Ryan Torkkeli
Halfway across the world in Deauville, FRA, Ryan Torkkeli, a Canadian resident of Königsdorf, GER, and his mount Sternenwanderer (Lord Loxley I x Ragazzo) made Canada proud by bringing home the win from the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special on July 18. Dieter Laugks’s 15-year-old Rheinländer gelding impressed the judges and earned the Canadian pair a score of 69.000%.
Vanessa Creech-Terauds
Photo Credit: Meg McGuire Photography
At the Angelstone Tournaments CDI in Rockwood, ON, Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON, won both the CDI-U25 Intermediate II on July 16 and the CDI-U25 Grand Prix on July 17 with her partner, Fleur De Lis L (First Dance x De Niro). In the Intermediate II class, the Canadian duo scored 71.127% before finishing the Grand Prix on 67.949%. Ranked 26th in the FEI World Youth Dressage – U25 Ranking, Vanessa and the 12-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Diane Creech and Louise Leatherdale are no strangers to the winner’s circle.
Anne Sutherland
That same weekend at the Angelstone Tournaments CDI, Anne Sutherland of Georgetown, ON, and her very own Funtastico 2 (Fidertanz 2 x De Niro 6) won the CDI-Am Prix St. Georges on July 16 with a score of 57.500%. The next day, Anne and the 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding danced into first place in the CDI-Am Intermediate I with a score of 62.451%.
Jaimey Irwin
Also at the Angelstone Tournaments CDI, Jaimey Irwin of Stouffville, ON, and Kimberly Wynd’s Simsalabim (Sir Donnerhall I Old x Akzent II) swept the CDI 1* division. The nine-year-old Oldenburg mare and her rider impressed the judges in July 16’s Prix St. Georges, receiving 74.216% before scoring 71.030% in July 17’s Intermediate I. The duo saved the best for last and gave their best performance for the judges of the Intermediate I Freestyle on July 18 to earn 76.892%.
Emily King
On July 16, Emily King of Sidney, BC, rode Cornancer (Cornet Obolensky x Lancer III) to victory in the $2,000 Callidae Small Tour 1.15m CSI 2* at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival II in Traverse City, MI. The 15-year-old Westphalian mare owned by Emily did not put a foot wrong and kept every pole up while finishing the course in 69.12 seconds.
Team Eye Candy
A seasoned team of one Irish and two Canadian athletes traveled to the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival II to compete at the $200,000 Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) CSI 5* Team Competition as team Eye Candy. On July 24, Jacqueline Steffens of Harriston, ON, and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that she co-owns with Team Eye Candy, Freaky (Darco x Litho X); Amy Millar of Perth, ON, and Future Adventures’ 11-year-old Dutch Sport Horse gelding, Christiano (Canoso x Compliment); and Irish athlete Paul O’Shea and the 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Squirt Gun (Diarado x Quick Silver), whom he co-owns with Eye Candy Jumpers, took over the top three spots. Jacqueline and Freaky cleared the jump-off in 52.12 seconds, with Amy and Christiano finishing right behind in 52.73 seconds. Paul and Squirt Gun came in at 47.70 seconds, keeping team Eye Candy at the top of the MLSJ leaderboard with 18 points.
Erynn Ballard
At the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival III, Erynn Ballard of Tottenham, ON, and Ilan Ferder’s Classic Penny took the victory in the MLSJ $36,600 1.45m Speed Stake CSI 5* class on July 24. The nine-year-old Norwegian Warmblood mare carried Erynn through a tough course to beat 16 other horse and rider combinations, riding faultless in 56.04 seconds.
Nikolaus Leckebusch-Peters
On July 31, Nikolaus Leckebusch-Peters of Georgetown, ON, traveled with Halton Place’s C’est La Vie 145 (Check In 2 x Calato) to Donaueschingen-Immenhöfe, GER, to win the Fest der Pferde CSI-U25 class. The 13-year-old Oldenburg mare and her rider tackled the course with precision to finish in 58.41 seconds and beat out Germany’s Niels Carstensen and his mount Galaxie Du Moulin, who finished in 59.21 seconds.