Toronto’s Sean Jobin fulfilled a childhood dream at this year’s Royal to become the Henry Equestrian 2023 Canadian Show Jumping Champion. Jobin and Coquelicot VH Heuvelland Z (Catoki x Cassini II), the 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Foxridge Farms, jumped clear through three phases and in the end finished on top of the podium with just 1.19 time faults.
“It means a lot to me,” Jobin had reflected on his performance. “As a kid growing up I was coming to the Royal, seeing all these amazing riders here and dreaming one day I could be here – (it’s) a super cool feeling!”
As much as the win was a defining moment for Jobin, it was also another accomplishment to add to a highly successful year. According to the Jumpr App, at the time they won the championship, the pair were jumping clear in 100% of their 1.45m rounds and 59% at 1.50m.
They were on eight podiums prior to Royal that included three victories and had taken home over $280,000 in earnings, which was then topped off with a significant portion of the $150,000 prize he earned along with the national title. His current standing is 157th in the FEI Longines Rankings and sits as the eighth-highest ranked Canadian show jumper in the world.
Sean Jobin and Coquelicot VH Heuvelland Z
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi
Jobin and ‘Licot’, who have been partnered for three years, had set the goal and decided that this year was theirs to take on the Championship and together made it happen. “We’ve been prepping for this for the past three months,” he told EC. “We circled the Royal on the calendar, I said I really want him to be in peak performance for the Canadian Championship.”
The gelding has come into his own with Jobin as his rider. The pairing has a unique backstory having been discovered by Jobin’s groom, Eszter Horvath, on Instagram. With COVID travel restrictions in place at the time, Sarah Nichols and Kathy Dixon of Foxridge Farms in Ocala, FL, took a chance and purchased the gelding based just on photos and videos. That leap of faith has worked out well for everyone and was proven again in 2023.
To help them in their partnership, Jobin has been working with biomechanics expert Dr. Tim Worden and together they track their progress. “One of the big things you see with him over a long period of time is the consistency of how he jumps,” Jobin explained. “If you look back at the clear rounds and four faults he’s had for the last two years, he’s extremely consistent and the only times he tends to have more than one rail is when I make big mistakes” he said. There were no mistakes on either of them at the Royal.
Sean Jobin and Coquelicot VH Heuvelland Z
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi
Together, 2023 has been a great year for the duo and one that Jobin will always be able to celebrate as the year he joined the ranks with fellow previous Canadian Championship winners that include Ian Millar (who has won a record 12 times), Beth Underhill, Jay Hayes, Jill Henselwood, Yann Candele, Amy Millar, Nicole Walker, and Ali Ramsay.
Whether the year was a growth year for you, a learning or a pinnacle one, we celebrate them all together with you and look forward to another great year in 2024!