Reed Kessler caught a bad case of “seconditis” during the Spruce Meadows summer series. She and her string of horses had collected eight second-place finishes in the previous weeks, so she was thrilled to break the habit with two big wins during the North American tournament in Calgary, Alberta.
First, Kessler rode a new horse, Wolf, to the top of the $50,000 Lafarge Cup (see results) and then followed that up with a big win in the $200,000 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup (see results) aboard her 2012 Olympic mount Cylana.
See Kessler talk about her win…
“She knows when she has won. Cylana is smarter than 90% of humans I have ever met,” Reed laughed.
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“This feels amazing,” Kessler said. “This is the biggest win of my career so far; it’s my first five-star win. We have knocked on the door a couple of times with some second places, but it feels great to nail one down.”
Canadian Jonahan Asselin scored the win in the $140,000 Cenovus Energy Derby on Showgirl with a round with just 1 time fault. (see full tournament results)
In New York, Kevin Babington guided Mark Q to the top of the $100,000 Woodlea Farms Grand Prix at the I Love New York horse show, the second week of the Lake Placid series. It was the first time the show had offered a $100,000 grand prix. Tori Colvin also continued her amazing winning rampage, claiming the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on Inclusive and the high junior jumper classic on Don Juan. Megan MacPherson rode to the top of the Kathy Scholl Equitation Classic. (see full results) Yann Candele came to Michigan from Canada to win the $30,000 Danny and Ron’s Rescue Grand Prix of Traverse City at Horse Shows By The Bay I. (see results)
Peter Wylde continued his string of good results upon returning to the United States by winning the $30,000 Vermont Summer Special Grand Prix aboard Lewin 5. Wylde didn’t arrive at the show until just before the class. “I spent the 4th of July with my dad on the beach in Massachusetts,” said Wylde. “There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to come back to the States and spending more time with family was a main one. I have a great support team in my stable. I was able to sneak away on vacation for four days and met my horses here last night. I’m always a little anxious when I go away, but I have a great team.” (see full Vermont Summer Special results)
Across the Atlantic, U.S. eventer Clark Montgomery took second in a CIC*** division at the Barbury Horse Trials (see results) Canadian Rebecca Howard on Riddle Master was third.
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Also in England, U.S. dressage rider Katherine Bateson Chandler got good results in the small tour at the Hartpury Festival of Dressage CDI aboard her new ride, Alcazar. They were second in the Prix St. Georges (72.15%) and fifth in the Intermediaire I (69.65%). Bateson Chandler is in England training with 2012 Olympic gold medalist Carl Hester for the summer.
Other dressage results included: Dressage at Alpine III and IV (Minn.) (see Saturday results; see Sunday results), Dressage at the Park (N.J.) (see results), and Silverwood Dressage (Wisc.) (see results).
Other horse show results included: Tryon Riding & Hunt Club Charity II (N.C.) (see results); Mid South Classic (Tenn.) (see results); HITS Showday National (Va.) (see results); Brandywine Summer Series II (Pa.) (see results).
Other eventing results included: Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy I (see results); Chattahoochee Hills Summer I (Ga.) (see results); Powder Basin Horse Trials (Wyo.) (see results); South Farm Horse Trials (Ohio) (see results); Huntington Farm Horse Trials (N.Y.) (see results).