The $85,000 TD Cup 1.50m was held in a winning round format on Saturday with a big win for Canada’s Kara Chad (19). Thirty entries jumped in round one, and course designer Santiago Varela saw nine clear rounds and one entry with a single time fault advance to round two for the top ten. Kara Chad jumped to victory with the fastest of six clear trips over the second round course. She stopped the clock in a time of 45.55 seconds aboard Stone Ridge Farm’s Star la Tuiliere. Rodrigo Lambre (BRA) finished second with Mario Onate’s Charielle in 46.33 seconds. Pablo Barrios (VEN) placed third aboard ZL Group, Inc.’s Zara Leandra in a time of 47.96 seconds. The win was Chad’s first in Spruce Meadows’ famous International Ring and a memorable moment in the young rider’s career. “It is surreal,” she stated after leading the round of honor. “My horse was so good to me. I had a few difficult distances, but she really showed herself and was able to perform for me out there. Coming out of the ring, I was ecstatic. Of course when you come out, you want to hold on to that lead and that is exactly what happened.” Chad got Star la Tuiliere, a nine-year-old Selle Francais mare (Dollar de la Pierre x Quick Star) in September of 2014. “She is a little fighter,” the rider praised. “She is rather small, but she has all the jump and all the ability. We just moved up to our first 1.50m yesterday. She was incredible and showed so much talent, so then we decided to jump today because she is quite a quick horse and we thought she was good for the winning round. She is absolutely incredible.” When Chad says “we,” she includes Eric Lamaze, who she and her sister, Bretton, began training with just before the start of the Summer Series. They previously rode with Susie Schroer and Dick Carvin for almost 12 years. “I mean, it is Eric Lamaze, he is nothing but the best,” Chad smiled. “He just puts more of a competitive edge on everything. He is such a great trainer and I am having such a great time with him, so big thanks to Eric!” Chad’s next stop is Europe, and she looks forward to diving into more international competition with a big win under her belt.
