Ottawa, ON - Marking the end of a successful Grand Prix season, the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series received rounds of applause from its title sponsor, Kubota Canada Ltd and over four hundred and fifty Kubota representatives who had arrived to take in the National Finals, hosted Saturday, November 4th during their annual National Dealers Conference, held this year in Toronto, Ontario.

The Kubota Cup Series culminates at the prestigious Royal Horse Show, wrapping up an eight-city tour that spans the country, coast to coast for over nine months.

Earning over $450,000 worth of cash and awards and driving thousands of miles across the Canadian landscape, Canadian equestrian riders competed to qualify as regional winners and an opportunity for eligibility in the Kubota Cup National Finals.

The Western and Eastern Champions each took home a Kubota RTV900 Utility vehicle, a crystal trophy and various awards from Associate Sponsors SoftStall, CWD Saddles and Ogilvy Horse.

The top twenty-one riders were invited to participate in the National Finals and competed for year-end money and prizes, including a custom saddle and tack presented by CWD Saddles, along with the Kubota Cup National Champion title. John Pearce and Archie Bunker, who brought the Kubota group to their feet with hoots and hollers of encouragement, was proud to be named as the second annual Kubota Cup National Champion.

Following the action during the highly charged night at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, John Gilliland, National Marketing Manager for Kubota Canada, had only praise and words of encouragement for all participants. “Thank you for great entertainment and great sportsmanship throughout the year. Kubota chose to partner with the Olympic sport of Show Jumping and the result of increased sales and new friendships has been over-whelming from this sponsorship. We look forward to another great year in 2007”.

Closing out its second successful year of competition, the Series has contributed a lot of positive development within the Canadian sport. One hundred and sixty nine horses jumped across the country in one or more Kubota Cup Grand Prix, from Richmond, British Columbia to the Atlantic port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Over $65 million dollars was contributed into the Canadian economy through the attendance of 521,500 spectators at the Kubota Cup Grand Prix events nationally.
An audience of 1.3 million viewers tuned into the weekly television series, Along For the Ride, a thirteen-part reality/lifestyles program featuring what goes on behind the scenes with athletes competing in the Kubota Cup Grand Prix Series. Entertaining, enlightening and informative, the show brought rookies, veterans and high performance equestrian sport straight into the homes and hearts of fans and enthusiasts.

Behind this national show jumping series is the Ottawa Valley based company Lejoma Sports Management. Founded by Sandra Fraser, an equestrian enthusiast who developed this national program to enhance the existing system of Grand Prix competitions, along with the promotion of the sport and its athletes to a broader audience base, Mrs. Fraser aligned the series with a committed title sponsor, Kubota Canada Ltd. Combining the winning formula of strong sponsorship support and equestrian enthusiasm, Lejoma Sports Management has brought show jumping and equestrian athletes to the forefront once again.

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)

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 dealerships across the nation. (www.kubota.ca)