In a jump-off field of ten, it’s almost a given there will be an Irish rider somewhere in the mix. Saturday afternoon was no exception at tbird’s MLSJ Canadian Premier.
FEI Nations Cup™ Final individual silver and team gold medalist Paul O’Shea was almost casually efficient in his approach to riding at speed with Squirt Gun, jumping to the top of the leaderboard in the 1.50m Winning Round class on a time of 39.25 seconds.
America’s Charlotte Jacobs and Rincoola Milsean had the quicker time, clocking in just over 37 seconds, but dropped a rail, which meant they would have to settle for a spot much further down the list.
“I saw Jacqueline [Steffens] go. She was very quick and her horse is a very fast horse. And Darragh [Kenny] was behind me, so I thought I had to give it a really good go, because Darragh’s one of the fastest riders in the world. So we just went to go as quick as we could in a comfortable way for Squirt, and he really jumped fantastic today.”
The pair boasts a 63% clean round average over 43 rounds at the 1.50m height (Jumpr App). For O’Shea, the goal with his sometimes high spirited mount is to keep calm and carry on.
“I just try to ride him nice and relaxed. Sometimes if I feel he’s holding a lot of tension, we gallop for a few strides, just a little faster, and then he kind of lets a squeal out and relaxes again,” shared O’Shea. “[I] just keep it all nice and easy and calm and no big deal, no pressure. He really wants to do the right thing. He’s a very honest horse.”
Finishing second, also for Eye Candy Jumpers, was Canada’s Jacqueline Steffens with Hellcat, posting a clear round in a time of 40.71. Fellow Canadian Nicole Walker rounded out the top three Excellent B, on a clean round in 40.74.
CSI5* $39,000 Winning Round 1.50m
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / Country / Jump Off Faults:Time
- Squirt Gun / Paul O’Shea / Eye Candy Jumpers / IRE / 0:39.25
- Hellcat / Jacqueline Steffens / Eye Candy Jumpers / CAN / 0:40.71
- Excellent B / Nicole Walker / Rider / CAN / 0:40.74
- Carmela Z / Vanessa Mannix / Rider / CAN / 0:42.56
- Rincoola Milsean / Charlotte Jacobs / North Star / USA / 4:37.05
- Yoghi Flp / Grant Seger / Fox Lair Performance / USA / 4:39.00
- California Pie / Darragh Kenny / Carol Sollak / 4:39.27
- OO Seven De L’Equipe / Jessica Mendoza / 4:40.91
- Callisto Blue / Caroline Mawhinney / Rider / 4:41.09
- Conrado 12 / Ali Ramsay / Ramsay Equestrian Inc / 4:41.45
