Photo Credit: Mackenzie Clark Photo
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Clark Photo
Equestrian Canada staff were on hand throughout the 10 days in the interactive booth meeting with the community, selling toques and merchandise, and playing #RideforLife cornhole. A giveaway from Henry Insurance, EC’s preferred insurance partners, was open to fair attendees. The John Deere ride on Ztrak mower that is part of our giveaway contest for Sport Licence Holders, was parked in the booth for the duration of the show and garnered lots of attention. Click here to enter to win! Contest closes December 31, 2022.
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi
The 10-day event saw over 300,000 people come celebrate the best food experiences, livestock and top international athletes and horses competing. With thousands of apple dumplings served, over 1,000 competitors taking to the ring and $1,000,000 in prize money given out over the last 10 days, we’re now all looking forward to another 100 years!
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi
The final night of The Royal Horse Show on Nov. 12, provided some exciting show jumping action in front of a sold-out crowd in the Coca-Cola Coliseum, which witnessed Ireland’s Daniel Coyle win the $250,000 Longines Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Jumping World Cup Toronto. Canada’s own Tiffany Foster finished in third place and the top Canadian, in a field of 21 athlete and horse combinations.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Clark
In a course designed by Canadian Olympian Michel Vaillancourt, the athlete and horse combinations faced a challenging course, as many rails fell throughout the marquee event. Competing on home soil, Foster was the first to register a clear round, while riding Northern Light (Plot Blue x Contender), an 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare owned by Artisan Farms LLC. The two-time Olympian would be joined by Coyle aboard Legacy and Israel’s Daniel Bluman and Gemma W to a three-horse jump-off.
The 38-year-old Foster was the first to attempt the jump-off, picking up eight faults and an additional time fault. Coyle would best Foster’s time and finish with zero faults. Bluman attempted to de-throne Coyle from first place, but Coyle held up to take home the prize and the ‘Hickstead Trophy’.
Coyle’s partner in the class, Legacy (Chippendale Z x Bon Ami), the 12-year-old Zangersheide bay mare owned by Ariel Grange, is one of the leading equine talents from Lothlorien Farm in Caledon, ON. The hometown mare was also named Leading Canadian-Owned Horse to round out the awards of the evening.
The Langley native Foster was named the Leading Canadian Rider of 2022 with her current placing on the Jumping – Longines Rankings. She was also happy with her young mare, Northern Light and reaching the podium in the Grand Prix event. “It means a lot to me because we had some strong Canadians here this week on their best horses,” Foster mentioned. “And it’s a big accomplishment to land on top, because it’s a such good group.”
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
Foster, who made her debut in 2001 at The Royal when she won both the CET and the JC Medal, reflected back to that and on how pivotal it is to compete here. “I think the medal and the equitation is so important, it’s your first taste of a little bit of pressure, I think if you can rise up at the moment, it helps to carry on throughout your career.”
She continued to reflect on the centennial and the history of the event. “There’s also all of this tradition here and that raises you up, because you want to be as good as those that came before you,” Foster said. “To be the leading Canadian and have my name on all those trophies means a lot. That means that I’m part of the history books of the Royal!”
She went on to talk about what many have expressed about the Canadian institution. “The Royal is just magical,” she continued. “It has magic. And the fact that there’s all of this tradition here, I think it raises you up.”
On Nov. 11, Foster exchanged her breeches for a ball gown and was able to live out another kind of magic with what she called her ‘princess carriage ride dream’, when she joined John P. White’s winning coach in the Pemberton Green Meadows Four in Hand Appointments Class along with equestrian photographer MacKenzie Clark.
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi
For full results of the Royal Horse Show, please click here, for information on the Royal Agricultural Fair, please click here.