Ottawa, ON — The Canadian Show Jumping Team comprised of Mac Cone of King City, ON, Jill Henselwood, of Oxford Mills, ON, Eric Lamaze, of Schomberg, ON, and Ian Millar, of Perth, ON, finished second in the FEI Nations’ Cup held Friday, May 2, during the CSIO 5* Lummen in Belgium.

 

With 14 countries fielding teams in the Nations’ Cup, Canada was tied for third at the end of the first round with a score of eight faults.  Lamaze and Hickstead, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Torrey Pines Stables and Ashland Stables, provided a clear round for the Canadian team, while Millar, riding Susan Grange and Lothlorien Farms’ In Style, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding, and Cone riding Ole, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Sara Houstoun and Larry Evoy, incurred four faults each.  As Canada’s lead-off rider, Henselwood riding Special Ed incurred eight faults.

 

In a format that sees the top six countries return for the second round, Norway was in the early lead with a perfect score of zero while Italy was second with four faults.  In a tie for third place eight faults were Belgium, Canada, France, and Sweden.

 

In the second round both Lamaze and Millar had fault-free performances while Henselwood had four faults riding Special Ed, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Juniper Farms.  Cone’s eight-fault performance provided the drop score.  Counting only four faults in the second round, Canada finished in second place.  Norway won the competition with a two-round total score of eight faults, France was third and Italy finished fourth.  The home team of Belgium finished fifth while Sweden rounded out the top six.

 

“The course was quite big with the triple combination in the course posing quite an athletic test for the horses and riders,” remarked Terrance Millar, chef d’équipe of the Canadian Show Jumping Team.  “Only six teams came back for the second round.  All in all, it was a very good result for our first show.”

 

The four Canadian riders will again form a team in two weeks time for the Nations’ Cup competition at CSIO 5* Madrid in Spain.  A Nations’ Cup is the only competition in show jumping where riders, competing in teams of four, compete against other countries for top honours.  The top three scores from each team are counted towards the final result of the two-round competition.

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