September 24, 2007 – Palgrave, Ontario – The 2007 Ontario Champions in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series were crowned on Wednesday, September 19, during the CSI-W Tournament of Champions in Palgrave, ON.

A total of seven events were held in Ontario this year with the Tournament of Champions closing out the 2007 season. For the final class, Anthony D'Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY, acted as course designer while Canadian Olympian Mac Cone acted as the style judge. Taking each horse's best five scores, the final standings were announced at the conclusion of Wednesday's competition and the Ontario Champions were crowned.

Split Decision has excelled throughout the Series, gaining a total of 39 points to claim the Seven and Eight-Year-Old Championship title. Owner Susan Grange of Cheltenham, ON, imported Split Decision from Holland in December of 2004 and Yann Candele took over the reins earlier this year during the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. Split Decision is a seven-year-old chestnut Dutch Warmblood gelding by Calido out of a Continue dam. As a six-year-old, Split Decision finished third in the Ontario Championships.

Two horses tied with 35 points apiece for the Reserve Championship title. Atlanta van de Padenborre is a Belgian Warmblood with impressive breeding. His sire is Ahorn Z by Alme, while his dam is Romance van de Padenborre by the famous selle francais stallion, Quidam de Revel. Owned by Mark Hayes and ridden by short-listed Canadian Show Jumping Team member Hyde Moffatt, Atlanta van de Padenborre was imported in the fall of 2006 from Belgium.

Atlanta van de Padenborre shared the Reserve Championship title with Diplomat, another horse that was imported to Canada. By the thoroughbred sire Helikon xx and out of a Lauriston dam, Diplomat is an Oldenburg gelding owned by KingRidge Stables of King, ON, and shown by Hugh Graham.

Vasco da Gama earned the title of Ontario Six-Year-Old Champion. With a total of 58 points, the Hannoverian stallion dominated this year under rider Martien van der Hoeven. Imported from Germany, Vasco da Gama is a Hannoverian stallion by Voltaire out of a Raphael mare. Both Voltaire and Raphael have produced numerous international show jumping prospects, and Vasco da Gama appears to be well on his way to joining the list.

"When I bought him it was for his bloodlines, and he has turned into a good horse," said Vasco da Gama's owner Augustin Walch of W. Charlot Farms in Stratford, ON, who purchased Vasco da Gama as a foal at the Verden auction in Germany. "His large size was against him as a young horse, he was like a freight train. But Martien rode him earlier this year and really liked him, so I sent him to Martien. It is important for the horses to have proper training with one rider, this helps them to become more mature."

Although Walch has used Vasco da Gama on a couple of occassions in his own breeding program, he feels it is important for a stallion to prove himself in the show ring before he becomes a breeding stallion. As one of Canada's largest sport horse breeders, Walch has found the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series to be instrumental in developing and promoting young stock.

"This program is the best marketing for young horses," asserts Walch. "If there was no way to showcase the horses, then nothing would happen. People need to see the horses and become interested."

As in the Seven and Eight-Year-Old division, there was also a tie for the Reserve Championship title in the Six-Year-Old standings between Fifth Estate 3E and Ursiena. Fifth Estate 3E is a Canadian Sport Horse gelding bred by owner KingRidge Stables of King, ON. KingRidge has developed an impressive breeding program that often features its own competitive show jumping horses and Fifth Estate 3E is a good example. He is by the Dutch Warmblood stallion, Class Action by Libero H, and out of former grand prix horse, Alley Cat by Emilion.

Ursiena began the 2007 season under Elliott Stone before being sold to James Mikulin who gave the ride to Michelle Vandal. Ursiena is a Dutch Warmblood sired by Lancelot by Voltaire and out of a Notaris dam.

With a total of 77 points, the Canadian-bred Augustine easily claimed the Ontario Five-Year-Old Championship title. Ridden by Rob Carey, Augustine is a registered Canadian Sport Horse by the famous Hannoverian sire, Rio Grande, and out of Santa Lucia by Sergej.

Augustine was bred at W. Charlot Farms and sold as a three-year-old to Aubrie DeSylva. In fact, the DeSylva named Augustine in tribute to his breeder, Augustin Walch. As a three-year-old, Augustine competed in the hunter division but it was soon discovered that his boldness would work to his advantage in the jumper ring. This year, contesting the Young Horse classes, the style judges have been impressed, leading to his supremacy in the Five-Year-Old Division.

Grand Finale 3E was named the Reserve Champion with 62 points earned for owner and breeder KingRidge Stables. A registered Canadian Sport Horse mare ridden by Roberto Teran, Grande Finale 3E is by Jamestown sired by Quidam de Revel, while her dam is Black Diamond by Chin Chin.

Yet another win in the Ontario Four-Year-Old Championship gave W. Charlot Farms the title for the past four out of five years. This year's winner was Rio's Lovestory, a daughter of the legendary Rio Grande. The grey Canadian Warmblood mare has excelled under Erynn Ballard, winning the first event of the season at Fox Run as well as in Barrie and Collingwood.

"I think this mare is the story of our future," said owner and breeder, Augustin Walch. "Lovestory injured herself as a two-year-old and we brought her in from the field to treat her injury. One day we turned her out into the arena, and the shoot was still set from free jumping a few days earlier. She just jumped through the shoot so easily, and after that we never put her back in the field! She is a really nice horse, good looking, big, and easy to ride."

The Reserve Four-Year-Old Championship title went to Riga owned by Sherri Hunt-Serazia. Throughout the season, Carly Campbell Cooper showed the Hannoverian mare, but an injury kept the 25-year-old out of the ring at Tournament of Champions. Instead, Yann Candele ably handled the ride, guiding Riga to the win in the final event of the season. Bred by Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON, Riga is by Raphael and out of Chanel by Carte d'Or.

Marking a big step forward in Canadian breeding, nine of the horses that finished in the top ten in the standings were Canadian-bred.

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. This careful development allows the 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 2007 Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series included seven events in Ontario, six in Quebec, and eight events held in Alberta and British Columbia. The National Young Horse Finals featured $52,000 in total prize money and were held during the CSI-W Tournament of Champions in Palgrave, ON, from September 19-23.

Proud supporters of the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series include Jump Canada, the Ontario Hunter Jumper Association, Mr. Michael Boyd, Brubacher’s Harness Shop, Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association, Gary Cooper, Dutch Masters Construction Services Ltd., 4 Star Trailers, the Hannoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada, Henry Equestrian Insurance Brokers Ltd., KingRidge Stables, Dr. Alan Manning, Mill Creek Stables, Peter Miller, Mr. Charles Ormston, Scotia McLeod, Seegmiller Group, TD Waterhouse and W. Charlot Farms.

For more information, please visit the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series website at www.jumperdevelopment.com.

---

Horse Owner Rider Points
Champion Vasco da Gama Augustin Walch M. van der Hoeven 58
Reserve (tie) Fifth Estate 3E* KingRidge Stables Hugh Graham 46
Reserve (tie) Ursiena James Mikulin Michelle Vandal 46
4. (tie) Col de Rousset Natalie Smith Natalie Smith 45
4. (tie) Untouchable Elliott Stone Elliott Stone 45
6. Frieda KMA Group Ainsley Vince 37
7. VDL Upsala H* Liam Dumont-Walker Michelle Vandal 36
8. Accabello Paige and Gord Munro Ben Murphy 33
9. Fancy Talk* Amy-Lee Gunter Paul Halpern 32
10. Oregano Z Christi McQuaker Mac McQuaker 29

Horse Owner Rider Points
Champion Augustine* Aubrie DeSylva Rob Carey 77
Reserve Grand Finale 3E* KingRidge Stables Roberto Teran 62
3. J.R. Gord and Paige Munro Ben Murphy 56
4. (tie) VDL Viper H* Michelle Vandal Michelle Vandal 54
4. (tie) Grand Slam 3E* KingRidge Stables Roberto Teran 54
6. Lilius Liam Dumont-Walker Michelle Vandal 51
7. (tie) Mystical M* A. Matthews & Millar Brooke Jonathon Millar 47
7. (tie) Vancouver Susan Grange Yann Candele 47
9. GH Fortune's Son* Glenhadden Farm Yann Candele 46.5
10. Granite 3E KingRidge Stables Hugh Graham 46

Horse Owner Rider Points
Champion Rio's Lovestory W* Augustin Walch Erynn Ballard 65
Reserve Riga* Sherri Hunt-Serazia Yann Candele 55
3. Head's Up 3E* KingRidge Stables Roberto Teran 53
4. Relevant K* Danielle Vauaroutsos Jennifer Ramsey 50
5. Futi's Calypso W* Augustin Walch Erynn Ballard 44
6. (tie) Elusive* Wendy O'Leary Rob Carey 31
6. (tie) Celentano Mill Creek Stables Yann Candele 31
8. Viva's Romina W* Augustin Walch Erynn Ballard 29
9. Holy Smoke 3E* KingRidge Stables Roberto Teran 28
10. Holiday 3E* KingRidge Stables Hugh Graham 25


NOTE – The star * beside a horse’s name denotes that it is Canadian-bred.