THE WARM-UP RING The Official News of the Jumping Committee February 2019, Volume 15, Issue 2 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR IN THIS ISSUE For many, the warm-weather circuits of Thermal, Wellington, and Ocala, among others, offer the chance to escape winter On the Wellington Show Scene and continue showing and having fun Michelle C. Dunn during a long winter. These circuits have Young Guns! Profiling Ava Wong become a world of their own, with all that equestrians need at their doorstep Jump Canada Hall of Fame in those venues. Businesses such as Celebrates 2018 Inductees tack shops, farriers, photographers, and more have been able to keep Jumping Youth Bursary their businesses busy by moving their Recipients Announced headquarters south for the duration of the circuits. These show seasons used to Jumping National Team Program take place for approximately six weeks, Athletes Announced for 2019 but the participants demonstrated such enthusiasm for the format that some run Eric Lamaze Returns to Global from mid-January all the way to April. Many Champions League Canadians have purchased property near these venues, ensuring a place to call Canadian Show Jumping Team Fifth home for both themselves and their horses in $290,000 Longines Nations’ Cup after a busy show day. Winter is in full swing for those in the Buy Or Renew Your EC chilly north, and what a winter it’s been Our world is always changing and Sport License so far! Record-breaking snow has fallen equestrian sport is no exception. Wherever across the country from Vancouver to this winter finds you, I hope you are Canadian Youth Take on Newfoundland, along with lots of freezing enjoying the companionship of your equine Team Competition at rain, bitter temperatures, and everything partners. else in between. No wonder we all wish CP Palm Beach Masters we could head south to the warm show Respectfully yours, Success Stories venues! Clinics, Clinics, Clinics! When I was showing actively years ago, winter circuits were just getting started. FEI North American Youth How we envied those very few who were on Championship Criteria Available the cutting edge of an evolving show circuit. Pamela Law Little did we know that this type of showing Chair, Jumping Committee Canadian Show Jumping Team would become the norm. Named for Winter Equestrian Today, we are all familiar with these warm- Festival Nations’ Cup weather venues that have captivated us Officials Appointments all. Our grand prix riders head to these circuits out of necessity; they need to keep Longines World Rider Rankings themselves at the forefront of their sport to try to obtain a spot on the Canadian Acknowledgments Show Jumping Team for Nations’ Cup competitions that take place during the winter. For those aiming at that goal, the more they compete at this level, the better their chances are of riding for their country. FEBRUARY 2019 THE WARM-UP RING 1 ON THE WELLINGTON SHOW SCENE Wellington, FL | All Photo Credits – © Starting Gate Communications Erynn Ballard and Fellini S placed fourth in the Emily and Mike Lawrence, Beth Underhill, $72,000 CSIO5* NetJets Classic at the Palm and Brenley Cone at the CSIO5* Palm Beach Beach Masters. Masters. Amy Millar gives Heros a well-deserved pat after jumping clear in the second round of the Longines Nations’ Cup. In addition to representing Canada in the Longines Nations’ Cup team alternate, Hyde Nations’ Cup, Mario Deslauriers and Bardolina Moffatt, pictured here riding Grafton, enjoyed a 2 were part of the jump-off for the $210,000 top three finish riding Granturo in the $36,000 CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix. Turkish Airlines Speed Final. Mario Deslauriers (left) and Canadian Team chef d’equipe Mark Laskin. Veronica Bot and Cool Down 3 competed in their first Under 25 team event during the fourth week of the Winter Equestrian Festival. Mario Deslauriers and Bardolina 2 jumped double clear to finish runner-up in the $208,200 CSI4*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Figor, owned by Andy and Carlene Ziegler’s Chef d’equipe Mark Laskin leads Canadian Team Cup™ held February 3 at Deeridge Farms in Artisan Farms, made his Nations’ Cup debut with members Tiffany Foster, Amy Millar, and Mario Wellington, Florida. Tiffany Foster. Deslauriers in the Parade of Nations. FEBRUARY 2019 THE WARM-UP RING 2 Jump Media Ava Wong and Concelo competing in the Children’s division of the 2018 North American Youth Championships at Old Salem Farm, New York. YOUNG GUNS! PROFILING AVA WONG A Positive Outlook and Fierce Competitive Streak Have Helped Ava Wong Achieve Big Goals By Molly Sorge It was Ava Wong’s dream to compete at the North American Youth Championships (NAYC), and it had come true. But in her opening round of the Children’s division competition, the speed leg, things didn’t go her way. Her horse, Concelo, lost a shoe, and she missed a jump and had to circle. She finished in the middle of the pack with six faults. For many young teenagers, the rough start would be hard to overcome but not for Wong. “I was upset and disappointed in myself that my first day was like that,” said the 14-year-old. “But that only made me want to perform out of this world the next day and put down a spectacular round, and that’s what I did! A lot of people say it’s important to forget about your round if it was bad and carry on, but I think the exact opposite. It’s important for me to remember my bad rounds because they just remind me of how much I don’t want to make the same mistake again. I hate feeling disappointed in myself and like I could have done something better after a bad round. Reminding myself of how much I do not want to feel like that makes me perform to the best of my ability.” Wong, from Calgary, AB, was at NAYC representing Canada as an individual, and after that first round, she jumped three clean rounds and one round with just one time fault to climb back up the individual standings. By the time the 2018 NAYC held at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY, from August 1-5 had concluded, Wong and Concelo finished in sixth place overall in the Children’s division, open to riders aged 12 to 14. Wong’s trainer, Rodney Tulloch of Calgary’s Landmark Equestrian, wasn’t surprised by her comeback at NAYC at all. “She’s such a great kid. She’s a character,” he said. “She’s got no nerves at all, no matter what the situation is. Because of her temperament, she never gets the horses worried. She’s always very fun and kind yet, underneath that, she is so competitive. That’s the shocker about Ava, her competitive streak.” FEBRUARY 2019 THE WARM-UP RING 3 Wong doesn’t deny that she’s driven, Jump Media saying, “I am very competitive, so I naturally love competing at shows. I always put myself out there and set high goals. I think it’s important to set high goals because I know from experience that no goal is too impossible. For example, at the start of the 2018 season I was only competing up to 1.10m on my equitation horse, Aron, and by the end of the season I went clear in the 1.30m with Concelo.” A Busy Schedule Her quiet, implacable determination has stood Wong in good stead throughout her career. The ninth-grade student at Rundle College Jr./Sr. High School continues to set big goals for herself in riding and in fact is headed to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as Canada’s sole representative in the FEI Jumping Children’s Classic Final to be held from April 17-21. She also balances those plans with playing on a competitive Ava Wong and Concelo quickly formed a strong partnership that took them all the way to the 2018 volleyball team and focusing on schoolwork. North American Youth Championships. “I am very busy balancing volleyball, riding, and very demanding schoolwork,” Wong said. “I believe that school is very important and should always be the top priority.” In fact, she made the decision not to travel to show on a winter circuit this year in order to prioritize her volleyball team. “It’s honestly pretty hard,” Wong said of her schedule. “My trainer is really flexible, and I try to go to the barn as much as possible. I average taking lessons four days a week, and I have three hours of volleyball practice three days a week. On Saturdays and Sundays, I do riding and volleyball back to back, but I love both sports enough to make that kind of commitment.” At the beginning of 2018, Wong only had show mileage in the hunter and equitation rings but she wanted to have the NAYC on her calendar. “It was a big goal because I really wanted to move up and compete in the 1.20m [Children’s division],” she said. “I wanted to represent Canada at such a well-known and big competition. At the start of the year, I decided I wanted to do it.” She went on the hunt for a horse to take her there. Tulloch found Concelo for her in Florida, and Wong bought the 13-year-old gray Westphalian gelding (Con Cento x Cantus) in May. Concelo had experience jumping up to the 1.50m level in Europe and had shown at the 1.45m level with Canadian Kim Farlinger during the 2017 season. Wong and Concelo’s connection was so instant that Tulloch lost any hope of bargaining leverage in the sale.