Erynn Ballard Comes Full Circle at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show with International Show Jumping Victory
Canadian Olympian Erynn Ballard of Tottenham, ON, opened international show jumping competition at the Royal Horse Show in winning fashion by riding Let’s Fly to victory in the $45,000 International Strength & Speed Welcome on Wednesday, November 12, at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.
The first competition of the CSI5*-W division, which denotes the highest level of show jumping sport also offering a FEI World Cup™ qualifying grand prix, saw riders competing over a one-round “power and speed” track set by course designer Olaf Petersen, Jr. of Germany. Riders navigated eight fences and, if they left all of them in place, immediately advanced to the speed portion of the course.
Living up to his name, Let’s Fly navigated the course with unmatched footspeed while carrying Ballard to a winning time of 26.85 seconds.
“What a horse to be able to go in and win in his first pass at The Royal,” smiled Ballard as she described the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Fly x Phin Phin) owned by Roaring Fork Farms.
Let’s Fly was developed by Ballard and Ilan Ferder and is destined to be the mount of owner Djuna Lauder, who has five-star aspirations of her own but is currently focused on her studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
From a competitive field featuring eight nations, Ireland’s Conor Swail was less than a second off the winning pace riding Casturano, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Conall Murray. The pair stopped the speed phase timers at 27.49 seconds to finish runner-up. Daniel Bluman of Israel rounded out the podium aboard Rebelline de Kwakenbeek, his eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, in 27.95 seconds.
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The Royal Horse Show • The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
