Ottawa, Canada – August 24, 2024 – Canadian pride was high as Northern Lights stepped onto the podium to accept gold for the $200,000 ClipMyHorseTV Team Competition CSI 5* in Ottawa. With an all-Canadian lineup, the stars—and maple leaves—aligned for the team to take their first win of season four.
Elizabeth Bates (CAN) and Heartbeat W; Sean Jobin (CAN) riding Coquelicot VH Heuvelland Z; and Nicole Walker (CAN) aboard Atout des Trambles secured the win for Northern Lights. The team came home on a total of eight faults over the two rounds, ultimately claiming victory.
Sean Jobin (CAN) simply need to cross the finish timers after Lillie Keenan (USA) of the Trelawny Trailblazers withdrew Agana van het Gerendal Z from the medal-determining jump-off.
“It’s the first Northern Lights team win ever so to do it with an all-Canadian team on Canadian soil is such a great opportunity,” said Walker.
Not only was Saturday’s win the first for Northern Lights, but also the first MLSJ podium for new team member, Elizabeth Bates (CAN).
“I’m really happy to be here,” said Bates. “I live in Europe, but I wanted to come back for some summers. What drew me here is the quality of the shows and actually, the events themselves are really impressive. The atmosphere is amazing and that’s worth flying across the pond for. “
Bates felt a resemblance to her European home base after jumping a weekend on the field at Wesley Clover Parks.
“Something that I particularly like about this tour are the number of grass shows available. I’ve always preferred grass and a good grass field is hard to come by but they’re important for building up the sport for the future,” continued Bates. “Major five-star shows and the majority of the authentic or traditional ones are all on grass.”
Following Northern Lights on the podium were the Trelawny Trailblazers, who took the top of the season standings back from Helios. Lillie Keenan (USA), Conor Swail (IRL), and Daniel Bluman (ISR) made up the squad that accepted the silver medal.
After jumping off for bronze against the Roadrunners, it was Team KPF that claimed the final spot on the podium. The team, represented by Ashley Vogel (USA), Alison Robitaille (USA), and Tiffany Foster (CAN) earned their win on time after Vogel crossed the jump-off finish line at 44.29 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than her opponent.
Final Results – $200,000 ClipMyHorseTV MLSJ Team Competition CSI 5*
1) Northern Lights
2) Trelawny Trailblazers
3) Team KPF
Source: Press Release from MLSJ – Major League Show Jumping
Photos: © MLSJ / Mackenzie Clark
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Categories: CSI 5*, English, Jumper News Canada
