then Eric went in and rode super, he trimmed up all the turns,” said Anderson of watching his competition negotiate David Ballard’s jump-off course. “The course wasn’t a lot of running; it was more about the turns. That is Terrific’s forte. That is where his experience comes into play.”

With three wins over the course of two weeks, Anderson feels that Terrific is ready for the summer season.

“With two months off after competing in Thermal this winter, this was a great set-up for the next step,” said Anderson. “I am happy with Terrific. He is ready for the summer tournaments at Thunderbird and Spruce Meadows.”

The 2011 Pan American Games, to be held in October in Guadalajara, Mexico, are also on Anderson’s radar this year.

“I would love to do the Pan Ams,” said the Canadian Equestrian Team veteran. “Any time you have the opportunity to represent your country at an international event, you have to aspire to be there. That is what we do this sport for. I love riding on the team.”

Despite being a member of the fourth-placed Canadian team at the 1986 World Championships as well as representing Canada at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Anderson said that his greatest pride comes from riding on Canada’s Nations’ Cup teams at the 2009 and 2010 Spruce Meadows “Masters” tournament with Terrific.

“When I went to the World Championships and the Olympics, I was a teenager – I was only a kid!” said Anderson, 44. “After taking time off to pursue my education and then just taking time away from the top levels of the sport, I would say that the biggest highlight of my career was to take a young horse that I developed through the Young Horse Series and bring him up to the Team level. It is easy to go out and buy a horse, but it is much more difficult to produce one. I am very proud to have taken a horse like Terrific from the backyard in Alberta and produced him into a horse that is a contender in any international grand prix.”

While Terrific was the Western Canadian Young Horse Champion in the Six-Year-Old Division in 2006, Kumano was the horse that had the most wins in the Six-Year-Old Division in the Western Division of the 2010 Jump Canada Young Horse Series. Now seven, Kumano proved that he has a bright future in front of him after finishing second in the $31,000 CSI2* Tribute to Mothers Grand Prix. Ridden by Eric Martin, Kumano is a dark brown Oldenburg stallion by Kannan out of a Landjunge mare. Owner Jan Ash-Gross of Oakbank, MB, imported Kumano from Germany. The horse now has a dual career, competing in the show jumping ring as well as producing foals as a breeding stallion.

Another future grand prix star might be found competing in the 2011 Jump Canada Young Horse Series when Rocky Mountain Show Jumping plays host to the Western Division Final during the Rocky Mountain Classic III show jumping tournament from August 31 to September 4.

Watch for another great RMSJ TV episode, ‘Spring Time in Alberta,’ featuring footage from the Bow Valley Classic I and II tournaments on Rocky Mountain’s innovative new web-based television channel, available at www.facebook.com/RMSJ.Television. Episodes will also be available at www.youtube.com/rockymtnshow following the original airing.

Rocky Mountain Show Jumping is quickly developing a reputation as one of Canada’s premiere show jumping destinations. Its tournaments are held at Anderson Ranch in Calgary’s south end, a world-class facility featuring permanent stabling for 300 horses and a grass grand prix field complete with natural obstacles. For more information on Rocky Mountain Show Jumping, please visit http://www.rmshowjumping.com/.

$31,000 CSI2* Bow Valley Welcome Classic – Thursday, May 19, 2011
Rider/Horse/Faults/Time
1. John Anderson Terrific 0:0 40.73
2. Lindsay Wendt Billy Autumn 0:0 41.39
3. Jacklyn Duff Airtime 0:0 41.52
4. John Anderson Ashtin’s Sevita 0:0 41.95
5. Alexander Grayton Wilanka 0:4 42.78
6. Kennedy Ellingson Mantao 0:4 43.57
7. Lindsay Ceminchuk Kalia 0:4 44.59
8. Shannon Matthews Antares 2
9. Tamie Phillips Lucas 4
10. Lindsay Wendt Chanel 4
11. Kristy Yopyk Ravel 4
12. Eric Martin Kumano 5

$31,000 CSI2* Tribute to Mothers Grand Prix – Saturday, May 21, 2011
Rider/Horse/Faults/Time
1. John Anderson Terrific 0:0 37.35
2. Eric Martin Kumano 0:0 38.38
3. Lindsay Wendt Chanel 0:0 38.71
4. Tracey Epp Santee 0:0 41.56
5. Jennifer Whyte Peninsula Apollo 0:4 37.34
6. Tamie Phillips Lerche 1
7. Lindsay Wendt Billy Autumn 4
8. John Anderson Ashtin’s Sevita 4
9. Joelle Froese Condor 4
10. Danielle van der Werf Gala Pierreville 4
11. Kristy Yopyk Ravel 8
12. J.J. Atkinson Callino 2 8