Ward Wins $50,000 Weston Canadian Open Grand Prix

McLain Ward won the $50,000 Weston Canadian Open Grand Prix held Friday, November 12, at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON.

The jumps were high and speed was the name of the game as the rider who could negotiate the course set by Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela in the fastest time was declared the winner. Only the third rider into the Ricoh Coliseum, Phillipe Rozier of France posted a clear round in a time of 52.28 seconds aboard the selle francais mare, Heritiere d’Adrier. The riders who followed chased his time with several coming close, but it took the second to last rider on course, McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, to get the job done. Riding Goldika, Ward was technical and efficient to stop the timers at 50.80 seconds and claim $16,000 in prize money.

Less than one second separated the next four riders. With Rozier finishing second, Michael Whitaker of Great Britain placed third riding the Dutch Warmblood mare, Portofino, clocking in at 52.56 seconds. Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, gave it her best shot, finishing a close fourth with a time of 52.67 seconds riding Animagus. Fellow American Kimberley Frey of Hume, Virginia, rounded out the top five riding Marlou while Ian Millar of Perth, ON, was the top Canadian, finishing sixth with Sue Grange’s In Style. Jonathon Millar finished right behind dad in seventh position riding Master Man for owner Kelly Soleau.

Saturday is an exciting day at the Royal Horse Show. The afternoon features the crowd-favourite $20,000 HBC Rewards Canine Equine Challenge, pairing together horses and dogs to negotiate their own course of obstacles. Saturday evening marks the official “Closing Night” of the Royal Horse Show with the $60,000 ‘Ricoh’ Big Ben International Challenge. The Royal Horse Show concludes on Sunday.

Tickets for all Royal Horse Show performances can be purchased through Ticketmaster at tel: 416 872-7777 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information on the Royal Horse Show, including complete schedules and results, please visit www.royalfair.org or call tel: 416 263-3400. Live results from the show jumping competition can also be found at www.equiman.com.

$50,000 Weston Canadian Open Grand Prix – Final Results

Rider Hometown Horse Faults Time
1. McLain Ward Brewster, NY Goldika 0 50.80
2. Phillipe Rozier France Heritiere D’Adrier 0 52.28
3. Michael Whitaker Great Britain Portofino 0 52.56
4. Margie Engle Wellington, FL Animagus 0 52.67
5. Kimberly Frey Hume, VA Marlou 0 52.93
6. Ian Millar Perth, ON In Style 0 55.37
7. Jonathon Millar Perth, ON Master Man 0 56.69