Allen Kruger and Pleasure Time were the first pair to defy Peter Holmes’ (Victoria, BC) technically challenging 1.45m (4’9”) high course. They went clear, challenging the remaining 29 horses and riders to catch them.

Two horse / rider combinations fell victim to the technicalities of the course before Jonathan Asselin, riding the Hanoverian mare Lolita, went clear and the crowd was primed for a jump-off.

Defending Kubota Cup Canadian Western Champion, Tamie Phillips (AB) and her partner, Lucas, also posted a clear round, as did American Kyle King on both of his rides, Capone and Estival.

Christina Marlin and Raleigh, rookies in the grand prix ring, joined the group as did Jonathan Asselin on a second mount, Rayana Chiara.

Emily George (AB) and Smart Thinking, winners of the first Kubota Cup Grand Prix in the 2006 tournament, almost made it. They had a clear round but incurred one time fault for exceeding the 76 second time allowed by 1.64 seconds, eliminating them from the jump-off.

George’s coach and fellow competitor, Jonathan Asselin, said he “was thrilled with Emily’s ride. It is normal for a young rider to have time faults. Her horse is fantastic and she rode him very well.”

In the end, there were seven to return for the jump-off. First back into the ring was Kruger on Pleasure Time. The pair was careful but knocked down Jump #10, the signature “Kubota” jump, leaving the ring with four faults.

Jonathan Asselin returned on Lolita and left no doubt that he was going for the win. He took tight turns and risky angles, only slowing down for the difficult 6A-6B combination. There was a breath-holding moment as the pair did a very tight roll-back turn to Jump #11, but it worked and they were clear in a very fast time of 36.18.

Defending Western Division Champions, Tamie Phillips and Lucas chased Asselin’s time. Lucas gave a small buck in one corner and Phillips steered a wider turn into Jump #11, which may explain the 1/100th of a second difference in time between them and Asselin, finishing the course in 36.19 seconds. Tamie said “he (Lucas) was fantastic, absolutely amazing! How did THAT happen? I’ve never lost a race by 1/100ths of a second before!”

From Ocala, Florida, Kyle King and the 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion, Capone, set a blistering pace and finished the course in 35.01 seconds. King tried to duplicate Asselin’s tight turn to jump #11, but their speed caught up to them, and they knocked it down, leaving the ring with four jumping faults.

The only rookie in the jump-off field, Alberta’s Christina Marlin and Raleigh gave it their all. One rail down and two refusals at the signature jump dropped them to seventh place overall.

King returned on Estival. Although he’d already ridden the course once, and Estival had won a speed class the night before, they had two rails down for eight faults, despite posting the fastest round in 33.59 seconds.

Asselin returned on his second mount, Rayana Chiara. He rode the mare, the youngest horse in the class, carefully, before an appreciatively silent audience, going clear in 36.92 seconds, good enough for third place behind his other mount, Lolita, and Phillips and Lucas. “Rayana is young, but the most consistent of the three horses I entered in this class,” he said. “I wanted a smooth ride,” to maintain the mare’s self-confidence.

Representing the Title Sponsor, John Gilliland, National Marketing Manager for Kubota Canada Ltd., presented the awards to Jonathan Asselin and Lolita, saying “I am elated. What a great class! I was riveted!”

A delighted Asselin said, “I felt she (Lolita) had the best chance (of his 3 horses in the class). It was a good course for her and she jumped fantastically. The time allowed was tight (in the first round), but we made it.”

Asselin pocketed $8,750 for the first place finish, and, as the winner of the Grand Prix, also took home a complete SoftStall™ therapeutic bedding system for his horse, Lolita, worth $675 and a Sereno Top Ride® ultra-suede saddle pad (in KubotaTM Orange) from Ogilvy Horse. He moves on in the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series with 332 points toward the Western Division Championship, moving up from 8th place in the points ranking (at Brandon) to second, only 8 points behind Western Division Points Leader, his own student, Emily George. Tamie Phillips and Lucas are currently in third place with 325 points in hand and holding a challenging position as the Series heads for the Western Championships at the Twin Oaks Derby in Richmond, BC August 9th to the 13th.