Kendal Lehari Sweeps Mad Barn Indoor Eventing Challenge at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show
Canada’s own Kendal Lehari of Uxbridge, ON, rode to a thrilling win in the $20,000 Mad Barn Indoor Eventing Challenge on Saturday evening, November 2, at the Royal Horse Show, held as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON.
After leading off with a win in Friday’s opening round of the fan-favourite event at The Royal, Lehari was last to return for Saturday’s final. She rode Audacious, owned by her mother and former Canadian eventer, Gwen Lehari, to another clear round to secure her first-ever title in the Mad Barn Indoor Eventing Challenge with a total time of 178.93 seconds.
“It’s such a rush having that many people in there cheering you on, as well as my family and supporters,” said Lehari, 37. “Everyone’s got your back and wants to see you do well.
“I think this is a really good showcase for our sport,” she continued. “Not a lot of people know much about eventing, so to be able to do it inside [in this environment] is so much fun.”
The Mad Barn Indoor Eventing Challenge returned to the Royal Horse Show this year to deliver the adrenaline-pumping thrills of cross-country to an indoor setting. Featuring a combination of show jumping and cross-country obstacles, the course designed by world-renowned Captain Mark Phillips of Great Britain challenged horses and riders to be both daring and accurate to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd in the Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Lehari has known her winning mount, Audacious, since the Canadian Sport Horse gelding by Ironman was three years old. Now 11, Audacious is living up to his name in every way. “If you Google the word audacious, that is him to a T. He jumps out of the paddocks, he loves beer and Krispy Kreme donuts, and he’s a character,” joked Lehari with adoration of Audacious. “Everything is a bit too easy for him, so something like this is fun because it keeps him focused. He likes performing for a crowd, so he has been eating it all up [here at The Royal].”
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The Royal Horse Show • The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
