American Kyle King is not accustomed to taking the ‘conservative clear’ — he’s only done it twice in his career and both times with Ilan Feder’s 10-year-old Holsteiner Cerolino.

On Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Show Park, it was the smart strategy in the 1.50m CSIO5* Paladin Cup. As the final of six horses to take the field for Peter Holmes’ (CAN) jump-off track, King watched as rider after rider pulled rails at speed. He knew the assignment: leave the rails up and go quick enough to not amass too many time faults. For someone as hardwired for speed as ultra-competitive King, taking the ‘safe route’ does not come naturally.

“It’s the second time [taking the slow clear] has happened to me in my life and it’s been on that horse twice,” laughed King. “I almost blew it the first time in Thermal… [so] I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t want to be in this position again.’”

With no double clears on the leaderboard, however, the steady clear was the wise choice. This time Cerolino left the rails up, crossing the timers in a steady 48.38 seconds. Santiago Lambre (BRA) and Chattanooga took runner up position with four faults in 38.37. Erynn Ballard (CAN) and Game Over settled for third with four faults in 39.39.

“[Cerolino] has a big, big stride, and so I can drop strides everywhere and he’s very agile. When I first started riding him I thought he was always going to be a little bit slow. But he’s not, especially in a field like this. Today was slow, but I was just trying to go clear. I thought he really tried for me and jumped super the second round.” 

Three of the six combinations to contest the short course had the ‘tbird Canoes’ jump down and when asked, King said he took extra care at the fence to ensure success.

“Even in the first round, I wanted to make sure I got really straight to it. It’s a little bit stuck in a funny position.”

Together for about a year, the pair has averaged 57% in clear rounds and top ten finishes at the 1.45m level in 2023 (Jumpr App).

“We bought him for one of my clients, who then ended up wanting to trade him out to another horse,” explained King. “While that was happening, Cerolino didn’t really do all that much. So [owner] Ilan Feder told me that I could produce him a little bit further… And he’s just been money ever since. He makes a cheque every show. He’s just really, really consistent.

“I’ve been a little bit unlucky this week —I should have won the other night. I had the time with one jump down. I had one jump down yesterday. It finally came out today.”

$38,500 CSIO5* Paladin Cup 1.50m

Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time

1. Cerolino / Kyle King / USA / Ilan Ferder / 0/0 38.38
2. Chattanooga / Santiago Lambre / BRA / Hf Farms / 0/4 38.37
3. Game Over / Erynn Ballard / CAN / Ilan Ferder / 0/4 39.39
4. Chakkalou PS / Patricio Pasquel / MEX / Gestüt Lewitz / 0/4 41.92
5. Menko vd Wellington / Andrew Bourns / IRL / Andrew Bourns / 0/4 45.87
6. Zeusz / Santiago Lambre / BRA / Lévai Csilla / 0/4 47.72
7. Landon / Kent Farrington / USA / Haity McNerney / 3 86.51
8. Seringat / Patricio Pasquel / MEX / Ainhoa Manero / 4 77.23
9. Cadeau Z / Mandy Porter / USA / Risen Eq Holdings LLC / 4 81.26
10. Etundel de Marocy / Karl Cook / USA / Signe Otsby / 4 81.71

Patience paid off Saturday afternoon for Mariah Barisoff, who topped the $3,000 DIHP Canadian Hunter Derby 3’6” Open with her horse Quincy at Thunderbird Show Park’s Odllum Brown BC Open. 

The pair finished on a score of 102, just a half-point ahead of runners-up Ashley Arnold and Light My Fire (101.5). Sloane Betker and Crack finished third (101).

Trainer Eliza Hunt of Delta, BC-based Obsidian Hunter Jumper made a clean sweep of the podium, with riders taking first through third, as well as fifth.

The winning pair knows each other well but was light on recent experience. A recent nursing school graduate, Barisoff was making her 3’6” hunter derby debut; it was also her first show back after taking time off for school. She purchased Quincy as a green five-year-old in 2015, but the pair hasn’t competed a full season since 2019, when they ended the year making the trip to Toronto for The Royal Winter Fair and CET Medal Finals.

“This was our first show back at Thunderbird in my hometown, and this derby meant a lot to me,” Barisoff said. “I was quite nervous going in; we’ve been knocking the rust off a bit all week, and I was just hoping for a smooth round.

The pair received a base score of 85 points, adding 10 for taking the high options and an additional seven for handiness.

“I wasn’t going to do the inside option, but he was just behaving so well, and he really feels like a team player right now. So I gave it a go and it came out perfectly,” Barisoff explained.

Hunt attributed Barisoff’s success to extra time the rider had been putting into her preparation, improving the quality of her warm-up and hacking her horse in the mornings before competition.

“He’s a cheeky fella,” laughed Barisoff. “I’d describe him as a bit of a ‘jock.’ He knows he’s good at his job, and he doesn’t really want to practice. And because he’s an exuberant horse, he’s a very good jumper. But he keeps me humble. Even though you have a great round today, tomorrow might not be the same. He keeps me on my toes.”

Riding is in Barisoff’s blood. Her mother is a barrel racer and still competes today.

“My mom has ridden since she was 13,” said Barisoff. “When she got married to my dad, he bought a horse so they could go trail riding together. Once I came along, I kind of stole my dad’s horse and traveled with my mom. 

“I have a barn of Quarter Horses at home — Quincy is my only warmblood,” she continued. “So he lives at home with a barn full of rodeo horses! And me and my mom go through it together. We both take our flat lessons, and we go to our separate worlds. I love it.”  

$3,000 DIHP Canadian Hunter Derby 3’6” Open

Finish Position / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner  / Total Score

1. Quincy / Mariah Barisoff / CAN / Mariah Barisoff / 102
2. Light My Fire / Ashley Arnoldt / CAN / Jennifer Arnoldt / 101.5
3. Crack / Sloane Betker / CAN / Sloane Betker / 101
4. VDL Iglesias / Quinn Partridge / USA / Effortless Equestrian Farm / 94
5. St Martin’s Lane / Chloe Mache / CAN / Chloe Mache / 89
6. Lexington 70 / Petra Pinkerton / CAN / Petra Pinkerton / 86
7. Talaro PS / Philippa Melski / USA / Mila Anderson / 84
8. Old Times LS / Samantha Smith / USA / Red Gate Farm / 83
9. Cyclone Z / Elspeth Longridge / CAN / Elspeth Longridge / 72
10. Corona OS / Charlotte Reeve / CAN / Charlotte Reeve / 68

The stars aligned for Shawn Casady (USA) Friday afternoon at Thunderbird Show Park, as the 28-year-old recorded the biggest victory of his career with NKH Cento Blue in the CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix. 

It took nearly a third of the class for a clean round to materialize over Peter Holmes’ (CAN) track, and it was Langley, BC’s own Samantha Buirs to lay it down with Chic D Emma Z. Once she did, World No. 10 Shane Sweetnam (IRL) followed suit with Out of the Blue SCF. But a trend it was not.

While fences fell in relatively equal measure, the last fence, the Longines vertical (‘unlucky’ 13) fell seven times. Just two more clears joined the jump-off: Canada’s Kara Chad with Igor GPH and the last pair in the ring, Casady and Cento Blue.

First to return over the short course, Buirs had an unfortunate refusal, costing her a chance at victory. Sweetnam laid down a clean round to put the pressure on, stopping the timer in 43.05 seconds. Elimination befell Chad and Igor, it was all down to Casady.

According to Jumpr App, Casady and KNH Cento Blue have performed with 4 faults or less 80% of the time in 2023, so it was only a matter of time before they had their turn in the winner’s circle. Today was the day, as they posted a clean round in 42.46 seconds.

“I didn’t see Shane’s whole jump off,” Casady explained. “[I was] just wanting to be double clear and consistent. For a big horse, he covers so much ground. I think that’s kind of where we were. We snuck in.

“I could have been fourth at the worst and it would have been a good day. I was just I was so proud of him,” he continued. “We were walking up to the ring together, and he knew we had a big a big day ahead of us.”

Casady, who grew up catch-riding ponies, didn’t acquire the ride on Cento Blue until his owner, Erin Davis-Heineking had an unfortunate injury, requiring shoulder surgery. She asked Casady to take on the ride and sent her horse to California, where the new partnership immediately started to win. After being named the U.S. team alternate for the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of the United States of America, Casady was encouraged to go on to Thunderbird.

For the past two weeks in Langley, Casady has been living and working out of his RV, grooming on his own and enjoying having the time to really get to know Cento Blue.

“He’s very food driven. He loves attention. And if you’re anywhere in the barn, he has his head out of his stall,” Casady described. “Every time you go near where there might be a snack, he looks over and wonders if you’re going to grab something for him. But he’s polite about it. He knows not to be rude.”

Perhaps it was that strengthened bond and more intimate familiarization with his mount that helped propel the pair to their biggest win yet—and inspired Casady to a moment of reflection.

“I know [that] in order to be successful, you have to believe in it and be confident. But I also know to be humble and to make sure I’m, you know, dotting the I’s and crossing my T’s,” Casady said. “I’m really grateful for all the effort that’s gone into [the journey] and the people and horses that have believed in me. It’s just a really special moment for it all to come together.”

A huge week of international show jumping kicked off at the Odlum Brown BC Open Thursday with speed being the name of the game for CSI2* and CSIO5* competitors all day.

In the feature class of the day, the $38,500 CSIO5* Nations Welcome, world no. 8 Conor Swail (IRL) was third in the ring of the 39-horse starting list and first to post a blazing round with Count Me In, stopping the clock in 60.80 seconds.

From there, the rounds were fast and they were clean, but sadly not in combination. America’s Shawn Casady came close with NKH Cento Blue (60.94) and then Swail and his second horse Casturano laid down a clear in 61.43 to move into third.

The class seemed all-but over. Then in came Mexico’s Patricio Pasquel with nine-year-old stallion Chakkalou PS — second to last in the group.

The pair put the pedal to the metal, shaving turns and strides off the Peter Holmes-designed 1.50m course. Stopping the timers in 60.40 seconds, they took over the lead with one to go. When Ireland’s Jordan Coyle and For Gold pulled a rail, it was Mexico’s win. Swail would have to settle for second (and fourth), pushing Casady into third.

“It’s his first 1.50m win,” smiled Pasquel, who took over the ride in Chakkalou PS’s 7-year-old year. “This is one we’ve tried to build up his confidence since I’ve had him and now I feel him ready to move up to the bigger stuff. You have to be patient.

“He’s coming along really well. He covers a lot of ground, which helps a lot. He is very fast and, to be honest, I didn’t know if I had [Conor] but when I looked and saw I did, I was pretty happy because he’s really fast! Any day you beat Conor Swail is a good day!” he laughed.

Show jumping heats up Friday with the CSI2* Friends of tbird at 8:45am, the CSIO5* West Coast Cup at 12:15pm and the marquee event of the day the $235,000 CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix at 4:00pm. Tickets are available on tbird.ca.