The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, Ont., has been on McLain Ward’s calendar since 1995, when he was just 19, but he has a lot of reasons to especially remember this year’s event, Nov. 4-13.

He and Double H Farms’ Goldika started by winning the International Jumpers’ Welcome stakes by nearly 2 seconds over Ian Millar on his Athens mount Promise Me. That proved to be a great warm-up for the first big-money class, the $49,958 CN World Cup Grand Prix. Of the five clear rounds over Leopoldo Palacios’ tough and technical course, Ward’s was the fastest, and the writing was already on the wall.

This time it was another Canadian that he edged out for first place, Eric Lamaze and Torrey Pines and Ashland Stables Inc.’s brilliant young horse Hickstead. Lamaze lost a bit of time when Hickstead stumbled in a turn, but he was circumspect: “That’s the way it goes. But he’s a fast horse and he’s had a great year.”

Ward said Goldika’s owner, Hunter Harrison, could not have been happier with the outcome of the evening. “His horse was good, and his daughter was good,” Ward said. Harrison’s daughter Cayce finished 11th in the class on Coeur, and Harrison, as CEO of CN, saw his own horse win the class his company sponsored.

The Royal had its usual turn out of international jumping stars, from last year’s international leading rider Eric van der Vleuten of the Netherlands to British veterans Michael Whitaker and Nick Skelton. Skelton piloted Russel to a win in the Four Bar Jumper Challenge on Thursday night after settling for third in the grand prix the night before on Arko III.

Russel demonstrated his athletic scope by clearing 6’7″.

The break in Ward’s winning streak was short lived, however (he didn’t actually compete in the four bar class). On Friday night he and Goldika claimed victory yet again in a speed class, the $42,041 Weston Canadian Open. Fifth in the ring out of a field of 20, Ward set the time to beat at 54.23 seconds. His closest rival was Skelton on Russel, whose aesthetically pleasing jumping style nevertheless cost him in air time. He finished second in 56.08 seconds, nearly two seconds off Goldika’s pace.

Ward’s run finally came to an end on Saturday night in the $49,958 Ricoh Big Ben Challenge, though this time his mount was Oasis, who finished ninth. Early clear rounds posted by Norwegian Gier Gulliksen on Cattani 17 and Canadian Chris Pratt on Rivendell were followed by an eleven-horse dry spell. Finally, a flurry of clear rounds by Millar on In Style, Lamaze and Hickstead, Skelton on Arko and Laura Kraut on Anthem meant six in the jump-off.

The first clear jump-off round came from Millar, who pumped his arm as he crossed the finish line in 31.96 seconds. Then they just got faster and faster. Lamaze and Hickstead had a super quick and efficient trip, taking a second off Millar’s score to cross in 30.95 seconds. When Skelton and Arko outdid themselves to get around in 30.82 seconds, it didn’t look like the course could be ridden in less time than that.

But Kraut, the sole female rider in the jump-off, left a stride out of a long line with Anthem and beat all the boys in an astounding 30.19 seconds. An ebullient Kraut said, “Finally! He’s been knockin’ at the door all year.”

This is Kraut’s seventh season with the 14-year-old, Dutch gelding. “He’s an amazing horse,” she said. “He’s always been a winner. I wish I could say it was me.”

Palacios was impressed with the caliber of horses and riders who tackled his courses this year: “This is the best quality I’ve seen here, and that made it the best show.”

Ward’s dominance in the international ring put him in the winner’s circle one last time for the leading international rider award. “I love coming here,” he said. “I always look forward to this show; it feels like coming home to me.”

The leading Canadian rider and leading Canadian horse awards went to Lamaze and Hickstead, who finished second and third in the show’s two biggest classes. “Hickstead is a really good show horse. In the warm-up he’s normal, and in the ring he’s always really careful, but he’s got lots of scope,” Lamaze said. Lamaze hopes that Hickstead will be his partner on the Canadian team for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006.

Tough Choices
The Royal Winter Fair is the final competition for Canadian dressage and show jumping riders qualifying for the FEI World Cup Final. Show jumpers Chris Pratt and Jill Henselwood earned the right to represent Canada in the World Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur in 2006. But with the WEG later the same year, it’s difficult for them to plan on both events.

Both Henselwood and Pratt have only one horse qualified for the World Cup, and they anticipate having only those horses to qualify for the WEG. Kuala Lumpur is also an extremely long and expensive trip.

“I would love to do Kuala Lumpur,” said Henselwood. “It will be a tremendously exciting event. But Aachen is like fairy tale Walt Disney. Canada is not yet a Super League country, and it’s hard to get invited to the big European shows. For me it’s a lifetime career goal to get to Aachen.”

Pratt, too, feels pressed by the same dilemma. “What a fantastic opportunity [Kuala Lumpur] would be, but it’s a long way away. I’m really setting my sights on WEG; it’s been my focus for the past two years.”

In the $34,199 Kubota Cup Final Grand Prix on opening night, only two riders made it through the first round without faults: Millar with Promise Me and Mike Grinyer with Alcatraz. Millar’s clear jump-off won the day, for even though Grinyer beat him on the clock by nearly 4 seconds, he took one fence down.

In the first round of the Canadian Show Jumping Championships it was Millar again in first place on In Style, whose owner Susan Grange was named Jump Canada’s Owner of the Year. But in round 2 Henselwood edged him out to take the overall title for 2005.

Singleton Comes From Behind In CET Medal Final
Eleven of Canada’s most promising young riders converged on the Royal to face off in the Running Fox CET Medal Final. Each of them had qualified by finishing in the top three in one of four regional finals across the country.

Toronto rider Amanda Knowles, who finished seventh in last year’s final with her horse Robin Van Het Lindehof, seemed set to make a clean sweep of the final this year, winning both the gymastics/flat and show jumping phases with 88 and 85 points, respectively.

When the top four finalists entered the arena for the ride-off, however, the situation changed dramatically. A shortened course ridden without stirrups became a major factor in the final results. Knowles’ round was significantly less polished than her earlier rides, and it contrasted strongly with Noelle Singleton, of Victoria, B.C., who went into the ride-off in second place.

Quebec’s Billie de Rouet, who came into the ride-off in fourth place, also put in a strong ride without her stirrups. After a weaker performance from Krista Genoway of Vancouver, B.C., judge Scott Williamson changed the placings. Singleton captured the CET Medal Final, and Billie de Rouet, who is just 13, moved up to second. Knowles and Genoway slipped to third and fourth.

Singleton, 20, had not really planned to do the CET Medals this year. Joanne Kubek, her coach of six years, said that she didn’t go to any of the qualifiers until the B.C. regional championships in September.

“Noelle has been riding the 4’3″ and 4’6″‘ jumpers all year with her horse Movado. She didn’t do a single equitation class all season,” said Kubek.

On a lark, Kubek suggested that Singleton enter the regional finals. She also came from behind at that competition, going into the ride-off in fourth position. The four finalists were required to ride all four horses without stirrups, which as it happened was just up Singleton’s alley.

“Leading up to the regionals, all she worked on was riding without stirrups,” said Kubek. “I wanted her not to worry about that if it was asked for in the ride-off.”

Singleton didn’t take her own horse to the final in Toronto but leased Chako 2 from Christopher Cullen. “It’s thanks to trainer Mark Hayes that she found Chako to ride,” said Kubek.

Next year, Singleton hopes to qualify for the North American Young Riders Championships.

Carriage Racing/Show Jumping Relay Provides Sensory Overload
The four-in-hand carriage racing derby has become a spectator favorite at the Royal, but this year show organizers took their cue from the Europeans, who have dreamed up yet another adrenaline sport for indoor shows: a relay race with show jumpers.

Each of four driving teams was matched with one of the show’s leading show jumpers to run a relay that consisted of the show jumper riding a short course, then dismounting by the in-gate, running down the arena to the carriage, and riding it with driver and crew through an obstacle course.

Predictably, the event was a tremendous hit, with the most entertaining performance coming from French rider Yann Candele, who was teamed with Koos de Ronde of the Netherlands. Rather than duck under the rail that formed the box in which he was obligated to dismount, Candele violently pushed the rail down, scrambled to the carriage and proceeded through the obstacle course like a stunt man, leaning exaggeratedly at every turn. He leaned over so far before the bridge obstacle, that had one of Koos’ crew not pulled him in at the last moment, he would have been wiped off the carriage head first.

The combination Dutch-French team proved unbeatable, even by the crowd favorite Canadian team of Ian Millar and Eugene Hug. Hug, who hails from Quebec, was the overall winner in the carriage derby series. His team of compact sorrel horses proved to be the most maneuverable in the tight indoor space. Chester Weber of Ocala, Fla., and teammate Canadian Mario Deslauriers also put in exciting and entertaining performances in the relay, as did an all-Dutch team comprised of Harry de Ruyter and Eric van der Vleuten.