Alta. jumper captures Wawanesa Grand Prix prize

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This article was published 04/04/2022 (1626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Showjumper Piet Van Genugten marked his return to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair after 20 years by winning the biggest showjumping prizes.

The veteran jumper from Okotoks, Alta., won Saturday night’s Wawanesa Insurance Grand Prix to become the KT MacPherson Memorial High Point open jumper champion.

He showed three horses in the competition, with two of them racking up too many faults to move on to the jump-off.

His third, Haido, a seasoned and energetic jumping horse, swept the first course with a time of 64.9 seconds and no faults. They moved on to the jump-off, sweeping that course with a time of 43.44 seconds and no faults.

Van Genugten couldn’t contain his excitement upon finishing the jump-off to deafening cheers from the crowd, with a few fist-pumps and removing his helmet to salute the crowd.

His success netted him a $7,500 purse.

Most of the praise went to Haido. Van Genugten said was a fast runner and very in tune with his riding and what was going on around him on the course.

“He moves faster than I can think. He knows what I want and he does it without hesitating,” Van Genugten said. “I brought five horses to this fair, and some of them are green and babies, but he is very eager and smart. He just lives to jump and loves the crowd.”

On that critical jump-off, Van Genugten said it was a relatively long one.

He was initially worried because he had to do some tight circles. But he trusted Haido’s abilities.

“I just said to myself, ‘Piet, don’t go off course here, this is the big one,” he said. “But in the end, you just have to pretend you are home and you just have to go fast, stay calm, not make mistakes and just be lucky at the same time.”

Van Genugten added he loved being at the Winter Fair and wished his family would have joined him, but his wife had to work during the week.

He is returning to Alberta to prepare for competition at Spruce Meadows. This is the final indoor show for him for the year.

The top 10 riders at the Wawanesa Insurance Grand Prix received cash purses.

The other winners are: Second, Kate Curry on Irvine, $5,500; third, Erin McPhail on Jimmy Choo, $3,000; fourth, Femke Courchaine, Jalapeno BF, $2,250; fifth, Danielle Urban, VDL Byacinthe, $1,750; sixth, Karissa Enders on Ginny Fizz, $1,500; seventh, Karissa Enders on Fort Knox Wf, $1,250; eighth, Jayden Stettner on Ielinea JTL, $1,000; ninth, Lorrie Jaimeson on Hooz Da Kat, $750; 10th, Justin Prather on EZ Ace, $500.

Urban, originally from Alberta, has been living in Omaha, Neb., for 18 years. Travelling to the fair was easy for her and her horses because she, the students she brought along and her team are all vaccinated, so there were no problems for them at the border.

In comments before the Grand Prix, Urban said she was feeling in top shape due to restrictions not being as strict in the United States as they were in Canada, meaning they could show and practise more frequently.

“We weren’t as locked down as Canada, but we were showing in other states with no problems. However, we weren’t able to come to Brandon for two years,” she said. “It’s a huge relief that we can travel to Canada again. I have family in Alberta and not being able to travel to see them for a year and a half was really tough.”

The Winter Fair offers a lot more variety in horse shows and classes than a typical horse show, so Urban said she was eager to come. The shows themselves are more fun for the horses and ultimately the audience watching and cheering them on.

She added it was also fun to ride in front of a crowd again and will be continuing with more horse shows over the coming months.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com

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