Industry leaders of show jumping to gather at 10th Tournament of Champions

North America's top show jumping riders will make this year's 10th anniversary Tournament of Champions a spectator's delight.

World Cup champions and Olympians will turn the spotlight on the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave for the richest outdoor show jumping event in eastern Canada from Sept. 20 to 23.

The four-day event not only showcases this continent's best riders and horses, but the big players in the industry have raised the ante, concentrating their efforts on expanding this country's equestrian prowess and ensuring a successful future for the sport. Judging from the current caliber of riders and horses, the dividends are already paying off.

Taking the reins are the new young bloods of the sport like Erynn Ballard, veteran French expatriate Yann Candele and medaled Olympians and World Cup Champions such as Ian Millar; many are backed by industry stalwarts like Sue Grange who enable them to become international stewards for the sport.

Grange, a well known owner-investor and breeder based in Caledon, has devoted decades to grooming the future of the industry in this nation, helping spark some top-level riders in the process.

Grange's Lothlorien is considered one of the top private hunter-jumper barns in Canada. She has operated the facility since 1975 and in 2005 was named Jump Canada's Owner of the Year.

Grange also provides the horsepower for the living legend Millar, with his two top mounts, In Style and Redefin. She has developed a breeding program using well-bred European mares with some of the best stallions in the world. Rounding out her commitment to the sport's development, Grange has agreed to host the Ian Millar clinic, presented by pharmaceutical giant Merial, for young riders and coaches at her Lothlorien home base the weekend following Tournament of Champions.

Orangeville's Frankie Chesler-Ortiz, the youngest Canadian ever to ride on a Nation's Cup team, will be bringing her main grand prix horse, a Dutch Warmblood gelding Ranville, to Tournament of Champions. The accomplished equestrian is also an active part of the successful Sher- Al Farms, together with her father Alan. She simply loves the "babies" and they currently have two yearlings they'll be slowly preparing for future successes.

She believes Canada's future in the industry looks good, and there's always a need for dedicated individuals and stables to build premium show jumping stock.

Chesler-Ortiz recently sold her Dutch Warmblood mare Picolien Zeldenrust, to competitive show jumper (and Onassis heir) Athina Onassis de Mirando and her equestrian husband Alvero Alfonso de Mirando Neto. Chesler-Ortiz and Picolien enjoyed three years of tremendous success together.

All eyes will be also focused on high flying Erynn Ballard and her mount Robin Van Roosendael, a towering Belgian warmblood gelding. Ballard is known for her keen ability to ride all types of horses. Last year was her most successful, with top results in both Canada and the U.S. She made the Canadian Show Jumping Team and helped Canada win its first Nation's Cup at Spruce Meadows in Calgary last fall and again this spring in West Palm, Florida. Ballard was also named Jump Canada's Equestrian of the Year for 2006. The Hillsburgh resident rides at her parent's farm in Hockley Valley and trains for two key Caledon owners, Deborah Roy and Jennifer Rogers.

This year's Tournament of Champions, known as the "Horse Show with Heart," features the $175,000 John Deere Canada Cup Championship, Next Generation Challenge, Celebrity Ride and Drive, BMO Nesbitt Burns Hunter Classics and the National Jumper Development Series Final. Television coverage has been increased to three prime time events on TSN airing this fall.

The family event also includes fun-filled activities at the Re/Max Family Village Saturday and Sunday, including the DogSmart show, Birds of Prey demos, a jousting display by Medieval Times, Ken Jen Petting Zoo, The Home Depot Kids Workshop and the popular Boulevard of Champions Craft and Trade Fair.

The Tournament of Champions will continue its tradition of supporting worthwhile charities such as the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada, CARD (Community Association for Riding for the Disabled) and, new for this year, the Caledon based Kids and Horses Foundation.