Press release from Spruce Meadows

It shaped up to be a beautiful morning start to Saturday of the 2019 Spruce Meadows 'Pan American' CSI5* presented by Rolex, beginning at 8:30AM on the Meadows on the Green. The first competition of the day was the 1.50m Friends of the Meadows Cup. It welcomed fifty-three horse-and-rider combinations to take on the 480m track designed by FEI Course Designer Alan Wade (IRL).

Following the completion of the first round, those riders who produced clear rides advanced to the jump-off. Only ten horse-and-rider combinations would produce clear rides in the first round including some young up-and-comers from the United States Lillie Keenan and Jennifer Gates.

There were some very quick clear rides in the jump-off, and Gates with Alex produced a very quick time of 33.93s. Brazil's Eduardo Menezes and the 11 year-old gelding H5 Chaganus were the only ones fast enough to catch her, producing a time of  32.75s. Keenan with Skyhorse was one of the last riders to go and did her best to catch Menezes, but would end up tied to the hundredths for second place along side Gates.

"It's a great feeling for me. This is the last class I  will do with this horse before the (2019) Pan American Games so it's always good to finish with a win," Eduardo Menezes commented on his Spruce Meadows win with H5 Changanus.