Lauren Tisbo and Roundthorn Madios (Spruce Meadows Media Services)
The 'North American' Tournament continues through Sunday, July 7, and features the $200,000 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Saturday, July 6, and the $140,000 Cenovus Energy Classic Derby on Sunday, July 7.
Twenty entries went to post in the $35,000 PwC Cup 1.60m over a course designed by Anthony D'Ambrosio of New York. Only two were able to clear the first round, and they went head to head in the jump-off.
“I thought it was going to be difficult,” Tisbo said. “Anthony usually builds courses that don't allow for a whole lot of clears, but a nice number usually. There were plenty of questions there, and the water jump was in there. I expected there to be more than two though. You just had to know your horse really well and know what his strengths are.”
First in was Reed Kessler (USA) on Cylana. They pulled a rail at the first fence in the jump-off and finished with four faults in 39.76 seconds.
Knowing a clear round was needed to win, Lauren Tisbo went in with a steady stride, but still kept up a pace just in case. She was able to leave all of the jumps up and recorded a time of 41.20 seconds for her second international win at Spruce Meadows.
Tisbo recently moved Roundthorn Madios up to the 1.60m competitions, and she used today's event to see if he would be ready for the $200,000 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Saturday. “From the beginning today was all about jumping clear, and if I got into the jump-off, jumping clear again. My plan just happened to work out with the rest of the circumstances,” she pointed out.
Tisbo has been riding Roundthorn Madios, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Condios x Clover Hill, for six months. He is owned by her family's Tequestrian Farms LLC. While Tisbo felt like they clicked “for the most part,” right away, it still took some time to get to know each other. She explained, “His previous rider had him for a long time, and I think in any situation when you get a horse that someone's been riding for multiple years, even if you match right away, it takes a little while for them to figure you out and think the way you think. That certainly started to happen after the Florida circuit. Now I think it's going pretty well.”
Tisbo said that Roundthorn Madios has gotten “so much scopier” here at Spruce Meadows. “He doesn't have a huge, huge stride. He's careful, but he likes when you can gallop him up to the jumps,” she said. “He's exceeding my expectations in the parts of the course that I think he's going to struggle with. Those are all signs for me that make me feel very confident going into a class like the Queen's Cup on Saturday.”
Tisbo said she was “still a little shocked” with her victory. “It does feel as special as the first win. It was not what I expected today,” she smiled. “I was hoping I would win for the first time in the International Ring here, (and) I got that goal accomplished, so the rest is gravy!”
Final Results: $35,000 PwC Cup 1.60m
1. ROUNDTHORN MADIOS: 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding by Condios x Clover Hill
LAUREN TISBO (USA), Tequestrian Farms, LLC: 0/0/41.20
2. CYLANA: 2002 Belgian Warmblood mare by Skippy II x Darco
REED KESSLER (USA), Reed Kessler: 0/4/39.76
3. SIMON: 1999 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Mr. Blue x Polydox
BEEZIE MADDEN (USA), Abigail Wexner: 4/76.41
4. POWERPLAY: 2004 Holsteiner gelding by Casall x Limbus
ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Artsian Farms LLC: 4/77.09
5. VERDI III: 2002 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Hors la Loi III x Cantus
TIFFANY FOSTER (CAN), Artisan Farms LLC: 4/78.31
6. CRIPTONITE: 2001 Holsteiner gelding by Cento x Capitol I
ENRIQUE GONZALEZ (MEX), Enrique Gonzalez: 4/78.47
7. CHILL R Z: 2003 Zangersheide stallion by Chellano Z x A Lucky One
CHARLIE JAYNE (USA), Alex R. Jayne: 4/78.59
8. EREGAST VANT KIEZELHOF: 2004 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Thunder van de Zuuthoeve x Lantano
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm LLC: 5/80.21
9. COLORADO: 2002 Belgian Warmblood stallion by Concreto x Cannonball
JONATHAN MCCREA (USA), Candy Tribble: 5/81.19
10. ZERLY: 2004 Dutch Warmblood mare by Querlybet Hero x Cathargo
CHRISTINE MCCREA (USA), Candy Tribble: 8/78.00