Sam Walker of Nobleton, ON, is no stranger to competing under pressure, but had never done so wearing the signature red jacket of the Canadian Show Jumping Team – that is, at least, until the 17-year-old’s recent senior team debut in the $290,000 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of the United States of America at the CSIO 5* Palm Beach Masters in Wellington, FL.

On Feb. 16, 2020, Sam tackled his first Nations Cup aboard a brand-new partner, Castlefield Sport Horses Inc.’s 11-year-old black Luxembourg gelding, Kel’star du Vingt Ponts (Kannan x Landor S). The fledging combination limited their faults to just four per round to help Team Canada place fourth in a spectacular come-from-behind finish.

Sam Walker Looks Back on Canadian Show Jumping Team Debut

Sam Walker of Nobleton, ON, and Kel’star du Vingt Ponts made their first Canadian Show Jumping Team appearance in the $290,000 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of the United States of America on Feb. 16, 2020, at the CSIO 5* Palm Beach Masters in Wellington, FL.
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Clark

Read on to hear about the experience in Sam’s own words!


In November 2019, we went over to Belgium to try some horses. Our agent, Juan Carlos Perez Resendi, helped find Kel’star for us. He used to be ridden by Jérôme Guery of Belgium. Juan Carlos and Jérôme thought he’d be a good fit for me, so I tried him and fell in love. I’m very grateful to Castlefield Sport Horses, who bought him for me, which leads us to now.

Kel’star and I instantly got along and started jumping big jumps together. I only jumped my first class on him in the beginning of January 2020 and we had some good results in the first few weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. It was an instant click and I’m grateful that [Canadian Show Jumping Team Chef d’Équipe] Mark Laskin and Equestrian Canada chose us to ride on the Nations Cup team. Even though I haven’t had Kel’star that long, it feels like we’ve been together for years, we get along so well together. He is a sweet horse in the barn and so nice to work with. If horses could smile, I think that horse would be smiling all the time. He always tries his hardest, is really rideable and has very good blood. All of those qualities combined equal my kind of horse. I get along with a horse who takes me to the jumps and gives a very big effort. I’m blown away that I get to ride a horse with such quality. He’s so much fun.

I did know all of my teammates – Erynn Ballard, Tiffany Foster and Eric Lamaze – before I did the Nations Cup with them. They’re all extremely nice people and I look up to them immensely. They’re hard workers, extremely talented and accomplished riders; their accolades are miles and miles long, so it’s really cool that I could be confident and comfortable in my team going in. I don’t think I could have come up with a better crew to share my first Nations Cup with, it was a pleasure to be on the team with them. Sure, there was a little bit of pressure that I put on myself, but they made sure it was a pressure-free environment so I could have a good first time jumping a Nations Cup. It was really nice to have teammates of that calibre.

Sam Walker Looks Back on Canadian Show Jumping Team Debut

You couldn’t ask for better teammates for your first Nations Cup!
L to R: Tiffany Foster, Sam, Eric Lamaze, Erynn Ballard
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Clark

Before the first round I definitely had some nerves. I wasn’t so much nervous if my horse or I could do it, I just wanted to have a good experience and for it to go well. All of my teammates, my trainer Missy Clark at North Run and my dad at Forest Hill Farm told me to go in and ride it like any other class – don’t get caught up in the name of the class or colour of the jacket, just worry about putting a good score up on the board. That really helped me do what I needed to do, keep my head on my shoulders and secure good scores.

I focused on keeping consistent pace all the way around the ring. I knew that the time was tight, as it usually is in Nations Cup format, and usually when I have the right pace on a little bit of a gallop, my horse jumps better. I tried to have enough energy and the right pace at the first jump to set the tone for the course and I tried to keep it up right away.

After the first round was over, all of my nerves went away. I knew that my horse could do it and I had a great team behind me. I was like, ‘Now I got this, I can stop stressing out.’

Kel’star was amazing and tried his heart out. That was our first 1.60m class together, and his first Nations Cup, as well. He has jumped other 1.60m classes before, but not in the Nations Cup format, and he absolutely excelled. He had a very consistent energy and didn’t lose any power or carefulness in the second round; I actually thought his rideability improved. Usually horses tire or get a little more careful in the second round, but he came back even better. That was a really great feeling and gave me extra confidence. He handled it better than I could ask or hope for.

Sam Walker Looks Back on Canadian Show Jumping Team Debut

Kel’star du Vingt Ponts has proven to be a dream partner for Sam in their first few months together.
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Clark

I think that I’ll take forward that no matter what, you’re never out of it. If we work together as a team, we can come back from whatever happens. We came into the second round in eighth place, which was last. We pulled ourselves together as a team and came back to put great scores on the board and end up fourth.

Another lesson that I’ll take forward from this Nations Cup is that it’s just another class and I can’t get too worked up and overthink it. I’m just super, super happy I got to this spot and need to remind myself that I got a chance to wear the red coat in the ring, so I should just do the best that I can do.

I want to say thank you to Forest Hill Farm, Cabana Coast Sport Horses, North Run and MarBill Hill Farm (the owners of my other horse, Coralissa, who also competed in that show and had good results).

I feel a lot of pride to have the Canadian flag on my jacket, whether its for a Junior, Young Rider, youth or senior Canadian team. I have been just so proud to represent my country in every team event that I’ve done. I think the biggest thing is representing your country well. I definitely felt I represented it well at all the North American Youth Championships I’ve been to and now my first Nations Cup. The jumps are a little bit bigger and the people on your team are different, but the vibes are the same in a good way – all the supporters that come to watch are proud to be Canadian, I’m proud to be Canadian and our owners are proud to be Canadian. It’s an indescribable feeling, and it makes you feel confident and proud to ride for your country.