Laura-Jane Tidball picked up her third $500 bonus in a row from SSG Riding Gloves after winning the $15,000 USHJA Chronicle of the Horse International Hunter Derby on Saturday, August 18. Photo by Totem Photographics

August 24, 2012 – Fort Langley , British Columbia – Laura-Jane Tidball of Fort Langley, BC, made it three in a row when she took home yet another cash bonus as part of the SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion during the Summer Fort Classic at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC.

Tidball was wearing her SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves when she topped a starting field of 35 entries to win the $15,000 USHJA Chronicle of the Horse International Hunter Derby on Saturday, August 18. She had previously earned the SSG bonus after winning the $5,000 Cobblestone Derby on Saturday, June 30, and the $1,500 Canadian Hunter Derby on July 7. Tidball picked up a $500 bonus from SSG Riding Gloves on all three occasions.

“I ride all of my horses in my SSG ‘Digitals’ now,” said Tidball, whose grandparents, Jump Canada Hall of Fame inductees George and Dianne Tidball, founded Thunderbird Show Park. “I love how well they perform in all types of conditions, and the fact that they are washable is fantastic!”

All three of Tidball’s wins came aboard Yesquero, a 12-year-old Argentinean Warmblood gelding usually shown by her uncle, well-known rider and trainer, Brent Balisky. Tidball was given the ride on Yesquero while Balisky was at the Spruce Meadows summer tournaments in Calgary, AB, helping Canadian Olympic Team members Tiffany Foster and Eric Lamaze prepare for the 2012 London Games. He then travelled to London, leaving Tidball in charge of the gelding’s training.

Yesquero is owned by Thunderbird Show Stables, a training business that Tidball runs on the grounds of Livingstone Park in Langley, BC, along with Balisky and her aunt, two-time Canadian Olympian Laura Tidball-Balisky.

A $1,000 bonus was also on offer in the $50,000 Dianne Tidball Legacy Grand Prix. However, the winner, Nayel Nassar of Egypt, was not wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves. That means the bonus money will carry forward to the $100,000 CSI2*-W Canaccord Genuity World Cup Grand Prix on Sunday, August 26, where a $2,000 bonus will be up for grabs.

A $500 bonus will also be offered in the $5,000 Jump Canada Classic Hunter Derby during the CSI2*-W Fort Summer Festival, which runs August 22 to 26 and marks the final week of the SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion at Thunderbird Show Park for the 2012 season.

2012 marks the second year in a row that SSG Riding Gloves has offered $9,000 in bonus money through its ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion to riders competing at Thunderbird Show Park. In an incentive program designed to reward competitors for their loyalty to the SSG Riding Gloves brand, SSG offers a bonus of $1,000 to the winning rider in designated grand prix events if they are wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves with the horse head logo clearly visible. If the winning rider is not wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves, the bonus money is carried forward to the next event, increasing from $1,000 to $2,000, etc. The same format applies to designated hunter events, where a $500 bonus is on offer.

SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves are available for purchase on-site at Thunderbird Show Park at the Thunderbird Tack Shop, Bates Tack Shop, the Dog and Pony Shop, Equestrian Factory Outlet, Equi-Products, and Greenhawk Harness and Equestrian Supplies.

Please refer to the 2012 Thunderbird Show Park prize lists for complete class details. For further information, contact Jennifer Ward, Starting Gate Communications, at cell: 613 292-5439 or jward@startinggate.ca.