Canadian veteran rider Mario Deslauriers jumped to victory in the final 5* competition of the ‘Continental’ CSI5*, presented by Rolex, this afternoon (June 8). Following a week of Irish domination, today was Canada’s Day, with Calgary’s gal Kara Chad, coming second in the All Canada Ring finale. Twenty-five horse/rider combinations took on Canadian FEI Course Designer Peter Grant’s 14 obstacle (17 jumping effort) track, with six qualifying for the jump off. The podium was rounded out by Ireland’s Conor Swail who had wins earlier in the week. “I've been coming Spruce, since I was 14. So make the math, I'm 60 now. It’s a long time. I gained a lot of experience and (there are) a lot of ups and down here, but it's great facility, best in the world. We all love to come here and we know we can really make a horse here.” - 60-year-old Mario Deslauriers (CAN) reflects on his years at Spruce Meadows. Top 10 Results
Mario Deslauriers (CAN) & S&L Quartro van de Meerputhoeve
The Irish are on a roll this week at Spruce Meadows, and, in a competition where speed is key, there was no besting Ireland’s Darragh Kenny and the appropriately named mare, Lightning. In the first Table C speed competition of the summer, where faults are converted to time, the pair left all the fences up and laid out a clear round in a time of 96.29s. Sliding into second place was Jordan Coyle (IRL), who despite having a rail (indicating four seconds would be added to his running time), produced a final time of 96.50s. Yesterday’s winner Conor Swail (IRL) abord One Edition, rounded out the top three. Top 10 Results
