November 12, 2005 – Toronto, Ontario – Laura Kraut closed out the Royal Horse Show on Saturday night by winning the $60,000 Ricoh Big Ben Challenge in Toronto, ON.

It was standing room only as all 6,500 seats were filled for Closing Night. And what a show the crowd enjoyed when six of show jumping’s biggest names advanced to the jump-off after clearing the big and technical track set by Venezuela’s Leopoldo Palacios.

The first rider back in the Ricoh Coliseum was Norway’s Geir Gulliksen whose hopes of a victory were dashed when the signature Ricoh red planks fell half-way round the shortened track. Canada’s Chris Pratt ran into trouble when Rivendell refused, bringing his hopes of a Royal victory to an end.

The final four were to make no such mistakes. Canadian hopes were riding high when eight-time Olympian Ian Millar guided In Style to a clear round in a time of 31.96 seconds. Eric Lamaze pulled out all the stops, hungry for a victory after placing second in Wednesday’s $60,000 CN World Cup Grand Prix. Shaving more than a second off of Millar’s time, Lamaze stopped the clock at 30.95 seconds to move into the lead.

It was to be short lived, however, as Great Britain’s Nick Skelton and the powerful stallion, Arko III, took up the challenge. The crowd cheered them all the way to the end when the scoreboard flashed 30.82 seconds to signal a new leader. American Olympian Laura Kraut was the final challenger riding her veteran mount, Anthem. Leaving one stride out over the huge track made all the difference, and the crowd erupted when the clock stopped at 30.19 seconds, giving Kraut the victory.

“That was exciting!” Kraut exclaimed. “Finally, he has been knocking on the door - he was second two weeks ago in Washington, third last week in Syracuse, and fourth here in the World Cup Grand Prix on Wednesday. Not many people can say that their horse has that much consistency. And he won the World Cup Grand Prix here four years ago, so he likes it at the Royal.”

Kraut’s teammate, McLain Ward, took the Leading International Rider title back to the United States after winning three international classes at the 2005 Royal Horse Show. Eric Lamaze was crowned the Leading Canadian Rider while his brave Dutch Warmblood stallion, Hickstead, owned by Ashland Stables, was named Leading Canadian Horse.

“He’s had a great year,” said Lamaze, who is aiming Hickstead towards the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, next summer. “He is a good show horse. In the warm-up ring, he is calm, saving his energy for when we go into the show ring. He knows what he is here for!”

The Royal Horse Show concludes on Sunday with Hunter and Junior/Amateur Jumper competition. Tickets for all Royal Horse Show performances, held as part of the 83rd Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, can be purchased through Ticketmaster at tel: 416 872-7777 or www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information on the Royal Horse Show, including complete results, please visit www.royalfair.org.

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Rider Hometown Horse Faults Time
1. Laura Kraut United States Anthem 0:0 30.19
2. Nick Skelton Great Britain Arko III 0:0 30.82
3. Eric Lamaze Schomberg, ON Hickstead 0:0 30.95
4. Ian Millar Perth, ON In Style 0:0 31.96
5. Geir Gulliksen Norway Cattani 17 0:4 34.66
6. Chris Pratt Belfountain, ON Rivendell 0:17 50.56