A Night of Great Sport and Great Entertainment
Every year fans flock to Spruce Meadows for the Friday of the 'Masters' CSIO5* Tournament and the Mercedes-Benz Evening of the Horse. After a full day of shopping and entertainment including the BMO Nations Cup Team Autograph Session, fans filled the International Ring to enjoy the evening.
The evening started with the Tourmaline Cup (1.60m) - one of the last chances for those riders not competing on a Nations Cup team to qualify for Sunday's Grand Prix. Twenty-seven top international horse/rider combinations started the evening competition with hopes of making it to the winner's circle.
Ten athletes jumped clear first rounds to move onto the jump off. The top three riders placed in this competition qualify for the Grand Prix on Sunday which added that little bit of pressure as the jump off began.
The fastest time in the jump off belonged to Eric Lamaze (CAN) and Fine Lady 5, but an unfortunate rail halfway through the jump off would have them finish fastest of the four faulters. Portugal's Luciana Diniz has been looking for her first win of the 2018 Spruce Meadows 'Masters' and tonight was her night. Her mount Camargo 2 gave it his all as the two galloped through the finish line on a clear ride with a time of 43.96s.
"I like it here, my horses like it here" - Luciana Diniz(POR) on competing at Spruce Meadows
Click Here for Full Results of the Tourmaline Cup (1.60m)
