Saturday
Nicole Walker of Aurora, ON, ensured the Canadian anthem rang out over Wesley Clover Parks by winning the $70,000 1.50m Winning Round CSI5*, presented by Brookstreet, on Saturday, August 16, during the Ottawa International at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, ON.
Saturday’s five-star competition was held in a winning round format with the top 10 riders in the standings following the opening round, regardless of faults, returning for an all-deciding second round. Starting from a clean slate, Walker and Darragh Kenny of Ireland were the only two riders to jump clear in the second round and both incurred time faults for exceeding the time allowed of 45 seconds set by Brazilian course designer Marina Azevedo. Walker proved to be the fastest, stopping the timers in 45.48 seconds compared to Kenny’s time of 47.57 to take the win.
Canada’s Nicole Walker riding Atout des Trambles won the $70,000 Winning Round CSI5*, presented by Brookstreet, on Saturday, August 16, at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, ON. (Ben Radvanyi Photography)
Kenny settled for second with Diaroubet, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Diarado x Baloubet du Rouet) that he has been paired with since May. Alessandra Volpi of the United States had the fastest time by a large margin, 41.53 seconds, but a rail down with Glamour, her 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Numero Uno x Iroko), placed her third in the final standings.
“He’s pretty careful and always very quick, so I try not to interfere with him and keep it as smooth as possible and he covers the ground nicely,” said Walker of her winning mount, Atout des Trambles, a 15-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Nectar des Forets x Apache d’Adriers). “I didn’t think that I would have a time fault, so I thought I was out of the contention after that, but the winning round format worked in my favour today. My horse jumped amazing. He always gives it his all when he’s in the ring. I’m so proud of him.”
Better known as “Tito” around the barn, Atout des Trambles came as part of a package deal when Walker purchased him. His therapy companion, Mimosa, is a miniature pony who is always at his side except when he is being ridden.
“‘Tito’ has been my partner of five years now and he is a 1.50m specialist,” continued Walker, who came to Ottawa directly from competing at CSIO5* Dublin as a member of the Canadian Show Jumping Team with two other horses. “He’s naturally so quick and he’s always been very good on the grass. We’ve always had great luck at Ottawa with him so I wanted to leave him nice and fresh for this event. It was just so much fun out there and he always jumps very well on this field.”
Canada’s Sean Jobin produced the only clear round to win the $6,800 1.45m Speed CSI2*, Presented by CIBC Wood Gundy, riding Engaye d’Amaury. (Ben Radvanyi Photography)
Canadian victories proved to be the theme of the day with the US $6,800 1.45m Speed CSI2*, presented by CIBC Wood Gundy. While he didn’t have the fastest round of the day, Sean Jobin of Canada was the only athlete to leave all the rails in place to take the win riding Engaye d’Amaury. After purchasing the horse as a seven-year-old in France, it underwent colic surgery and took several years to return to the top level. The win at Wesley Clover Parks was especially meaningful as it marked the first two-star victory for the horse owned by Antrim Equestrian. Another Canadian competitor, Wesley Newlands of Toronto, ON, had the fastest four-fault round to place second with Django du Lys, owned by Weslands Farm. Laurel Walker of the United States rounded out the top three with HTS Kobra Kan, owned by Oakland Training and Sales.
$70,000 1.50m Winning Round CSI5*, Presented by Brookstreet
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Rider / Country / Horse / Faults / Time
1. Nicole Walker / Canada / Atout des Trambles / 4:1 / 45.48
2. Darragh Kenny / Ireland / Diaroubet / 0:3 / 47.57
3. Alessandra Volpi / United States / Glamour / 4:4 / 41.53
4. Daniel Bluman / Israel / Kapitaal L / 4:4 / 44.05
5. Savannah Jade Jenkins / United States / Bresil de Carnaval Santa Rosa / 4:4 / 46.82
$6,800 1.45m Speed CSI2*, Presented by CIBC Wood Gundy
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Rider / Country / Horse / Faults / Time
1. Sean Jobin / Canada / Engaye d’Amaury / 0 / 67.96
2. Wesley Newlands / Canada / Django du Lys / 4 / 67.46
3. Laurel Walker / United States / HTS Kobra Kan / 4 / 68.68
4. Sophia Nihon Millar / Canada / Marty McFly / 4 / 68.95
5. Livia Martin / Canada / Vico G / 4 / 79.21
Sunday
It was Adrienne Sternlicht’s day at the RBC Ottawa International show jumping tournament at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, ON. Having won the US $35,000 Grand Prix CSI2*, presented by Mark Motors Group, in the morning, Sternlicht returned to the grass field to claim victory in the grand finale, the US $340,000 Grand Prix CSI5*, presented by RBC.
Equestrian is the only Olympic sport where male and female athletes compete against each other, and the women certainly proved they could hold their own in the RBC Grand Prix. A total of 24 riders took on the challenging five-star track set by Brazilian course designer Marina Azevedo. Sternlicht, Great Britain’s Jessica Mendoza and Elena Haas of the United States were the only three riders who posted clear rounds to advance to the jump-off.
Mendoza was the first to return for the shortened jump-off track, setting the early standard with four faults in a time of 38.08 riding Summerhouse, her 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Induparts Guidam Sohn x VDL Indoctro). Haas was next to challenge with Claude, her 13-year-old Westphalian gelding (Captain Jack 44 x Cefalo). When she also dropped a rail in a slower time of 39.02 seconds, the door was wide open for Sternlicht as the final challenger. Knowing exactly what she needed to do to win, Sternlicht left all the jumps in place and claimed victory riding Origa vh Zuid-Pajottenland, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Starlight Farms 1 LLC.
A member of the U.S. gold medal team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, it had been just under a year since Sternlicht last competed in a five-star grand prix. The 32-year-old proved she was more than up to the task by winning the RBC Grand Prix.
“The track was incredibly difficult and knowing how many top riders there were, you just had to really take it jump by jump,” said Sternlicht who was competing against four of the top 10 riders in the world rankings including her own trainer, McLain Ward. “It is definitely an emotional win for me. It’s a horse that I’ve always really, really believed in. He has the ability to jump the biggest classes in the world and to feel like I did right by him today is super gratifying.”
Of having accomplished the incredible feat of winning both the two-star and the five-star grands prix on the same day, Sternlicht noted, “It definitely took a bit of pressure off knowing I was already really content with my day and excited about my partnership with a new horse.”
In only their second FEI-sanctioned competition together, Sternlicht piloted Corablue Z to victory in the US $35,000 1.45m Grand Prix CSI2*, presented by Mark Motors Group. As the final challenger in a six-horse jump-off, Sternlicht left all the rails in place and crossed the timers in 41.80 seconds to take the win over Ireland’s Daniel Coyle who had held the lead with a time 42.85 seconds riding Calippo 57 for owner Ariel Grange. Delaney Flynn of United States was also double clear in 45.04 seconds to place third riding Namamia for Windsor Show Stables.
The RBC Ottawa International show jumping tournament attracted some of the biggest names in the sport to the Nation’s Capital, including four of the top 10 riders in the world rankings. All CSI5* and CSI2* competitions are now available on demand on Clip My Horse. New subscribers can use special code OTTAWA20 for 20% off until August 18.
For more information on the RBC Ottawa Equestrian Tournaments, visit www.OttawaEquestrianTournaments.com.
US $340,000 1.60m Grand Prix CSI5*, presented by RBC
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Rider / Country / Horse / Faults / Time
1. Adrienne Sternlicht / United States / Origa v/h Zuid -Pajottenland / 0:0 / 40.31
2. Jessica Mendoza / Great Britain / Summerhouse / 0:4 / 38.08
3. Elena Haas / United States / Claude / 0:4 / 39.02
4. Brian Moggre / United States / MTM Vivre de Reve / 4
5. Mario Deslauriers / Canada / Genial de B’Neville / 4
US $35,000 1.45m Grand Prix CSI2*, presented by Mark Motors Group
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Rider / Country / Horse / Faults / Time
1. Adrienne Sternlicht / United States / Corablue Z / 0:0 / 41.80
2. Daniel Coyle / Ireland / Calippo 57 / 0:0 / 42.85
3. Delaney Flynn / United States / Namamia / 0:0 / 45.04
4. Conor Swail / Ireland / Qoreen van’t Ruytershof Z / 0:0 / 45.53
5. Mary Francis Looke / United States / Engerupgaards Cezanne / 0:0 / 47.75
Full results here.
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