Lillie Keenan and Kick On Win the Cana Cup at Spruce Meadows

And her name was Lillie Keenan. She and her stallion Kick On were the last pair in the three-rider jump-off at the Spruce Meadows Cana Cup, and had no trouble beating team world champion Sophie Hinners and My Prins by nearly three seconds.

Kick On, the son of Warrior, who had won the second Grand Prix qualifier in Aachen, but who had tested positive on that occasion for a cortisone preparation banned in competition, jumped and cantered quickly and efficiently, was already back on his feet upon landing, and maintained a constant flow, with his rider always in perfect balance. The clock stopped at 41.03 seconds. Sophie Hinners and her now-recovered European Championship partner, My Prins—who also jumped superbly—took second place with a time of 43.78.

The third pair in the jump-off was Britain’s Ben Maher riding Catelly, Marco Kutscher’s former top horse. Maher rode briskly but didn’t take any big risks, crossing the finish line in 47.11 seconds.

Other placings

Not only the obstacles, but also the time limit proved to be a challenge in the standard course. Four pairs crossed the finish line without any obstacle faults, but with time penalty points.

The two pairs with the fastest four-fault rounds—who consequently also made it into the top ten—were André Thieme and Chakaria, and Daniel Deußer and Pepita van’t Meulenhof. They finished eighth and ninth.

Richard Vogel and Cloudio had one knockdown and one time penalty. Riding United Touch S, the Rolex Grand Slam contender had two knockdowns and four time penalties. Jörne Sprehe and Hot Easy had three knockdowns and two time penalties.

Vogel had previously placed seventh in the Atco Cup over 1.50 meters, which included a jump-off. Here, he had saddled up yesterday’s winner, the eight-year-old Holsteiner Chember by Charleston, who still showed signs of inexperience in the time trial today but posted the fastest four-fault round in the jump-off.

The winner here was the Irish rider Conor Swail, riding another Holsteiner, Casturano by Castelan.

Although André Thiemes’ Derby winner, Paule S, had a clear round in the first round, the 2021 European champion spared his 12-year-old Perigueux son from the second round, during which it was pouring rain.

You can find all the results here.