It was Adrienne Sternlicht’s day at the RBC Ottawa International show jumping tournament at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, ON. Having won the US $35,000 Grand Prix CSI2*, presented by Mark Motors Group, in the morning, Sternlicht returned to the grass field to claim victory in the grand finale, the US $340,000 Grand Prix CSI5*, presented by RBC.
Jessica Mendoza was the first to return for the shortened jump-off track, setting the early standard with four faults in a time of 38.08 riding Summerhouse, her 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Induparts Guidam Sohn x VDL Indoctro). Haas was next to challenge with Claude, her 13-year-old Westphalian gelding (Captain Jack 44 x Cefalo). When she also dropped a rail in a slower time of 39.02 seconds, the door was wide open for Sternlicht as the final challenger. Knowing exactly what she needed to do to win, Sternlicht left all the jumps in place and claimed victory riding Origa vh Zuid-Pajottenland, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Starlight Farms 1 LLC.
A member of the U.S. gold medal team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, it had been just under a year since Sternlicht last competed in a five-star grand prix. The 32-year-old proved she was more than up to the task by winning the RBC Grand Prix.
“The track was incredibly difficult and knowing how many top riders there were, you just had to really take it jump by jump,” said Sternlicht who was competing against four of the top 10 riders in the world rankings including her own trainer, McLain Ward. “It is definitely an emotional win for me. It’s a horse that I’ve always really, really believed in. He has the ability to jump the biggest classes in the world and to feel like I did right by him today is super gratifying.”
Of having accomplished the incredible feat of winning both the two-star and the five-star grands prix on the same day, Sternlicht noted, “It definitely took a bit of pressure off knowing I was already really content with my day and excited about my partnership with a new horse.”
In only their second FEI-sanctioned competition together, Sternlicht piloted Corablue Z to victory in the US $35,000 1.45m Grand Prix CSI2*, presented by Mark Motors Group. As the final challenger in a six-horse jump-off, Sternlicht left all the rails in place and crossed the timers in 41.80 seconds to take the win over Ireland’s Daniel Coyle who had held the lead with a time 42.85 seconds riding Calippo 57 for owner Ariel Grange. Delaney Flynn of United States was also double clear in 45.04 seconds to place third riding Namamia for Windsor Show Stables.
