She got her start at Spruce Meadows, now she’s got her first place finish.
Fourteen-year-old Tayah Sobie of DeWinton won the Direct Energy Cup in the prestigious All Canada Ring at Spruce Meadows on Sept. 7 and earned $4,500, easily the biggest pay day of her young career in show jumping.
“I was second last in the jump-off out of 16 and when I came out first I was just ecstatic I couldn’t believe it was actually happening,” Sobie said. “Then when the last girl went and they said I was still in first I was just basically in shock still.”
Sobie, riding with nine-year-old Canadian Warmblood Catalina, finished with the ninth fastest time in the first round and started strong in the jump off for the $,4,500 purse.
“The first jump was really good, I found the perfect canter that I’ve always been working to get with her,” Sobie said.
The next step in the challenging All Canada Ring 1.20m course was anything but assured for Sobie.
“The corner was really foggy so she slipped a lot going through the corners,” Sobie said. “So I was really worried that I was going to be able to make it on the next jump because she was slipping so bad and actually lost a shoe in that corner, but she jumped it really well.”
Once they got over that hurdle, it was smooth sailing for the riding partners en route to a fault-free 32.21 second ride, edging second place finisher Georgia Hunt by .47 seconds.
“We picked up the canter a little bit faster for the skinny and then did a really tight role back which I’ve been working on a lot,” Sobie said.
“Then we just basically galloped to the last one as hard as I could.”
The Grade 10 student at Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks debuted in show jumping at Spruce Meadows riding a pony in the 0.9 and 1 metre divisions when she was 10 years old, but is new to the All Canada Ring.
She attributed her breakthrough performance last week to her long-time trainer Frank Selinger.
“We were kind of worried going into it, I didn’t have high expectations at all,” Sobie said. “But (Selinger) was always there helping me.”
Selinger also helped Sobie acquire her mount Catalina a year and a half ago. She got the horse from Selinger’s wife Selena.
“I’ve got a lot of help from (Selena) to figure it out and get the best partnership,” Sobie said of Catalina. “I’ve definitely found with her that you have to work with her, can’t force her to do things and when she’s with you she’s got all the heart in the world.”
The All Canada Ring was friendly to another young foothills equestrian as well.
Okotokian Jasmine Wiggins, 18, finished in second place in the Friends of the Meadows Cup in a time of 70.25 seconds on Sept. 5.
“It was a good course set for the first day and my horse Little Milton was really good that day,” said Wiggins, who earned $1,700 for the second place finish. “It was a speed class and he’s really quick.”
Wiggins, a graduate of Edison School and current undergraduate at the University of Calgary, is no stranger to Spruce Meadows or the 1.30m height.
“We’ve jumped quite a bit higher with him so we’re quite comfortable at that level,” said Wiggins, who has gone as high as 1.45m with Little Milton. “He excels at it, that’s his area around that height.”
Elsewhere, Jordan Wilson of Okotoks, along with teammate Brenda Clemens, finished in second place as Team Quarter Horse in the Battle of the Breeds Jeopardy Jumping, Sept. 6 at the Meadows on the Green at Spruce Meadows.
Team Connemara, featuring Karter Duke of Okotoks, finished in seventh place while Team Arabian, composed of Brennan Kavanagh from DeWinton and Jacqueline Stephenson of Okotoks, ended up in ninth in the same event.
Kavanagh and Cindy Holyoak from Black Diamond also earned an eighth place finish in the Battle of the Breeds Compulsory Skills competition on the same day.
The Battle of the Breeds Barrel Race saw Team Arabian, composed of Kavanagh, Stephenson and Rachel Ham of High River, finish in sixth place and Duke’s Team Connemara earn a seventh place spot.
Millarville’s Kathleen Winfield ended up in sixth as Team Canadian Horse in the Battle of the Breeds Precision Driving event, on Sept. 7. Holyoak and Stephenson formed team Arabian and were the ninth best team in precision driving.
For full results from the Masters go to www.sprucemeadows.com.
