Chawke and Daido van’t Ruytershof Z Secure Second Consecutive Victory in CSI3* ATCO Cup

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19/08/2024

James Chawke Daido vant Ruytershof Z. All photos ©tbird Kim Gaudry

Langley, BC — The international equestrian scene witnessed another triumph by the pair of James Chawke and Daido van’t Ruytershof Z. Last Sunday, at the Fort Grand Prix Arena, the two claimed their second consecutive Grand Prix victory, winning the CSI3* ATCO Cup with a breathtaking performance.

In a tactical move inspired by the famous horse King Edward, Chawke opted to compete without a browband on their bridle. This change, which Chawke described as a “game-day experiment,” produced remarkable results. “She’s not liking something,” Chawke said about his mare. “She didn’t like the bonnet, so we took that off, and we’re just playing around with things to see what she likes the most.”

The experiment paid off: the result suggests that Daido van’t Ruytershof Z enjoys winning almost as much as Chawke does.

Five pairs found a clear path around Joey Rycroft’s 1.50m first-round course, advancing to the jump-off. Among them was Canadian Tiffany Foster on Battlecry, who set a high standard with a time of 31.4 seconds. However, that time was surpassed by the final pair to enter the ring: Chawke and Daido van’t Ruytershof Z, winners of the previous week’s CSI3* Steel-Craft Doors Grand Prix. They stopped the clock at 30.69 seconds, securing their second consecutive title.

“I thought if I did roughly the same steps as [Tiffany], I should be close,” Chawke explained. “My horse is very quick across the ground and probably has a smaller stride.”

Foster and Battlecry finished second, while American Kyle King on SIG Chiari took third place, just four-hundredths of a second behind Foster with a time of 31.44 seconds.

“She was incredible,” Chawke said about his partner. “She’s been so good, very consistent. She tries so hard.”

The success of Chawke and Daido van’t Ruytershof Z is just the latest chapter in this pair’s winning streak, proving themselves to be one of the most competitive duos on the international stage. With two consecutive Grand Prix victories at high-level events, Chawke reaffirms his position as one of the most in-form riders today, paired with a mare that seems to know no limits.

Kendall Bourgeois and Flinton M Triumph in Domino High Voltage Grand Prix 1.40m

It wasn’t just the CSI3* ATCO Cup that provided excitement at Thunderbird Show Park on Sunday. In the national division, the Domino High Voltage Grand Prix 1.40m, Kendall Bourgeois (USA) and Flinton M proved that sometimes less really is more. After narrowly missing a win the previous week with a second-place finish in the CSI3* JustWorld International Winning Round 1.45m, Bourgeois decided to drop down a division this week. The decision paid off.

“We have a lot of other horses showing here, and it’s a little hard to be sharp at a high level and also compete in the FEI,” Bourgeois explained regarding her decision not to compete in the FEI this week. “He tried really hard and jumped well last week, so I thought it’d be nice for [him to have] an easy week.”

The strategy proved successful: Bourgeois and the 14-year-old Flinton M didn’t finish outside the top five all week, and on Sunday, they moved up one spot to take the win in the week’s national feature class.

First to return for Joey Rycroft’s jump-off, Bourgeois and Flinton M set the pace with a smooth, clear round. The chasers, Shauna Cook (CAN) on Glacier ZF and Kyle King (USA) on Kyrina, both knocked down a rail, leaving Bourgeois at the top of the leaderboard.

“I was just trying to be smooth and efficient and clear,” Bourgeois said of her jump-off strategy. “The ground was a little soft out there today, as it rained pretty hard last night and during the class. So I thought just be clever. I didn’t do any leave-outs. I didn’t do anything super risky. I tried to meet all the jumps just nice, and it worked out today.”

These extraordinary results highlight once again how perseverance and adaptability are key to success in the equestrian world, where every detail can make the difference between victory and defeat.

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