Following two exciting days of competition, Day Three capitalized on a sizzling opening weekend of jumping. A wide-open jump-off in the $35,000 Tractorland Royal West International Championship PHASE 3 1.45 m was ultimately won in a heart-stopper by Samuel Parot of Chile aboard Atlantis. As it was the night before, Saturday’s jump-off was a very competitive field, seeing ten riders vying for the coveted top three spots. In the tightly contested field, however, two riders, Canadian Keeann White and Samuel Parot — winners in the 1.45 m on Thursday and Friday, respectively — came looking to win on Saturday. Parot would have taken two mounts into the jump-off but his mount Couscous van Orti clipped the last bar to miss out. But the veteran Chilean then doubled down on the drama, riding Atlantis — the mount he rode to take the Sacramento leg of the west coast jumping league — into the jump-off. There he took the spot, coming dramatically close to colliding with one of the jumps as he wheeled Atlantis around to the final jump for a winning time of 40.40 seconds. “It’s already a very fast course,” Parot said afterward. “I didn’t have to look for a lot of speed. It was in the course to begin with, and Atlantis was very good on the turns.” White made a valiant effort to unseat Parot, gunning for consecutive wins in the 1.45 m. He pushed For Freedom Z to a scintillating time of 40.97 seconds, just behind Parot. “My younger horses were not so experienced and it showed in the first round,” White noted. “But For Freedom Z is my top horse, he can handle the tight corners and the indoors. He really came through.” The second-to-last rider of the evening, Erynn Ballard put on an exhilarating chase as she gunned for Parot and White’s top marks. She fell just short and took the third spot. She finished the course aboard Appy Cara in 42.25 seconds. She said the atmosphere was a factor. “The atmosphere was the best tonight,” she remarked. “The energy was in the building. I knew how fast Samuel can be and so I’m pleased with where I finished.” Bringing up the rest of the field in the jump-off were, in order, were Chris Sorenson on Bobby in fourth, Tracey Epp, John Anderson, James Chawke, Laura Jane Tidball, Ali Ramsay, and Ostmeyer. Seven of the jump-off contestants were Canadians along with three international riders, Chile’s Parot, Ireland’s Chawke, and Germany’s Ortmeyer.
