June 24, 2004 – Palgrave, Ontario – Birthday celebrations came one day early for Hyde Moffat as the native of Brantford, ON, guided two horses to first and second place finishes in the Six-Year-Old Division of the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series held June 18 at the Summer Classic in Palgrave, ON.

A total of 17 horses contested the Six-Year-Old division with the top eight returning for a jump-off. Moffat took the lead riding Ruben when he posted a time of 42.73 seconds over the jump-off track set by course designer Hector Loyola of Puerto Rico. Despite having the opportunity to beat his own time with Dancer B, Moffat stopped the clock at 43.76 seconds to finish as runner-up.

“Both of the horses are new rides to me this year,” noted Moffat who enjoyed first and second place finishes just one day shy of his 25th birthday. “I am just getting to know them, and it was the fastest I had ever gone on either of them. They were both fantastic!”

Owned by Scanmar Portfolios, Ruben is a Dutch Warmblood gelding by Concorde who was previously shown with great success in the Young Horse Jumper Development Series by Marni Von Schalburg.

Despite having dressage lineage – Dancer B is by De Niro by Donnerhall and out of a Rubinstein mare – the Bavarian Warmblood gelding has had no trouble adjusting to a career in the show jumping ring. Owned by Mark Hayes and Ashton Belcher, Dancer B qualified for the 2003 National Championships as a Five-Year-Old under 2002 World Championship competitor, Melissa Brown.

Finishing third with a clear round in a time of 45.64 seconds was the Grande Farms entry of Calle, a registered Oldenburg gelding out of the Hannoverian sire, Cashman. Calle was bred by Jens Meyer in Germany and ridden to the third place finish by Tyler Reeve of Claremont, ON.

Kaiser de la Cour,a selle francais stallion by the Narcos II son, Verdi, took fourth for owner Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON, while Liz Gayford posted the only other double clear riding P-Spice, a Canadian Warmblood mare by Voltaire and out of the selle francais mare, Oh Ma Belle, to finish fifth for owners Jens and Natalie Jensen of Nepean, ON.

Judge Kim Kirton had her work cut out for her in the Five-Year-Old Division as a huge field of 35 entries displayed their talent and ability. Brock Clermont rode a beautiful round to showcase Rio Salado’s strengths on behalf of owners and breeders Brian and Robin Keeling of Uxbridge, ON. Rio Salado is a Canadian Sport Horse stallion by Rio Grande.

The KingRidge Stables entry of Distant Star took second place under rider Roberto Teran of Colombia. A Canadian Sport Horse mare, Distant Star is by KingRidge’s own Dutch Warmblood stallion, Class Action, and out of its former grand prix show jumping mare, Betwixt.

Erynn Ballard of Hornby, ON, claimed third and fourth positions for owner W. Charlot Farms of Stratford, ON. The Canadian Warmblood stallion, Rio’s Ricardo, placed third while Rio’s Ramiro W, a Canadian Sport Horse gelding, finished fourth. Both horses were bred at W. Charlot Farms and are by its flagship stallion, Rio Grande.

Another Rio Grande son, Rock Castle, rounded out the top five for owner Deb Bannon, making Rio Grande the sire of four of the top five horses in the Five-Year-Old Division.

Yet another W. Charlot Farms entry with Rio Grande bloodlines, Pour Patrice W, took top honours in the Four-Year-Old Division , just as he had in the first event of the Series held June 6 in Ancaster, ON. A Hannoverian stallion, Pour Patrice W was bred at W. Charlot Farms and is by its licensed Westphalian stallion, Pour Gange, and out of the Rio Grande mare, Riona.

Mill Creek Stables nailed down three of the next four positions. Simon McCarthy rode Rin Tin Tin, an imported Hannoverian gelding by Raphael, to second place while Sancho, the Mill Creek Stables-bred Oldenburg stallion by Skorpio, took third position. Millesime du Valy, a selle francais stallion by Verdi and a half-brother to Kaiser de la Cour, finished in fifth place.

Sliding into fourth place to break up the Mill Creek Stables domination was Encore, a Canadian Sport Horse gelding bred by Epstein Equestrian Enterprises and owned by KingRidge Stables. Encore, ridden by Canadian Olympian Hugh Graham, boasts impressive show jumping bloodlines with Class Action as his sire, and Alley Cat, a Dutch Warmblood mare by Emilion, as his dam.

In the Four and Five-Year-Old Divisions, the horses are judged solely on their performance and style. In the Six-Year-Old Division, the top eight horses return for a jump-off, carrying forward any faults accumulated in the first round. Points in the overall Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series are tabulated according to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Cup system with the number of points given being based on the number of horses entered in each class.

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 or six-year-olds. This careful development allows the young 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 next event in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series will take place on Friday, July 2, during the Cornerstone Farm Horse Show in Barrie, ON. The 2004 Series is comprised of nine events, including the Ontario Championships scheduled for the Tournament of Champions in September where $10,000 in prize money is offered and the National Championships for Five and Six-Year-Olds hosted by Toronto’s famed Royal Horse Show in November. In addition to the $20,000 in prize money offered, two saddles have been generously donated for the winning entries at the National Championships - Cavalier will award an Amerigo saddle while Running Fox has given a Luc Childeric saddle.

Six-Year-Old Division

Horse , Owner, Rider
1. Ruben, Scanmar Portfolios, Hyde Moffat
2. Dancer B, Mark Hayes and Ashton Belcher, Hyde Moffat
3. Calle, Grande Farms, Tyler Reeve
4. Kaiser de la Cour, Mill Creek Stables, Simon McCarthy
5. P-Spice, Jens and Natalie Hansen, Liz Gayford

Five-Year-Old Division

Horse , Owner, Rider
1. Rio Salado, Brian and Robin Keeling, Brock Clermont
2. Distant Star, KingRidge Stables, Roberto Teran
3. Rio’s Ricardo, W. Charlot Farms, Erynn Ballard
4. Rio’s Ramiro W, W. Charlot Farms, Erynn Ballard
5. Rock Castle, Deb Bannon, Simon McCarthy

Four-Year-Old Division

Horse , Owner, Rider
1. Pour Patrice W, W. Charlot Farms, Erynn Ballard
2. Rin Tin Tin, Mill Creek Stables, Simon McCarthy
3. Sancho, Mill Creek Stables, Simon McCarthy
4. Encore, KingRidge Stables, Hugh Graham
5. Millesime du Valy, Mill Creek Stables, Simon McCarthy