October 31, 2006 – Toronto, Ontario – When the Royal Horse Show opens on Friday, November 3, show jumping fans will witness an exciting showdown between the country's best in the Canadian Championships.

Hosted by the Royal Horse Show, held as part as the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair running November 3-12, the Jump Canada Canadian Show Jumping Championship is presented by Greenhawk Harness and Equestrian Supplies Inc. and Ariat International Inc. and features $70,000 in prize money.

On Friday evening, the action gets underway with Phase I of the Canadian Championships. A speed competition where every downed rail results in time penalties, the objective is to have the fastest time on the clock. Scores from Friday's speed round are then carried forward to Saturday afternoon's Phase II, a traditional grand prix competition where riders accumulate four faults for every rail knocked down. After the first round of jumping, the top ten riders will return for round two. The rider with the lowest score will be crowned the Canadian Show Jumping Champion.

Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, ON, is the defending champion, and she will be eager to retain her title. Her impressive 2006 season has already included appearances at the World Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

"I really enjoy competing in the Canadian Championships each year," said Henselwood. "The format used is one where you carry your faults forward from each round - every jump counts and there is no starting over. With the pressure placed squarely on the rider's shoulders, it makes for a great championship and is very exciting for the crowd."

Henselwood will face strong opposition from her fellow Canadians, including 2004 Canadian Champion Ian Millar of Perth, ON, and Ainsley Vince of Milton, ON, who won back-to-back Canadian Championship titles in 2001 and 2002. Erynn Ballard of Hillsburgh, ON, Mario Deslauriers of Bromont, QC, and John Pearce of Stouffville, ON, were all members the Canadian Team that scored a historic victory in the Nations' Cup competition at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, AB, in September and come into the Royal Horse Show in top form.

For those not among the 6,400 audience members in the Ricoh Coliseum, CBC Sports will be broadcasting Saturday's exciting finale beginning at 4 p.m. ET. In addition, the digital channel CBC Country Canada will air a live broadcast of Friday evening's Round I beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

As well as crowning a national champion, the Canadian Show Jumping Championships will determine three of the eight Canadian riders that move forward to the international division of the Royal Horse Show, which opens on Tuesday, November 7. As the top five Canadians in the FEI Gandini Jumping Riders' World Ranking List, Millar, Deslauriers, Henselwood, Pearce and Kelley Small are already guaranteed a spot.

The eight Canadians will take on current Olympic Champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil who is making his Royal debut, Michael Whitaker and Nick Skelton of Great Britain, Harrie Smolders and Eric van der Vleuten of the Netherlands, Norway's Geir Gulliksen and Tina Lund of Denmark. Representing the United States will be Georgina Bloomberg, Margie Engle, Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, Richard Spooner, Jimmy Torano and McLain Ward.

Featured events include Wednesday's CN World Cup Grand Prix, broadcast by CBC Sports on November 11 at 3:30 p.m. ET, Thursday's popular National Steel Car Four Bar Challenge, and Friday's Weston Canadian Open. The final Saturday night of the Royal Horse Show features the Ricoh 'Big Ben' Challenge, which will be televised on TSN.

Tickets for all Royal Horse Show performances, held as part of the 84th Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 416 872-7777 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information on the Royal Horse Show, including complete schedules, please visit www.royalfair.org.