Wesley Clover hosts world’s best horses

KANATA – Some say the magic of elite show jumping lives in the partnership between horse and rider – a certain trust that fuels the confidence to jump great heights.

This week Ottawa Equestrian Tournaments invites you to experience the thrill of show jumping up close at the RBC Ottawa International CSI5*CSI2* (Aug. 14 to 17) hosted by Wesley Clover Parks at 401 Corkstown Rd.

The world class, four-day tournament features two daily jumping competitions culminating with the $340,000 USD 5* RBC Grand Prix on the final afternoon (Aug. 14). Spectators will witness show jumping history as 14 Olympic equestrians and a number of the world’s top-ranked riders will compete for the largest purse ever offered in the Ottawa equestrian tournament’s 10-year run.

In Grand Prix show jumping, horse and rider are required to clear a skill-testing course of jumps as high as 1.6 metres and up to 2 m wide in the shortest possible time. In the line-up for this this Sunday’s 5* RBC Grand Prix riders from around the world including Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Isreal and the United States will be competing in our own backyard.

Top 10 riders in the Grand Prix include world Number 1 Kent Farrington of the United States who took the lead in the global standings in May of this year; Number 8 McLain Ward also of the US; and Number 9 Richard Vogel of Germany.

This is the second time Farrington, 44, has led the global standings. In May 2017 he topped the rankings when he assumed the title from fellow American show jumping rider Ward.

Farrington and Ward have been competing against each other for more than a decade. Whether as a partnership for the United States Equestrian Team (USET) or as individuals they have a reputation for pushing each other to the limit.  

There is no doubt with Farrington and Ward in the ring on Sunday, the competition will be fierce.

Canada’s 2024 Paris Olympic games equestrian team Erynn Ballard, Mario Deslauriers and Amy Millar will also be in the mix.

Ballard was the world’s second highest ranked female show jumper when she headed to her first Olympics last year. The 45-year-old Tottenham, ON, native and lifetime equestrian told the Horse Network in a September 2024 interview, “it’s all about the horses.”

“I live for these horses,” she said. “That is what inspires me every day – and inspires me to keep going.”

Deslauriers, a native of Venise-en-Quebec, QC, exemplifies the longevity some equestrians enjoy in this sport. In 1984, at the age of 19 he became the first Canadian and the youngest rider to ever win a World Cup final, a record the 60-year-old still holds today.

Deslaurier will be joining Sunday’s contest hot off his win in the CSI5* $500K Duncan Ross Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows on June 8.

Millar of Millarbrooke Farm, Perth, ON, one of the few international competitors who combines motherhood with show jumping, continues to follow in the footsteps of her show jumping legend father Ian Millar.

“Show jumping is our family business,” she told Faces Magazine in an interview earlier this summer. “From my first breath I have had a front row seat to the best in the business. The best advice my dad ever gave me was to enjoy the journey. In competition you are either winning or learning. And as long as you are learning you never lose.”

With the talent that has made the Wesley Clover Park stables their temporary home this week, it will be anyone’s guess who will take home $350,000 USD on Sunday. Late last week (Aug. 8) West Carleton Online caught up with Wesley Clover Park executive director Karen Sparks to find out how she convinced some of the most elite riders on the planet to make the trip to Ottawa.  

“A five-star show such as the RBC Ottawa International is the highest level of competition in the world except for the major games like the World Equestrian Games or the Olympics,” Sparks said. “This is the richest purse we have ever given and (the show) also offers double A points which is the highest points you can get internationally. So that really attracts them in itself.”

But Sparks says it’s also rider’s concern for their horses’ welfare that makes Wesley Clover an attractive competition destination.

“Our grass Grand Prix field is the crown jewel of the venue,” she said. “Grass has a prestige and a history to it and the horses do jump well out of it. Competitors are looking for venues that offer excellent footing. There are only a handful of these rings left in North America and we have the only one in eastern Canada.”

The grass ring actually pre-dates the inception of Wesley Clover having been built when the site was still known as the Nepean National Equestrian Park.

“It was very well built,” Sparks said. “The drainage is fantastic. The city did a great job of taking care of it. Now we do a huge amount of work to keep it at that level.”

Sparks says competitors also enjoy visiting Ottawa with all amenities only minutes from the show grounds. She hopes they will continue to return year after year so she can bring this level of show jumping to Ottawa in the future.  

“This is our third year running at 5*, and in the grand scheme of things we are very new to this,” she said. “I think we are really punching above our weight to attract this level of rider. My hope is that, in time, we will be seen much like Calgary where they have embraced the show jumping culture of Spruce Meadows as part of their identity.”

Spectators are welcome to take in the best of show jumping at the RBC Ottawa International CSI5* CSI2* from Wednesday,  Aug. 14 to Sunday, Aug. 17. Further information is available at www.ottawaequestriantournaments.

West Carleton Online has an exclusive deal for readers interested in attending the RBC Ottawa International. Click here  to receive a 30 per cent discount on a $15 adult admission by using the PROMO CODE – WCO.  Kids under 12 are free.

Seating is available on a first come-first served basis on bleachers or on the grass hills surrounding the Grand Prix ring. While outside food and non-alcoholic beverages are allowed food is also available on site from a variety of vendors. Parking is free.