Karen Polle concluded Wednesday night’s competition at the Royal Horse Show with a win in the $36,000 Jolera International Jumper Welcome riding Little Lord 90.
Polle, 26, and the 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding entered the Coca-Cola Coliseum as the 15th of 20 entries invited to navigate the Alan Wade designed speed track, and, despite a slight stumble after the fourth fence, they flew straight to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 57.45 seconds.
Japan’s Karen Polle rode Little Lord 90 to the win in the $36,000 Jolera International Jumper Welcome to conclude Wednesday night’s competition at the Royal Horse Show. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography
“I was very surprised when I looked up and saw that I was in first,” said Polle, who has had Little Lord 90 for the last year and a half. “I added a stride to fence three, and I almost fell off after fence four when he tripped! After that though, my round got really nice and smooth, and he felt great. He’s definitely a very quick horse, and he’s very game.
“Obviously we’re off to a good start, and I hope the rest of the week goes well too,” continued Polle, who is making her Royal Horse Show debut this week. “I’ve heard amazing things about this show, so I always really wanted to come. I’m just so excited to be here.”
Only fractions of a second separated all three of the top finishers, with another newcomer to the Royal Horse Show, Australia’s Rowan Willis, tripping the timers in 57.64 seconds riding Shark to take second, and Devin Ryan of the United States riding Cooper to the third-place finish in a time of 57.76 seconds.
Competition at the Royal Horse Show continues through Saturday with show jumping highlights including the $85,000 GroupBy ‘Big Ben’ International Challenge on Thursday night, the $50,000 Weston Canadian Open on Friday night, and the highly-anticipated conclusion, the $205,000 Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Toronto, presented by GroupBy, on Saturday, November 10.
$36,000 Jolera International Jumper Welcome – Final Results
Rider Hometown Horse Faults/Time
1. Karen Polle Japan Little Lord 90 0/57.45
2. owan Willis Australia Shark 0/57.64
3. Devin Ryan United States Cooper 0/57.76
4. Keean White Rockwood, ON Leilani 0/58.24
5. Sharn Wordley New Zealand Barnetta 0/59.62
6. Ali Ramsay Victoria, BC Casino 0/61.29
7. Jonathon Millar Perth, ON Dublin 0/63.29
8. Capt. Brian Cournane Ireland Armik 0/69.39
9. Kent Farrington United States Creedance 2
10. Molly Ashe Cawley United States Picobello Choppin PC 4
11. Conor Swail Ireland Rubens LS La Silla 4
12. Ian Millar Perth, ON Calvin Klein 4