On the Canadian Scene
by Jennifer Ward, Special Report provided by PhelpsSports.com
Palgrave, Ontario, CAN – May 24, 2006 - Back at the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave, ON, for the second straight week for the 'Caledon National' held May 17-21, competitors were ensured of consistency, especially where the weather was concerned. Grand Prix Sunday marked the tenth straight day of rain, made even worse by the unseasonable appearance of snow. But it takes more than a little snow to scare off the Canadians, and $50,000 in prize money did wonders to help warm their hearts - and fingers and toes.
A total of 24 horses lined up to tackle the test set by Brazil's Guilherme Jorge, who won rave reviews for his courses at last year's World Cup Final in Las Vegas. A triple combination mid-way through the course, an open water at 10, and a double combination to finish things up were just a few of the challenges riders encountered - along with the weather, of course. When it was all said and done, Chris Pratt found himself joined by two women in the jump-off, Erynn Ballard and Margie Gayford, both of whom had been jump-off contenders one week earlier. Ainsley Vince just missed the cut after incurring one time fault with Ashland Stables' cute grey, Prestine, to finish fourth while last week's winner, Yann Candele of France, took fifth with the fastest four-fault round riding Dutch for Windhaven.
"Guilherme built a technical and careful course, but it was not overly big," explained Chris. "I expected more to be clear, but I guess the weather took its toll. There were no scratches and the footing was safe, it was just uncomfortable for the horses and the riders. I think it was the worst weather in history of Palgrave - it was snowing sideways, it was raining, and it was cold!"
Getting to the task at hand, Margie was the first to challenge the shortened track, now consisting of eight jumping efforts. With Stuntman, the affable bay Hannoverian gelding owned by Shawn Littler and Wingberry Farms, Margie came home clear in a time of 45.98 seconds.
Chris set out, shaving two seconds off of Margie's time to overtake the lead. Erynn took her shot with Robin Van Roosendael and her time was looking good until a rail fell two from home.
"Margie put in a solid and efficient round, but we knew the time could be beat," said Chris. "Rivendell had jumped beautifully in the first round, but in the jump-off we had a little hiccup at one jump - we got a distance that was not quite ideal, but Rivendell is clever and was careful enough to not even touch it. Then Erynn had an even faster time then I did, but had four faults."
And so Chris added to his week's success, winning the $50,000 Caledon National Grand Prix with Rivendell just one day after claiming the $10,000 Modified Grand Prix with Bequia.
"Rivendell is a very focused horses, and is not easily distracted from the task at hand. Plus, he got experience jumping in this type of weather last year in Spruce Meadows," laughed Chris, whose Nations' Cup debut last September was pre-empted by unfavourable Calgary weather conditions.
Chris is now headed back to Spruce Meadows where he expects the results to tell a very different story.
"This win gives me confidence that Rivendell is going to be in great form at Spruce Meadows," noted the 37-year-old who is now in his fourth season partnered with the athletic chestnut Westphalian gelding. "I hope that our good result in Palgrave will help to solidify our place on the WEG team."
Following the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, Rivendell enjoyed a seven-week break, six of those scheduled as an abscessed tooth kept Rivendell out of the ring, and off Canada's Nations' Cup team, during the Wellington Finale. During the break from showing, Chris says, "We did a lot of interval training, a lot of fitness work at home. I think it is important to give their minds a break, especially a horse like Rivendell whose mind is always busy. We worked on the track at home and did a lot of hill work, as well as a lot of trail riding. I tried to avoid schooling or jumping in order to keep his mind fresh."
In addition to Rivendell, Chris will also take two other horses to Spruce Meadows. Mustique, a last-minute fill-in that delivered two clear rounds for Canada in its Wellington Nations' Cup victory, is a nine-year-old chestnut Dutch Warmblood mare by Indoctro while Bequia is a nine-year-old chestnut Dutch Warmblood mare by Polydox.
"All of the horses have been going well. Mustique was second in the $10,000 Open Welcome on Friday, she was double clear but Ian Millar won with a blistering fast time riding Promise Me," said Chris.
He is also very pleased with Bequia's development, especially considering she was purchased only one year ago in Holland and is just moving up to the grand prix ranks.
"She is a mare that is a little less experienced. There were six clear in Saturday's Modified Grand Prix, and it was super fast - one of those classes where the jump-off times just got faster and faster. But because of the experience we gave Bequia at the lower levels, she was able to carry that experience up with her to the Grand Prix ring."
Susan Grange of Lothlorien Farm, located in Cheltenham, ON, owns all of Chris's horses. A former grand prix competitor herself, Sue now concentrates on managing the training and breeding programs of the Lothlorien horses. Having an in-house breeding program will most certainly pay off in the future, and Lothlorien is already enjoying success early in the season in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series.
"We've got a great group of horses owned by Lothlorien and some fantastic horses on their way up the ranks," enthuses Chris. "I think we're in super shape as we head off to Calgary, and the horses will be performing at their best by the time June rolls around. Everything feels positive."
Canada will be looking forward to some positive results from Chris Pratt next month and beyond. After competing in the first two Spruce Meadows tournaments, the CSI5* "National" and the CSI4* and CSI-W "Continental", Chris will head back to eastern Canada for the 'Quebec circuit'. After that, he will hopefully be among the Canadian Team riders boarding a plane headed for Aachen . .
$50,000 Caledon National Grand Prix - Palgrave, ON
Rider Hometown Horse Faults Time
1. Chris Pratt Belfountain, ON Rivendell 0:0 43.81
2. Margie Gayford Stouffville, ON Stuntman 0:0 45.98
3. Erynn Ballard Hornby, ON Robin van Roosendael 0:4 43.21
4. Ainsley Vince Milton, ON Prestine 1
5. Yann Candele France Dutch 4
This special report is a preview provided by PhelpsSports.com. Look for the debut of this new equestrian news website during the World Equestrian Games in August. Visit http://www.PhelpsSports.com for more information.
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