Ottawa, Ontario – John Pearce was smiling as he lugged his ‘loot’ home from his successes in the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series which culminated at the Kubota Cup National Finals hosted during the Royal Horse Show, November 4, 2006.

Only 21 days previous to the National Finals, John Pearce drove home from Halifax, Nova Scotia, his Kubota RTV900 Utility Vehicle and the twenty pound crystal trophy strapped in the seat beside him, as part of the reward for Kubota Cup Eastern Canadian Championship. With a SoftStallä therapeutic bedding system for Archie Bunker the winning horse, a trio of orthopedic saddle pads from Ogilvy Horse, and a size-able paycheck in his hip pocket earned by his three ‘boys’ (Champion Archie Bunker, Urioso and Champagne), the team also garnering three invitations to attend the National Finals at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, Ontario.

As a betting man, your money had to be on Archie Bunker to pull off the big win at the Royal Horse Show, November 4th in front of the 7,500 eager fans, but the competition had a strong western Canadian line-up represented by Tamie Phillips and Lucas, Emily George and Smart Thinking (the horse that loves bananas!), Gary Brewster with two entries, Karen Cudmore (Ocelot) and Manitoba super star, Hayley Alfonso - Western Talent Squad Champion. The eastern region had Lauren Hunkin (Orleans) reserve eastern Canadian Champion and with Jonathan Millar (Noble 1) riding for a win, making it a tough night for Archie Bunker. Also on the roster was Mike Grinyer with two strong rides (Alcatraz 34 and Garth), Beth Underhill (Magdaline), and never one to ignore – the equestrian maestro Jay Hayes with two entries. Rounding out the field were rookies, Elissa Reisman, and Sophie Nihon. And last but never forgotten, Ian Millar, 2005 Kubota Cup National Champion prepared to defend his title.

The last horse to enter the arena late into Saturday night, Lucas with Tamie Phillips aboard had their hopes dashed for the National Finals title at the last jump in the first round giving her with a sixth place finish and leaving five horses in the jump off to battle it out in the final 10 minutes of the event.

Archie Bunker pulled out all the stops and won with a double clear in a time of 36:48, thus cementing Pearce’s best year in his career. Taking home the prize money for owners Forest View Farm, Archie also won his second therapeutic SoftStallä, his second set of Exclusive Orthopedic saddle pads from Ogilvy Horse and John carried out his prize of the night, a $7,500 custom made saddle and tack supplied by CWD Saddles and presented by Damon Winter, Canadian Tech from Maple Springs Farm, Langley BC. Trophy cooler and solid crystal trophy again was compliments of Title sponsor Kubota Canada Ltd.

Rounding out the top five placing, Beth Underhill and Magdaline finished in reserve, closing behind Archie with a time of 37:41; Mike Grinyer and Alcatraz 34 rode third with a clear round at 39:40; Ian Millar and Redefin went fourth with four faults and the fastest time of 36:41; and John Pearce and Champagne closed with a time of 37:42 and eight faults.

2006 was a successful year for the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series with over 521,000 spectators attending the national series and over 1.3 million television viewers tuning into Along For The Ride, a 13 part, half hour television show filmed along with the Kubota Cup Grand Prix Series as it worked its way across the Canadian landscape.

Associate Sponsors participating in the Canadian Show Jumping Kubota Cup Series in 2006 were CWD Saddles, SoftStallä, and Ogilvy Horsewear.

Commencing only two short years ago, the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series was developed by the Ottawa Valley based company Lejoma Sports Management as a program to enhance the existing system of Grand Prix competitions. A specific marketing platform of benefits was structured for sponsors and supporters who were looking to participate in a new business model by exposing the sport and its athletes to a broader audience base. The seris was aligned with a committed title sponsor, Kubota Canada Ltd and combining the winning formula of strong sponsorship support with equestrian enthusiasm, Lejoma Sports Management has brought show jumping and equestrian athletes to the forefront once again.

Kubota Canada Ltd, the leading distributor of compact diesel tractors and construction equipment is headquartered in Markham Ontario and has a supporting network of 150 dealers across the nation. (www.kubota.ca)

Lejoma Sports Management develops marketing and promotion programs for equestrian sports, and offers full promotion services to various Canadian athletes, including members of all equestrian sports. (www.lejoma.com)