Welcome!
• Home • FAQs
• Site Map
Weather
• Contacts
Free Service Appreciation
Find out about advertising with us!

Barely a breath between first and second in the $35,000 Kubota Cup Grand Prix at the Edmonton Northlands Horse Show

Ceci Flanagan-Snow, Eclipse Communications

June 3, 2006

Edmonton, AB --- It came down to 1/100th of a second between first and second place in the $35,000 Kubota Cup Grand Prix at the Edmonton Northlands Horse Show.

Allen Kruger and Pleasure Time were the first pair to challenge 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 Show Jumping Series Western Division Champion, Tamie Phillips (AB) and her homebred gelding, Lucas, also posted a clear round, as did American Kyle King on both of his mounts, Capone and Estival.

Christina Marlin and Raleigh, also 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 jump. 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 13 points behind Western Division Points Leader, his own student, Emily George. Tamie Phillips and Lucas are currently in third place heading for the Western Division Championships at Twin Oaks in Langley, BC, with 325 points in hand.

At the Eastern and Western Division Championships, each Champion will also receive tack (horse equipment) from CWD Saddles valued at approximately $2,250 CDN and a trio of high quality saddle pads worth almost $400, including the latest orthopedic saddle pad with memory foam, the Ortho Top RideTM. The runner-up in each Division will receive tack from CWD Saddles valued at $1,500 CDN.

The winner of the National Finals in Toronto in November will receive a custom made saddle and other tack from CWD Saddles valued at $7,500 CDN and a trio of high quality saddle pads worth almost $400, including the latest orthopedic saddle pad with memory foam, the Ortho Top RideTM.

Kubota Canada Ltd. is the Title Sponsor of the Series. Their support for the sport of Show Jumping in Canada has been instrumental in the incredible growth of the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series, now in its second year. In addition to providing the prize money for the Kubota Cup Grand Prixs at each member show, Kubota Canada Ltd. will give each of the Eastern and Western Division Champions a new Kubota RTV900 utility vehicle and a magnificent crystal cup.

At each of the member shows in the Series, Kubota supplies all of the tractors and equipment needed to maintain the show arenas and to move equipment and people around the grounds.

Through its sponsorship program for the sport of Show Jumping, Kubota Canada Ltd. is finacing the production of the Along For The Ride 13-part television series, directed by Gemini nominated John Dolin. The series tells the behind-the-scenes stories of 39 of the participating riders from rookies in their first season of Grand Prix competition to Olympic veterans of the sport. Last season, Along For The Ride brought the story of show jumping in Canada and the passions of the participants into over 1.2 million Canadian homes. Fans are eagerly anticipating the second season.

KUBOTA CANADA LTD. (www.kubota.ca ) is the leading distributor of compact diesel tractors and construction equipment in Canada through its network of 150 retail outlets. Headquartered in Markham, ON, the company is celebrating over 30 years of providing Canadians with “Powerful Solutions For A Compact World.” The company’s interest in Canadian sports led it to sign the multi-year commitment, underlining its commitment to and promotion of Canadian athletes and participating events.

The 2006 Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series includes the Kubota Cup Grand Prix class at each of the following shows:

The Royal Manibota Winter Fair, Brandon, MB, April 1

The Edmonton Northlands Horse Show, AB, June 3

The Kubota Capital Classic Show Jumping Tournament, Kubota Cup Big Ben Memorial Grand Prix, Ottawa, ON July 16

The Kubota Bromont International Horse Show presenting the Kubota Cup Grand Prix, Bromont, QC, July 29

The Twin Oaks Derby presenting the Kubota Cup Jumping Derby and Western Division Championship Presentation, Richmond, BC, August 13

The Kubota Collingwood Classic, presenting the Kubota Cup Grand Prix, Collingwood, ON, August 20

The Maritime Fall Fair presenting the Kubota Cup Grand Prix and Eastern Division Championship Presentation, Halifax, NS, October 14

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair presenting the Kubota Cup National Finals, Toronto, ON, November 4

For more information on the Kubota Cup Canadian Show Jumping Series contact:

Ceci Flanagan-Snow, Media Relations and Communications (506) 644-8209 eclipse4@nb.sympatico.ca

TOP 10 RESULTS:
Horse / Owner
Rider
Placing
Faults / Jump Off Faults / Time
Prize Money / Kubota Cup Points
Lolita / Attaché Stables
Jonathan Asselin
1
0 / 0 / 36.18
$8,750 / 180 + 10 bonus points = 190
PLUS
SoftStall®
 therapeutic bedding system for the horse 
AND
A Sereno Top Ride®
 ultra-suede saddle pad (in Kubota Orange) from Ogilvy Horse

Total Value >$9,500
Lucas / Tamie Phillips
Tamie Phillips
2
0 / 0 / 36.19
$6,300 / 170
Rayana Chiara
Jonathan Asselin
3
0 / 0 / 36.92
$5,250 / 165
Capone / Connie Super
Kyle King
4
0 / 4 / 35.01
$3,850 / 0*
Pleasure Time / Caledonia Stables
Allen Kruger
5
0 / 4 / 37.55
$2,800 / 160
Estival / Kathryl Hall
Kyle King
6
0 / 4 / 33.59
$2,450 / 0*
Raleigh / Milestone Farms
Christina Marlin
7
0 / E
$2,100 / 155
Smart Thinking / Emily George
Emily George
8
1
$1,400 / 150
The Sophisticate / Andrew More
Andrew More
9
4
$1,050 / 146
Watermark / Gary Brewster
Gary Brewster
10
4
$1,050 / 138
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY
$35,000
* Kubota Cup Points may be accumulated only by Canadian riders and only in the Division in which the rider lives.

To June 2006 News Articles Index | To Canada Equine ...On-Line Home