Edited press release from Thunderbird Show Park

Katie Laurie (AUS) and Cera Caruso (Casall x Capone) were excellent pathfinders in the CSI3* 1.45m George & Dianne Tidball Legacy Welcome at Thunderbird Show Park in Vancouver (CAN) on Wednesday.

Jumping first in the 31-strong field, they not only showed their competitors how to execute a clear round over Joey Rycroft’s (CAN) speed track, but they also demonstrated how to win it. No one came within nine seconds of their time until the final combination, but not even the red-hot James Chawke (IRL) could catch them with Nacara van Berkenbroeck Z (Nonstop x Indoctro).

“We knew James was coming,” Laurie said, chuckling. Laurie and her veteran partner, a 16-year-old Australian Warmblood gelding, positively ran way with the class. The winning time was 63.64 seconds. Chawke settled for second in 64.48, followed by Bretton Chad (CAN) and CSF Princess Blue (VDL Zirocco Blue x Ars Vivendi) in third in 70.37.

“[Cera Caruso] always fights to try and win, and today, halfway around, I was like, ‘He is fighting for us for this,’ and he was. It was maybe good going first, because we just stuck to our plan,” Laurie shared.

Affectionately known as “Elvis,” Cera Caruso has been known to put on a show, both in the competition arena and in the schooling area. Laurie knew the chestnut gelding was ready to deliver a good performance by the freshness he displayed in his warm-up. “He’s been such a good horse for so long,” Laurie praised. “He came out today and in the warm up, he was so fresh. When he’s fresh, he wants to spin in the warm up, so [when he did that], I was like ‘Okay, he feels like he’s on it today.'”

Laurie has ridden Elvis for the better part of the last decade—since he was just a 6-year-old, when she was based in her home country of Australia. Laurie and her family relocated to Calgary in 2020, and she brought Elvis with her on the transcontinental journey. Unfazed by a new hemisphere, the gelding has proved to be the most versatile of horses. While excelling in speed classes with his quick-footed nature and efficiency over the fences, the gelding has also jumped his fair share of Grand Prix events, stepping up with grit whenever called upon.

“I think he absolutely loves jumping, and he loves to try and win. So, he’s one of the coolest horses,” Laurie shared. “He’s naturally fast, and in speed classes, he doesn’t take a lot of time in the air. We always say, he ‘slithers,’ but he does want to be careful. And he does love to win.”