Leslie Howard and Donna Speciale continue to be unstoppable indoors, claiming the opening $35,000 International Jumper Power & Speed at the The Royal CSI4*-W on Tuesday, November 8th. For a Tuesday afternoon, the class drew surprisingly large crowds to the stadium in downtown Toronto, and featured the Individual Olympic Gold Medallists Nick Skelton and Big Star, as well as Team Silver Medists Mclain Ward and HH Azur. While it was obvious many riders were using the class as a schooling round, it was clear Howard was in it to win it as she galloped the track with the 8-year-old KWPN mare, Donna Speciale (Cavalier x Paris). “[The mare] has won a ton of classes this year and is a real hope for the future,” explained Howard. “She’s scopey, she’s fast, she’s careful, she’s game. She loves to win. She’s just a really super, super horse and if she can keep doing this up the next two levels, then she’ll be the best.” Twenty-three competitors attempted the course designed by Bernardo Cabrall, with Howard’s time of 28.82 seconds proving unbeatable. 2nd place was awarded to Germany’s David Will and Madonie H (Carthago x Zeus) who finished in 29.72 seconds, and 3rd to Canada’s Erynn Ballard and Thalys Z (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Denard) who crossed the timers in 31.75 seconds. “I haven’t jumped Bernardo’s courses a lot, but he does a very very nice job, for sure,” said Howard. “Today was just a get-going class. It was a nice 1.40m, there was nothing that was stupid, crazy, but if you wanted to take a shot you could.”
With many big classes to come at The Royal, Howard was thrilled to start the week on a high note.
“It just sets the tone very well. It takes a lot of the pressure off for the week and just puts everything in a positive light,” expressed Howard. “It’s a great feeling.”
“I’m so happy that Toronto has one of them because it is the best indoor show we have, frankly,” said Howard. “The footing is perfect, they have great course designers, the scheduling is perfect and there are great crowds.”On Wednesday evening, The Royal will play host to one of seven East Coast FEI World Cup Qualifiers, which Howard is aiming to enter with Gentille Van Spieveld (Heartbreaker x Capital).
“It’s special for me, just because I’ve been coming here for so many years. I’m 60 now, and I probably came here the first time when I was in my 20s. There are just a lot of great memories.”
And with a win this first class out, The Royal’s 2016 edition is already shaping out to be one for the books for Howard.
See the full results of the $35,000 International Jumper Power & Speed at this link.
Leslie Howard and Donna Speciale continue to be unstoppable indoors, claiming the opening $35,000 International Jumper Power & Speed at the The Royal CSI4*-W on Tuesday, November 8th. For a Tuesday afternoon, the class drew surprisingly large crowds to the stadium in downtown Toronto, and featured the Individual Olympic Gold Medallists Nick Skelton and Big Star, as well as Team Silver Medists Mclain Ward and HH Azur. While it was obvious many riders were using the class as a schooling round, it was clear Howard was in it to win it as she galloped the track with the 8-year-old KWPN mare, Donna Speciale (Cavalier x Paris). “[The mare] has won a ton of classes this year and is a real hope for the future,” explained Howard. “She’s scopey, she’s fast, she’s careful, she’s game. She loves to win. She’s just a really super, super horse and if she can keep doing this up the next two levels, then she’ll be the best.” Twenty-three competitors attempted the course designed by Bernardo Cabrall, with Howard’s time of 28.82 seconds proving unbeatable. 2nd place was awarded to Germany’s David Will and Madonie H (Carthago x Zeus) who finished in 29.72 seconds, and 3rd to Canada’s Erynn Ballard and Thalys Z (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Denard) who crossed the timers in 31.75 seconds. “I haven’t jumped Bernardo’s courses a lot, but he does a very very nice job, for sure,” said Howard. “Today was just a get-going class. It was a nice 1.40m, there was nothing that was stupid, crazy, but if you wanted to take a shot you could.”
With many big classes to come at The Royal, Howard was thrilled to start the week on a high note.
“It just sets the tone very well. It takes a lot of the pressure off for the week and just puts everything in a positive light,” expressed Howard. “It’s a great feeling.”
“I’m so happy that Toronto has one of them because it is the best indoor show we have, frankly,” said Howard. “The footing is perfect, they have great course designers, the scheduling is perfect and there are great crowds.”On Wednesday evening, The Royal will play host to one of seven East Coast FEI World Cup Qualifiers, which Howard is aiming to enter with Gentille Van Spieveld (Heartbreaker x Capital).
“It’s special for me, just because I’ve been coming here for so many years. I’m 60 now, and I probably came here the first time when I was in my 20s. There are just a lot of great memories.”
And with a win this first class out, The Royal’s 2016 edition is already shaping out to be one for the books for Howard.
See the full results of the $35,000 International Jumper Power & Speed at this link.