September 23, 2004 – Elora, Ontario – Carly Campbell Cooper of Elora, ON, claimed the Jump Canada Talent Squad Eastern Division when the final event was held September 18 at the Fox Run Horse Show in Troy, ON.

Campbell Cooper qualified two horses, Santa Lucia and Croft Temptation, for the five-horse jump-off in the $2,500 Gary Cooper Rising Star at the Fox Run Horse Show. As the first rider to challenge the shortened jump-off track, Campbell Cooper had the misfortune of knocking down the first fence on course with Santa Lucia, her nine-year-old grey Belgian Warmblood mare, for four faults and an eventual fourth place finish.

In a much better position as the final rider on course with Croft Temptation, Campbell Cooper posted a clear round in a time of 38.66 seconds to claim victory over runner-up Margie Gayford who stopped the timers at 43.44 seconds riding Stuntman.

“I was really pleased with Croft Temptation’s performance,” said Campbell Cooper of the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding she purchased six years ago. “He tried very hard for me, and really came through when it was crunch time.”

Going into the Fox Run Horse Show, the final event in the Jump Canada Talent Squad Eastern Division, Campbell Cooper and Croft Temptation were sitting second in the standings, having won two of the 12 events comprising the Eastern Division. Her win at the Fox Run Horse Show catapulted her to the top of the leader board with 52 points, an achievement that comes with airfare to the 2005 World Cup Final, provided by Jump Canada, as well as nomination for a Development Card through the Sport Canada Athlete Assistance program.

Before the Talent Squad was divided into Eastern and Western divisions this year, the Jump Canada National Talent Squad Championship title was decided at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON. In 2003, Campbell Cooper claimed victory there, also winning airfare to the 2004 World Cup Final in Milan, Italy, and being awarded carded athlete status by Sport Canada.

In addition to winning the Jump Canada Talent Squad Eastern Division, Campbell Cooper is currently leading the Gary Cooper Chev Olds Rising Star Series. She won the first $2,500 Rising Star class of the season at the Caledon National with Napier, her nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, then claimed the $2,500 Rising Star at the Summer Classic, also in Palgrave, ON, riding Croft Temptation. The Gary Cooper Chev Olds Rising Star Series concludes at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show in November where Campbell Cooper is the defending champion.

Campbell Cooper, 22, is a fourth year Honours student at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON. In 2003, she capped off a successful Young Riders’ career by claiming a Team Gold Medal at the North American Young Riders’ Championship in Bromont, QC.

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PHOTOGRAPH
“Carly Campbell Cooper and Croft Temptation topped the Jump Canada Talent Squad Eastern Final.”
Photo Credit – Cealy Tetley