Schuyler Riley Adds the Molson Cup to Her Spruce Meadows Victory List; Prepares to Defend Title in Chrysler Classic
Equestrian News Release
Wellington, Fl – July 5 –Schuyler Riley, of New Hope, PA, added to her impressive list of Spruce Meadows accomplishments this past week as she raced to a decisive victory in the $15,000 Molson Cup at the Canada One competition at the show grounds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The Molson Cup triumph was Riley’s fifth major career victory at Spruce Meadows, arguably one of the most competitive venues in the world. Since 2000, Riley has posted 63 top twelve finishes, including three seconds and eight thirds.
She defeated a exceptionally strong field for the Friday win. "I think we did it with a pretty fair margin of victory," Riley noted. "I was really pleased. Ilian is a naturally fast horse and he was right on cue the whole way around."
Finishing second and fifth was 2004 Athens Olympic Gold Medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil. Laura Kraut, currently ranked number one in the United States finished third and Great Britain’s red hot Michael Whitaker was fourth. Riley and her longtime partner, Ilian outdistanced Pessoa. Riley and Ilian crossed the finish line clean in a blazing time of 64.09 seconds. Pessoa, riding Cantate, was a distant second in 67.03 seconds.
"It was a fantastic week last week," Riley said. "My plan with Ilian was to do two classes as kind of a prep for the North American this week. I wanted to go medium the first day, and I did, and was sixth and my plan was to go all out the second day for the win, and I got that done too," she said with a smile. "So, it all went according to plan. For Ilian, what that said to me was that he was meant to be here and he’s still in top form."
Riley also notched top finishes with Nottingham and Cincinnati Kid. Riley said that Nottingham is one of her rising equine stars. "That was only his third 1.60m class and he jumped clear and I was absolutely thrilled. He’s been knocking on the door, but making some green mistakes," she said. "I think he’s catching on really fast and I think he shows all the signs of being a top international horse." And Riley feels Cincinnati Kid has turned the corner too. "Cincinnati Kid is starting to blossom a bit up here. Johan Heins came over during the Continental a few weeks ago to help me with him," said Riley. "The horse wants to be ridden slightly different from most horses that I’ve ridden before. We didn’t have to do much, just some fine tuning, and I think we’ve really moved the horse up a notch and he had a bunch of clean rounds this week."
Riley’s success at Spruce Meadows includes a number of fantastic finishes in the two featured events at this week’s show in Calgary. Saturday’s $175,000 Chrysler Classic and the $200,000 Queen Elizabeth Cup on Sunday highlight the North American, the final summer show, before the Masters returns to Spruce Meadows on September 7-11, 2005. Riley is Saturday’s defending champion, having won the Chrysler Classic last year with Opus Sept. She has finished eighth, third and fifth in previous years. She finished ninth and eleventh in the Queen Elizabeth Cup in her first two years on the Canadian tour. In 2003, she came oh so close to a victory, but fell just fractions shy of the target and took home the second place award.
Riley loves the challenge of the Chrysler Classic. "It’s a derby; natural obstacles and very long," she explained. "So you have to have a fit horse and a brave horse and at the same time, there’s enough elements to be careful with that you have to have a great show jumper that will respect the fences," she said. "I love it. The crowd really gets into it; usually it’s packed here on Saturday and Sunday and that makes it a class I really look forward to competing in," smiled Riley. She’s also looking forward to Sunday’s Queen Elizabeth Cup. "It’s physically demanding, because it’s a two round class with a jump-off. It’s a real championship level class and that’s what Ilian is best suited for," Riley admitted.
So, how does she explain her tremendous success at one of the world’s toughest and most competitive equestrian competitions? "It’s a combination of everything that they have here, I think. They have such an unbelievable environment. They have great courses, beautiful fences, and there’s a competitive air here that’s different than any other show in North America," acknowledged Riley. "And, the money is unbelievable."
Following the North American in Canada this week, Riley heads back to Europe for show jumping in The Netherlands.
$15,000 Molson Cup -1.50M Meadows on the Green Table A, Article 238.2.1. One Round
1. Ilian -Schuyler Riley (USA) – 0/64.09
2. Cantate - Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) – 0/67.03
3. Miss Independent -Laura Kraut (USA) – 0/67.47
4. El Caprichoio Atormen - Michael Whitaker (GBR) – 0/67.71
5. Loriot -Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA)- 0/67.92
6. Ostara -Aimee Aron (USA) – 0/68.12
Schuyler Riley’s top finishes at Spruce Meadows since 2000
2000
06/04/2000 1 $20,000 Inland Cup -Ilian
2001
07/01/2001 2 $10,000 West Canadian Cup -Opus Sept
07/08/2001 3 $40,000 Lafarge Cup -Ilian
2002
06/23/2002 3 $10,000 Cana Classic 1.45m- Ilian
07/07/2002 3 $170,000 Chrysler Classic 1.60m -Stormchaser
11/17/2002 3 $30,000 Jolera Inter. Hit & Hurry -Lazuli
2003
06/08/2003 1 $35,000 RBC Capital Markets -Carolus H
07/06/2003 2 $200,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup -Ilian
07/06/2003 2 $30,000 Lafarge Cup 1.60m- Ilian
06/08/2003 3 $150,000 Direct Energy Grand Prix -Ilian
06/29/2003 3 $60,000 CN Performance -Ilian
2004
11/14/2004 1 $30,000 Jolera Gambler's Choice -Ilian
07/11/2004 1 $175,000 Chrysler Classic 1.60m -Opus Sept
07/11/2004 2 $25,000 Zeidler Financial Cup 1.50m- Carolus H
07/11/2004 3 $30,000 Enerflex Cup 1.60m -Opus Sept
07/04/2004 3 $15,000 Molson 1.50m- Nottingham
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