Leslie Howard and Youp might have had a rocky start to their week at the Spruce Meadows North American, July 5-9 in Calgary, Atla., but by the last class, they finally found their stride, winning the $154,610 Chrysler Classic Derby.

“I gave him a break after Florida to freshen up,” said Howard. “But maybe he was a little too fresh here earlier in the week. I was planning to use a local show to warm up for Spruce, but it rained so badly I never showed him there.”

After 16 years, the derby is still one of the most challenging events in show jumping. Spruce Meadows is legendary for its Derby Bank and Devil’s Dyke, which in past years have caused many a thrill and spill.

This year the field of 15 was largely competent at these two elements, but Canadian Jill Henselwood nearly became the only casualty of the day when Special Ed got confused at the bottom of the bank and ran out at the vertical at the bottom. Henselwood was momentarily airborne before she grabbed his neck and pulled herself back into the saddle.

Richard Spooner and Cristallo, fourth on course, looked set to have the first clear round, when Cristallo stopped in surprise at the top of the bank. A small step back before he was urged over the side resulted in an unfortunate 4 faults for an otherwise flawless round. Alberto Michan’s stallion Iva Tu-Du Rouet entertained the crowd by bucking after every big effort. He made a masterful descent of the bank, but the stallion started to lose his focus at the end of the course, taking down the last two fences. Twelfth to go, Howard and Youp finally found their groove after a frustrating week of mediocre performances. Youp is a bit unorthodox, but he was very strong at the Derby Bank and Devil’s Dyke. All in all, he got the job done for Howard and posted the first clear round.

The second and final clear round followed immediately, coming from Mexican San-tiago Lambre and Curant. He had a lucky rub at the Chrysler vertical, a fence that had come down with much less force than Curant inflicted, but it bounced straight back into the cups.

The jump off between Howard and Lambre would turn into a Chrysler jump crisis, and Lambre wouldn’t be so lucky the second time. Howard was clearly going for it from the moment she roared through the start. Although Youp arrived to a good spot at the Chrysler jump, he caught the top rail with a hind leg, giving them 4 faults.

As he started his round, Lambre was taking advantage of the opportunity to win the class on a careful clear round. But when he took down the Chrysler jump too, his plan was scuttled. A late effort to make up time resulted in a very wonky approach to the last line and another 4 faults, which put Howard on top.

“I thought my first round was flawless,” she said. “I knew we were going to have a nice day just from the way he warmed up. He is just so good with liverpools and the dyke.”

Authentic’s Regal Repeat
The derby was also notable for the absence of perennial Spruce Meadows winner Beezie Madden. While she and Authentic recorded a remarkable defense of their title in the $176,698 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup the day before, Madden decided to sit out the derby.

For Madden, this year’s North American became a battle against tendonitis, rather than the other competitors. A lingering tendon problem on the inside of her left thigh forced her to back off more and more as the week progressed.

“It’s like tennis elbow; it flares up sometime. It’s flaring up now. I’ve cut back on riding the young horses at this show,” she said.

But she looked on her game in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, turning in the only double-clear performance over the two rounds jumped over different courses designed by Germany’s Werner Deeg.

Madden was joined by two Mexican riders as the three clear rounds in Round 1–Jaime Guerra on RMW Power Point and Michan on Lavita.

An uncharacteristic time penalty put Spooner and Hilton Flight just behind the front runners, along with a third Mexican, Marcela Lobo on Joskin. A small army of four-faulters nipped at their heels to complete the 12-horse field for the second round.

The bogey fence in Round 1 had been the plank vertical painted red and white with the Canadian flag. But in Round 2, the talk was all about the narrow coin fence that was built into a triple bar close to the grand stands. The first three riders in the second round all became casualties of the coin jump: Federico Fernandez, Norman Dello Joio and Jill Henselwood.

Great Britain’s Mark Armstrong and Thesaura had the first clear second round, but he was followed by three more in rapid succession; Joie Gatlin on Suncal’s King, Will Simpson on El Campeon’s Tosca, and Fellers on McGuinness. Both Spooner and Lobo added rails to their single faults, sending them down the leader board.

Coming into the second round with a shot at the win, Michan seemed to ride a bit too carefully; the coin jump came down yet again. Speed was not his strength in either round, so he too slipped well down the field. Guerra’s ride never really developed a rhythm, and after a stop at fence 4, he pulled down two more rails for a truly disappointing result.

The way was now clear for Madden, nursing her painful tendonitis, to avoid a jump-off by riding the day’s only double-clear round. She and Authentic showed why they received one of two byes for the World Equestrian Games team by doing just that, and by making it look effortless.

With a repeat victory in the biggest class at the North American and $58,310 in her pocket, Madden decided to bow out of the next day’s derby and concentrate on preparations for Aachen. “I really hope we can get another team medal. I’d love to get an individual medal, either at WEG or the Olympics. The trick now is to get Authentic to peak at the right time,” she said.

Canadians Fly The Flag
The Stars and Stripes became the most-heard tune of the show this year, with wins on the first four days from Americans Madden, Fellers, Spooner, and Kyle King. But the Canadians weren’t to be outdone. Henselwood rode Special Ed to an easy win in a two-horse jump-off in the $44,174 Direct Energy Cup.

But then Mario Deslauriers gave the Canadian fans something to really cheer about in the $66,262 Sun Life Financial Reach for the Sun. Pamela Carruthers set a straightforward course that allowed more than half the field to leave all the jumps standing in the first round, but things didn’t go quite so swimmingly in the jump off.

A long course with a twisting section at the end gave few opportunities to save time, and the rollback after so much galloping punished those who really pushed the speed limit. Only three out of nine horses were clear in the jump off when it was Deslauriers’ turn to go last with Naomi.

The 11-year-old Belgian mare was at her clever best, but Deslauriers used efficiency rather than flat out speed to shave a second off Francie Steinwedell-Carvin’s time.

“She has a great gallop across the ground,” says Deslauriers. “She jumped three times here this week; she got better and better.”

Although they won just a single class at the North American, Henselwood and Special Ed were consistent performers through the week. And when all the points were totaled, Henselwood became the first rider ever to win the CN North American Championship three times. “I knew that with Beezie injured, I had a shot,” said the member of Canada’s 2006 WEG team. “Ed was just on the edge of being on the top everywhere this week. It’s many small things that get you on top in a class.”