Palgrave, Ontario – Erynn Ballard made a clean sweep of the 2005 Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series, claiming the Ontario Championship titles in the Four, Five and Six-Year-Old Divisions.

Having led all three divisions for the majority of the season, it was no surprise that Ballard came out on top when the final points for the Young Horse Series were tabulated at the CSI-W Tournament of Champions on September 22 and 23 in Palgrave, ON.

With a total of 94 points, Ballard of Hillsburgh, ON, claimed the Ontario Six-Year-Old Championship with Windus, a Belgian-bred gelding owned by Holter Leasing of Carlisle, ON. Windus is by Skippy II, the same sire as Ballard’s top grand prix mount, Robin van Roosendael. Throughout the season, the pair won four events in the Jumper Development Series, including the final event at the Tournament of Champions, and earned the highest point total of all three divisions.

Denver was named the Ontario Six-Year-Old Reserve Champion with a total of 76 points. Ridden by Hyde Moffat, Denver is a Trakehner gelding by Donauwalzer and was bred in Germany by Burkhard Wahler. Imported in May of this year by owner Hawkestone Farms, Denver placed in the top four in all five events that he contested during the 2005 season, including third place from a 21-horse starting field at the Tournament of Champions. In total, 28 horses competed in the Six-Year-Old Division throughout the Young Horse Jumper Development Series.

With a total of 93 points, the Ontario Five-Year-Old Championship title went to Trocadero, Ballard’s own Dutch Warmblood gelding by Nassau out of a Quidam de Revel dam. Bred in Holland, Trocadero was imported to Canada by Looking Back Farm, now located in Hillsburgh, ON. Winning a total of four events in the Series, Ballard and Trocadero had secured the title long before the final event but, just for good measure, posted yet another victory at the Tournament of Champions.

Proving to be her own best competition, Ballard also claimed the Ontario Five-Year-Old Reserve Championship title with Pour Patrice W. Owner Charles Ormston, the founder of the Jumper Development Series, could not have been any more pleased, as Pour Patrice W also claimed the Ontario Four-Year-Old Championship title one year ago. A Hannoverian gelding, Pour Patrice W was bred in Canada by Augustin Walch and W. Charlot Farms, and is by the Westphalian stallion, Pour Gagne, and out of a Rio Grande mare.

It was Pour Patrice W’s half-brother, Pour La Vie W, who claimed the Ontario Four-Year-Old Championship title. The Hannoverian stallion by Pour Gagne and out of a Rio Grande mare, also bred by W. Charlot Farms of Stratford, ON, accumulated a total of 61 points throughout the Series. The win marked the third consecutive year that W. Charlot Farms has bred the Ontario Four-Year-Old Champion.

With 58 points apiece, there was a tie for the Ontario Four-Year-Old Reserve Championship title between VDL Ulando H and Vasco da Gamma.

Ridden by Canadian Olympian Beth Underhill, VDL Ulando H is a fully approved Canadian Warmblood stallion by Corland out of an Ahorn mare. Owned by Timothy Millard of Schomberg, ON, and bred by Hogendoorn Dutch Warmbloods of Baden, ON, VDL Ulando H won two events in the 2005 Series including the final event at the Tournament of Champions.

Also winning two events this year, Vasco da Gama is a Hannoverian stallion bred in Germany and purchased as a foal by W. Charlot Farms. Ridden by Erynn Ballard, Vasco da Gamma is by the Hannoverian sire, Voltaire, and out of a Raphael dam.

Between the first round and the jump-off of the $100,000 John Deere World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix on Sunday at the Tournament of Champions, the three Ontario Young Horse Champions were presented with beautiful coolers, sponsored by Brubacher Harness, Blake Inglis and Mill Creek Stables, as well as C.M.W. Ormston Founders Award Trophies. Augustin Walch also presented Ballard with a bouqet of flowers in special recognition of her outstanding achievements in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series.

The top 15 horses in the Five and Six-Year-Old standings now advance to the National Finals to be held on Monday, November 7, at 7 p.m. at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON.

The purpose of the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series is to encourage the development of young show jumping talent and to give Canadian breeders additional incentives to breed superior show jumping prospects. Competing on a level playing field, the horses are divided according to age and jump at a level suited to their development as four, five and six-year-olds. This careful development allows the horses to gain valuable experience and advance to the higher levels of show jumping competition with confidence. The Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series also gives prospective buyers for the hunter and jumper markets an opportunity to view a large group of prospects in a competition setting.

The Ontario Hunter Jumper Association, together with its proud supporters - 4 Star Trailers, TD Waterhouse, Scotia McLeod, Peter Miller, Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association, W. Charlot Farms, Gary Cooper Chev Olds, Henry Equestrian Insurance Brokers Ltd., Dutch Masters Construction Services Ltd., Dr. Al Manning, Brubacher’s Harness Shop, KingRidge Stables, Mr. Charles Ormston, the Hannoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada, Mr. Michael Boyd, Mrs. Elaine Gray, and other friends present the 2005 Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series.

Ontario Six-Year-Old Championship

Horse Owner Rider Points
Champion - Windus - Holter Leasing - Erynn Ballard - 94
Reserve - Denver - Hawkestone Farms - Hyde Moffat - 76
3. Distant Star* - KingRidge Stables - Roberto Teran - 66
4. Possibilities - Jamie Richardson - Erynn Ballard - 65
5. Carolla Z - Liz Currie - Rob Carey - 58

Ontario Five-Year-Old Championship

Champion - Trocadero - Looking Back Farms - Erynn Ballard - 93
Reserve - Pour Patrice W* - Charles Ormston - Erynn Ballard - 79
3. Split Decision - Lothlorien Farm - Chris Pratt - 63
4. Sancho* - Mill Creek Stables - Tonya Henning - 57
4. Sandhya - Mill Creek Stables - Tonya Henning - 57
4. Encore* - KingRidge Stables - Roberto Teran - 57
4. Rin Tin Tin - Mill Creek Stables - Sebastien Kapel - 57

Ontario Four-Year-Old Championship

Champion - Pour La Vie W* - Augustin Walch - Erynn Ballard - 61
Reserve - VDL Ulando H* - Timothy Millard - Beth Underhill - 58
Reserve - Vasco da Gamma - Augustin Walch - Erynn Ballard - 58
4. Roger Rabbit - Mill Creek Stables - Sebastien Kapel - 43
5. Josephine* - Liz Salmon - Natalie Smith - 36
5. Valvoline - Mill Creek Stables - Sebastien Kapel - 36

NOTE – The star * beside a horse’s name denotes that it is Canadian-bred.

ATTACHED PHOTO
“Peter Miller of ScotiaMcLeod presents Erynn Ballard and her own Trocadero with the Ontario Five-Year-Old Championship title in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series during the CSI-W Tournament of Champions on September 25, 2005.” Photo Credit – Cealy Tetley