CRI_KY_team.JPGOttawa, Ontario—The Canadian Reining Team finished in second place on July 21 at the 2009 Reining Kentucky Cup CRI 4* held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

First in the ring for Canada was Cochrane, AB, native Dave Young, riding Angels Mark, a six-year-old paint gelding owned by Robert Thompson, scoring 215. Canada’s second entry, Lisa Coulter of Princeton, BC, guided Hollywood Aces, a six-year-old Quarter Horse gelding also owned by Robert Thompson, to a score of 215. Jason Grimshaw, originally of Calgary, AB, and Chic’s Sonata, a six-year-old Quarter Horse mare owned by Aaron J. Labourdette, and Francois Gauthier, of St. Hyacinthe, QC, aboard Jim O’Neil’s Smartys Lil Image, a six-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, both earned scores of 211. With the top three scores to count in the Nations’ Cup team competition, Canada finished with a score of 641.00.

“We were really happy with our team effort. Dave and I ended up tied with the fourth highest score of the day each receiving 215,” said Coulter. “Francois and Jason held our second place finish solidly. We all loved the new facility and felt the ground was good. We showed a solid team performance for Canada, and proved why Canada is so competitive at this level.”

The United States won the team competition with a score of 659.50, and Mexico was third with 631.50.

The 2009 Kentucky Cup CRI4* is being held from July 21-23 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, US, and will act as a test competition for the 2010 World Equestrian Games which will be held at the same event site.

A four-star FEI event, the Kentucky Cup Reining offers a similar format to the Games with both a Nations’ Cup competition and an individual championship. The individual final competition will be held July 23 at 7:30 p.m.

“We feel very ready for the individual event. My horse was solid and ready for another run,” said Young, who currently lives in Holland. “A big thank you to Bob Thompson as he provided horses for myself and Lisa. These horses were prepared and suited this event. The Kiser group had the ground just right. We are excited and proud to be here representing Canada.”

Complete results are available at http://www.alltechfeigames.com/uploadedFiles/News/Resources/Official%20Results%20-%20Team%20Competition.pdf.

For additional information on the Canadian Reining Committee and its programs, please visit the reining section of the Equine Canada website at www.equinecanada.ca/reining or e-mail reining@equinecanada.ca.