British Columbia’s Lily Elliot was crowned the JC Medal National Champion on Tuesday afternoon, November 8, 2022 in the Canadian Championship presented by The Usherwood Family. Elliot, 17, was flawless in three phases in a field of 16 combinations.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
The group of riders qualified from across the country in each of the British Columbia, Prairie, Ontario and Atlantic regions. Any regions that did not have enough qualified entries, the next qualified rider from the National Rankings was accepted. To be eligible for the National Final, riders had to have competed in a Regional Final.
Elliot and her partner Carvill VA (Casall x Carolus I), a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Yvonne Van Duin finished in second place during the first jumping phase with a score of 83 and secured a spot as part of the top eight invited back to the flat phase. During the flat, Elliot was able to show off her excellent equitation skills and finished top of the standings, to move on with three other combinations to the final test.
In the final, the Richmond, BC native and her fellow competitors were asked to canter 3 fences, halt, take three steps backwards, trot a final fence, perform two simple changes in front of the judges, and sit trot back to the line. The pair successfully completed the test and earned themselves the first-place ribbon, were presented the trophy by members of the Usherwood family, and received the JC Medal jacket courtesy of the Equestrian Canada Jumping Committee.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
Rounding out the top four positions were Esme Chapman (Mono, ON) and Melbourne Z owned by M.L. Equestrian Inc, Catherine Brown (Ottawa, ON) and her own Cohiba, and finishing in fourth place was Avery May Pritchard (Collingwood, ON), and her Nykaenen.
For more information on the JC Medal National Championship, presented by The Usherwood Family, please click here.