Langley, BC —After breaking through with a victory in the MarBill Hill U25 Grand Prix at the Summer Fort Welcome, Olivia Stephenson (CAN) is riding a win streak.
The Calgary native—who turns 18 next week—topped Friday’s MarBill Hill U25 1.40m speed competition with her partner of two years, Deister Z.
The winning time was 61.89 seconds—nearly five seconds faster than runners-up Nyah Chernoff (CAN) and Fair Play d’Esquelmes (66.07s). Early leaders Kylie Martens (CAN) and Nico finished third (61.89s). The top three were the only combinations to jump clear in the field of 15.
Stephenson impressed over Joey Rycroft’s (CAN) course. Not only did she catch eyes with her margin of victory, but her second win in as many weeks came on a different horse, after winning last week with Chaccalanda.
“[Deister Z] just has a huge canter stride, so it’s easy to keep covering ground and not have to stop and start,” said Stephenson, who identified at least three lines where she left out a stride on course. “The course today definitely was suited fairly well for him, too.”
Stephenson has cited efficiency and track between the lines as areas she’s work on improving in her riding, and the results of those efforts have paid dividends. In addition to producing quicker times, the change in approach to the fences has helped her better manage her horse’s stride.
“Track always helps, especially with [Deister Z], because it keeps him on his toes, rather than just getting strung out and long [in his canter],” she explained.
Stephenson has now made the podium in four of her last five classes in the MarBill Hill U25 division at tbird—and she only narrowly missed it in Wednesday’s MarBill Hill U25 1.35m, finishing fourth.
“Definitely mentally, [my confidence has been boosted],” Stephenson said. “I’ve had [Deister Z] for two years now. We’ve done this division since I got him, so he’s also super confident in these classes.”
Stephenson has used the MarBill Hill U25 division as both a way to bridge the gap between junior and senior show jumping competition and build a community with her peers.
“It’s such a competitive division, where I feel like we are all at the same experience level,” she said. “It makes it super fun, because a lot of us are friends, and we all know each other. For experience, being able to show on a nice big grass field like the Grand Prix horses [is nice, too].”
$5,000 MarBill Hill U25 1.40m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. Deister Z / Olivia Stephenson / CAN / Olivia Stephenson / 0 61.89
2. Fair Play d’Esquelmes / Nyah Chernoff / CAN / Stump Lake Ranch & Cattle Co Ltd / 0 66.07
3. Nico 1427 / Kylie Martens / CAN / Kylie Martens / 0 70.47
4. Fuego / Isabel Coxe / USA / 5 Roosters / 4 64.12
5. C’Diam de Ste Anne / Emmeline Adamick / Hawk Hollow Farm / 4 64.69
6. Parabell Jmen / Eric Krawitt / CAN / Claire Wen / 4 66.53
7. Ielinea JTL / Jayden Stettner / CAN / Jayden Stettner / 4 67.76
8. Indiana II / Sloane Betker / CAN / Samantha Vanderwoude / 4 68.94
9. Cincinnati Kid 7 / Sierra Geisler / CAN / Sierra Geisler / 4 72.14
10. Laviata / Cashelle Levasseur / CAN / Gerard Developments / 4 73.44
