They call her “perfect princess” in the barn, and on Saturday at Thunderbird Show Park’s BCHJA Fall Finale, Canberre 59 lived up to the name.

Payton Betker rode 15-year-old Hanoverian mare to victory in the CET Medal Regional Final, sponsored by Equi-Products, edging a talented field of young riders to punch her ticket to the National Final. Just two penalty points separated the top two finishers, with Betker and Canberre 59 taking the win on a combined score of 258.

Shenae Johnston and Fanta finished second on a score of 256, followed closely by Ellie Boon and Cynergy Z, who rounded out the podium in third on 248. Teia Fennell and Graffiti completed the top four with a score of 241.5.

The CET Medal Regional Final, sponsored by Equi-Products, is a qualifier for the National Final held in November at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, Ontario. Open to the top 20 riders in the BC region up to age 21, the Regional Final featured a flat/gymnastics phase on Friday, counting for 50 per cent of the combined score, with Saturday’s jumping phase making up the other half. The top six after both phases return for a ride off and the top four advance to the Final.

Saturday’s ride-off featured nine jumping efforts, a water tray and a one-stride combination. Betker leveraged the mare’s jumper background to their advantage and her instinct for pace and tidy turns proved decisive.

“Since she’s a jumper, I committed a little more to speed and I rode it a little more like a jump off,” she said. “And from doing the jumpers, our turns are a little slick.”

Betker credited Johnston with pushing her to the limit.

“[Shenae and I] are both pretty equal, so it just comes down to what the judges want,” she said. “She had a beautiful round too.”

Betker took over the ride on Canberre 59 from her sister Sloane earlier this year and found instant success together. 

“We call her perfect princess. She’s just so perfect in the barn,” Betker said. “And you put her in the ring and she’s just perfect. We took her from the jumper ring here to see how she’d do [in equitation] and she was perfect. She’s so versatile.”

Asked what her trainer Cheryl Keith told her before the ride, Betker kept it simple: “Be calm, relax. Take your time in the corners and don’t rush it.”

In the CET Mini Medal, sponsored by BCHJA and held earlier in the afternoon, Quinn Haggins and SSE Slow Motion jumped to the top of the podium with a combined score of 239 with Tiffany Chen and Cassi just half a point behind on 238.5. Diana Li and Horseware Diadini finished third on 235.

The top four riders in the CET Medal Regional Final now advance to the National Final.

CET Medal Regional Final, sponsored by Equi-Products, Top 8