Erynn Ballard Tops Four, Five and Six-Year-Old Divisions in Young Horse Series

Erynn Ballard celebrates her victories in the Four, Five and Six-Year-Old Divisions at the Halton Valley Summer Tournament on September 3 with presenter Megan Krueger

Erynn Ballard made a clean sweep of the 2005 Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series winning the Four, Five and Six-Year-Old Divisions when the most recent event was held September 3 during the Halton Valley Summer Tournament in Milton, ON.

For the third time in a row, Erynn Ballard and Windus rode away with the victory in the Six-Year-Old Division.  After winning at the last two outings at the Capital Classic Show Jumping Tournament and the Collingwood Horse Show, Ballard and Windus, a Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Holter Leasing, were the only entries to post double clear rounds and claim their third consecutive victory.  The win comes just one week before Ballard, 25, will make her debut in the International Ring at the famed Spruce Meadows “Masters” Tournament where she will compete as an individual for Canada.  There she will ride her grand prix mount, Robin Van Roosendael, who is a half-brother to Windus - both are by Skippy II.

Qualifying three of the five horses in the jump-off, Ballard of Hornby, ON, also placed third and fourth riding for W. Charlot Farms of Stratford, ON.  Rio’s Ricardo, a licensed Canadian Warmblood breeding stallion by Rio Grande, took third while the recently-imported Cabardino, a premium Holsteiner stallion by Carpaccio who also holds premium status in both the Oldenburg and Hessen studbooks, took fourth.

Squeezing between Ballard for second place in an exciting jump-off was Dutchman Sebastien Kapel.  Kapel had the best time, clocking in four seconds faster than Ballard, but one rail down cost him the victory riding Rico, an Oldenburg gelding by Rio Grande bred by owner Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON.  Simon McCarthy rounded out the top five with Robert Montgomery, also an Oldenburg gelding by Rio Grande bred by Mill Creek Stables and now owned by Lorna Guthrie.

It was déjà vu all over again in the Five-Year-Old Division when, also for the third time in a row, Ballard took top honours with her own Trocadero, a Dutch Warmblood gelding by Nassau out of a Quidam de Revel dam.  Ballard was second with last year’s Ontario Four-Year-Old Champion, Pour Patrice W.  Bred by W. Charlot Farms and purchased by Charles Ormston last year, Pour Patrice W is a Hannoverian gelding by Pour Gagne out of a Rio Grande dam.

Placing third was Simon McCarthy and Marimbera, an imported Holsteiner gelding by Candillo that is owned by The Livery International.  Fourth place went to Michelle Vandal who piloted her own Divine Diva, a Canadian Sport Horse mare by Vice Chancellor.  Rounding out the top five was 20-year-old Tonya Henning of Cambridge, ON, riding Sandhya, a Luxemburg mare by the Oldenburg stallion Silvio II, for owner Mill Creek Stables.

The Four-Year-Old Division proved to be a battle between W. Charlot Farms and Mill Creek Stables, two of the largest producers of sport horses in Canada.  It was also a battle of riders with Ballard and Kapel dominating the top five spots.  Ballard emerged the winner with Pour La Vie W, a Hannoverian stallion by Pour Gagne and out of a Rio Grande dam that was bred by W. Charlot Farms.  Vasco Da Gamma, an imported Hannoverian stallion by Voltaire out of a Raphael dam, placed third while Viva’s Lightning W, a Hannoverian gelding by Viva Voltaire out of a Sandro dam bred by W. Charlot Farms, placed fifth.

Mill Creek Stables took second and fourth place in the final results.  Roger Rabbit by Raphael and the mare, Valvoline by Voltaire, are both German-bred Hannoverians.

With only one event, the Fox Run Horse Show on September 11, remaining before the Ontario Championships on September 22 and 23, the race is heating up in the overall point standings, but no one has been able to dethrone Ballard, who holds both first and second place in all three of the age categories – the Six-Year-Old Division with Windus and Possibilities, the Five-Year-Old Division with Trocadero and Pour Patrice W, and the Four-Year-Old Division with Vasco Da Gama and Pour La Vie W.

The purpose of the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series is to encourage the development of young show jumping talent and to give Canadian breeders additional incentives to breed superior show jumping prospects.  Competing on a level playing field, the horses are divided according to age and jump at a level suited to their development as four, five and six-year-olds.  This careful development allows the horses to gain valuable experience and advance to the higher levels of show jumping competition with confidence.  The Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series also gives prospective buyers for the hunter and jumper markets an opportunity to view a large group of prospects in a competition setting.

The Ontario Hunter Jumper Association, together with its proud supporters - 4 Star Trailers, TD Waterhouse, Scotia McLeod, Peter Miller, Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association, W. Charlot Farms, Gary Cooper Chev Olds, Henry Equestrian Insurance Brokers Ltd., Dutch Masters Construction Services Ltd., Dr. Al Manning, Brubacher’s Harness Shop, KingRidge Stables, Mr. Charles Ormston, the Hannoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada, Mr. Michael Boyd, Mrs. Elaine Gray, and other friends present the 2005 Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series.
 

2005 Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series – Results from Milton, ON

Six-Year-Old Division

 Horse Owner Rider
1. Windus Holter Leasing Erynn Ballard
2. Rico* Mill Creek Stables Sebastien Kapel
3. Rio’s Ricardo* W. Charlot Farms Erynn Ballard
4. Cabardino W. Charlot Farms Erynn Ballard
5. Robert Montgomery* Lorna Guthrie Simon McCarthy

Five-Year-Old Division

 Horse Owner Rider
1. Trocadero Looking Back Farm Erynn Ballard
2. Pour Patrice W* Charles Ormston Erynn Ballard
3. Marimbera The Livery International Simon McCarthy
4. Divine Diva * Michelle Vandal Michelle Vandal
5. Sandhya Mill Creek Stables Tonya Henning

Four-Year-Old Division

 Horse Owner Rider
1. Pour La Vie W* W. Charlot Farms Erynn Ballard
2. Roger Rabbit Mill Creek Stables Sebastien Kapel
3. Vasco Da Gama W. Charlot Farms Erynn Ballard
4. Valvoline Mill Creek Stables Sebastien Kapel
5. Viva’s Lightning W* W. Charlot Farms Erynn Ballard

NOTE – The star * beside a horse’s name denotes that it is Canadian-bred.

For further information on the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series, please contact Dale Hawerchuk, Chair, at tel: (519) 938-8637.