Waylon Roberts Wins Indoor Eventing at 2007 Royal Horse Show

Toronto, Ontario â€“ For the second year in a row, 19-year-old Waylon Roberts of Port Perry, ON, galloped away with the victory in the $10,000 Good Crop Services Indoor Eventing Challenge on Tuesday night at The Royal Horse Show. The 10-day international equestrian competition is held as part of The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, celebrating its 85th anniversary, from November 2-11 in Toronto, ON.

Having debuted last year to rave reviews, the $10,000 Good Crop Services Indoor Eventing Challenge was expanded this year to feature members of the U.S. Gold Medal Team from the 2007 Pan American Games taking on Canada’s Silver Medal Team. In the end, it was a Canadian who emerged victorious over the course designed by 2000 Olympic Champion David O’Connor of The Plains, Virginia, and built by Jay Hambly of Guelph, ON. The course was a unique mix of traditional show jumping fences interspersed with cross-country obstacles that included a double corner, a keyhole, and a bank complete with a drop. Riders thrilled the audience as in the Ricoh Coliseum as they raced over 15 obstacles in an attempt to cross the finish line in the fastest time.

The competition, held on Monday and Tuesday evenings, saw the times from both nights added together to determine the overall winner. On Monday, Roberts had emerged the winner, turning in a time of 64.15 seconds followed by two-time Gold Medalist Phillip Dutton who stopped the clock in 68.82 seconds.

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On Tuesday night, over a different course, fence number 13 proved to be unlucky for Roberts. Adding a four second time penalty to his score for the knock down, Roberts posted a time of 62.67 seconds. Dutton was breathing down his neck, having jumped clear in a time of 61.69 seconds with Risk Taker, a seven-year-old dark bay thoroughbred. However, when the times were added together, Roberts was the easy winner, posting 126.82 seconds compared to Dutton’s 130.51.

“I am blown away that I beat Phillip Dutton!” exclaimed Roberts, who was a member of Canada’s Silver Medal Pan Am Team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this summer. “He did all of the inside turns, but I thought I would try leaving out strides and it worked!”

While Dutton’s strategy saw him succeessfully negoitiate an extremely tight inside turn to the keyhole obstacle, Roberts used Slingshot’s big stride to his advantage. Roberts is now undefeated in the Indoor Eventing Challenge, which is unique to North America, having won two years in a row. His partner for both wins was Slingshot, Cindy Grenier’s 14-year-old thoroughbred gelding that enjoyed a successfully racing career before turning his attention to eventing.

“The crew did so much work in building the course, and it was well-promoted. People who saw it last year enjoyed it so much that they bought tickets for it again this year,” said Roberts, whose parents, Kelly Plitz and Ian Roberts, are both Canadian Olympians and operate Dreamcrest Farm in Port Perry, ON.

The Royal Horse Show continues on Wednesday featuring the $100,000 CN World Cup Grand Prix and the first of two nights of the Canadian National Dressage Freestyle Championship. In total, $745,000 in prize money is offered during the 10-day Royal Horse Show, making it one of the richest equestrian events in the world. For more information on The Royal Horse Show and The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, please visit www.royalfair.org.

$10,000 Good Crop Services Indoor Eventing Challenge

1. Waylon Roberts, Port Perry, ON, Slingshot, 126.82

2. Phillip Dutton ,United States, Risk Taker, 130.51

3. Michael Winter, Toronto, ON, Walk on the Moon, 137.29

4. Penny Rowland, Orangeville, ON, Roundabout, 153.23

5. Karen O’Connor, United States, Tigger Too, 167.58

6. Steven Bradley, United States, Carrig View, 168.00

7. Samantha Taylor, Richmond, BC, Lucinda, 181.97

8. Selena O’Hanlon, Elgin, ON, Peanuts, 188.40