WKM Sterling, owned by Wilf McKay and ridden by Kelly Campbell, won the Five-Year-Old Division of the Jump Canada Young Horse Series held at the Heart of the Continent from August 4 to 7 in Winnipeg, MB. Photo by Margie Forbes

August 16, 2011 – Winnipeg, MB – The Canadian-bred WKM Sterling emerged the winner in the 2011 Jump Canada Young Horse Series competition held at the Heart of the Continent horse show from August 4 to 7 at the Red River Exhibition Grounds in Winnipeg, MB.
 
WKM Sterling won the Five-Year-Old Division with the only clear round in the jump-off, crossing the timers in 49.08 seconds.  Kelly Campbell was the rider for owner and breeder Wilf McKay of WKM Stables in Alexander, MB.  WKM Sterling is a black Canadian Warmblood gelding sired by WKM Stables’ own stallion Nickelson B and out of WKM Jade.
 
“I couldn’t be happier with their performance,” said McKay.  “Kelly is a very good rider and does a great job.  She has been working with Sterling since the very beginning, when we started him around two years ago.  He was still very green when we took him in the hunters last year, which was his first year out.  Now he goes into the ring and is ready to work.  He has really started to mature.”
 
Of his breeding program, McKay said, “We started with Quarter Horse-crosses around 20 years ago.  That’s what got the ball rolling.”
 
McKay’s breeding program became more specialized with the purchase of his flagship stallion, Nickelson B, in 2000.  McKay credits his son Scott, who runs Greenhaven Stable in Limehouse, ON, with finding Nickelson B.
 
“He came up for sale and my son said we needed to buy him,” said McKay.  “It was the best thing we could have done.  I’ve never had a stallion that has produced horses like this.  It is beyond our imaginings that we would ever have the quality that he has produced for us.  His rideabilty, athleticism and movement are superb and always come through in his foals.”
 
The Dutch Warmblood stallion has certainly put his mark on WKM Sterling, who will continue to compete with Campbell until he is sold.  McKay knew early on that Campbell, who has been riding for WKM Stables for the past four years, was someone he wanted to work with.
 
“I watched her grow up and move through the pony club ranks,” he explained.  “I saw her showing her own horses and liked what she did.  When the time came that we needed another trainer, I went looking for her.  I wanted her because I knew she had the qualities I was after.”
 
Finishing second in the Five-Year-Old Division was Expecting Friday, ridden by owner Danae Martin of Oakbank, MB.  They finished the jump-off in a time of 44.49 seconds but had two rails down for eight faults.  A five-year-old chestnut thoroughbred-cross gelding sired by Expecting Greatness, Expecting Friday was bred by Cancade Farms in Saskatchewan and purchased by Martin as a weanling.
 
The purpose of the Jump Canada Young Horse 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.  This careful development allows the horses to gain valuable experience and advance to the higher levels of show jumping competition with confidence.  The Jump Canada Young Horse 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 2011 Jump Canada Young Horse Series is truly national in scope with competitions being held from coast to coast.  The National Young Horse Finals will take place at the Canadian Show Jumping Tournament held from September 21-25 in Palgrave, ON.
 
For more information on the Jump Canada Young Horse Series, please visit http://equinecanada.ca/jumpcanada/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=88&Itemid=3&lang=en