Press release from the Royal Horse Show, edited by World of Showjumping

Canadian Olympian Erynn Ballard of Tottenham, ON, opened international show jumping competition at the Royal Horse Show in winning fashion by riding Let’s Fly (Fly x Phin Phin) to victory in the CSI5*-W 1.45m $45,000 International Strength & Speed Welcome on Wednesday, November 12, at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON (CAN). 

The first competition of the CSI5*-W division saw riders competing over a one-round “power and speed” track set by course designer Olaf Petersen, Jr. of Germany. Riders navigated eight fences and, if they left all of them in place, immediately advanced to the speed portion of the course.

Living up to his name, Let’s Fly navigated the course with unmatched footspeed while carrying Ballard to a winning time of 26.85 seconds.

“What a horse to be able to go in and win in his first pass at The Royal,” smiled Ballard as she described the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Roaring Fork Farms. Let’s Fly was developed by Ballard and Ilan Ferder and is destined to be the mount of owner Djuna Lauder, who has five-star aspirations of her own but is currently focused on her studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

From a competitive field featuring eight nations, Ireland’s Conor Swail was less than a second off the winning pace riding Casturano (Castelan x Canturo), a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Conall Murray. The pair stopped the speed phase timers at 27.49 seconds to finish runner-up. Daniel Bluman of Israel rounded out the podium aboard Rebelline de Kwakenbeek (Aganix du Seigneur x Quidam de Revel), his eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, in 27.95 seconds.

For Ballard, 45, Toronto’s Royal Horse Show is her home show. She first competed at The Royal on a small pony in 1988. “It took me nine years to get my first Royal win, but I’ve had some pretty cool Royal moments,” said Ballard, who added another memory to her list this week following a five-year absence from The Royal. “This was a nice homecoming; it fit in nicely in our schedule this year and the World Cup Final is on our radar, so it was a nice one to come home for.”

The $280,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto, presented by Ecclestone Horse Transport, on Saturday evening will award valuable qualifying points for the 2026 FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final taking place next April in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I have the right horses right now,” said Ballard of her World Cup bid. “They are an exceptional group to have at the high level, but the biggest draw this year is that the final is North American based. Anytime that there is a championship where you think that you can be competitive, it should be on your radar.”

The opening-day win was extra special for Ballard and her entire family. The Royal Horse Show marks the last competition appearance for Looking Back Farm, owned and operated by Erynn’s parents, Sandi and Dave Ballard, as they are retiring after a storied career of developing horses and riders from their home base in Tottenham, ON. Erynn’s late grandfather, Jump Canada Hall of Famer Bob Ballard, was also a regular competitor at the Royal Horse Show, and frequently represented Canada in nations’ cup team competition.

“It’s great to win for them and to also add more Royal memories,” Erynn reminisced. “We’ve had great ones, all the way from small ponies to now five stars!”

The second CSI5*-W class of the day, the 1.45m McKee Family International Challenge went to Mark Bluman (COL) and Phelina de Septon (Jenson van'T Meulenhof x Landor S), followed by Alex Matz (USA) and Junior Kannan (Kannan x Diamant de Semilly) in second and Kaitlin Campbell (USA) aboard Cosm Hesed (Christian x Lord) in third.