Get Ready, Get Set, The Royal Opens This Weekend

The Royal Horse Show kicks off this Friday with a stellar lineup of events featuring a great mix of multi-discipline equestrian competition and entertainment.

Opening night boasts something for everyone with jumping, dressage, eventing and more on the bill. Ten days of show jumping begins with round one of the two-round Talent Squad final, which will see the best of the East and the West battle it out. Next, Andrea Bresee and Nancy McLachlan will perform a dressage pas-de-deux to a medly of ‘Chicago’ show tunes sung ringside by while Elizabeth Elming. The first round of the Good Crop Services Indoor Eventing competition will also take place on opening night, featuring two members of Canada’s silver medal-winning WEG team, Selena O’Hanlon (who finished 12th overall) and Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch (highest placed Canadian eventer at WEG – 9th overall, as well as being the highest placed Canadian at Rolex this spring) competing alongside fellow Olympians and past Champions. In addition, opening night will include the Road Horse to Bike for Ladies, the All-Breed Four-Horse Hitch and the Clydesdale cart class, as well as a performance by reiner Stacy Westfall, who performed at the opening ceremonies of the WEG. Round one of the Canadian Show Jumping Championships, presented by Greenhawk, will anchor the evening, with 22 of the best riders Canada has to offer.

Saturday afternoon’s matinee horse show includes round two of the Talent Squad, followed by the Pony Jumper Challenge and a Para-Dressage Exhibition by Olympic medalist Lauren Barwick, who finished just off the podium in fourth overall at WEG. After which is the only appearance of the new Horse Hockey feature, where NHL Legends Darryl Sittler, Brad Marsh, Mark Napier and Rick Vaive will try their hand at Hockey on Horseback – polo. They will be signing autographs ahead of time so be sure to keep watching the website for information on when and how to attend that session – it will fill up fast. In addition, Stacy Westfall will perform again.

Saturday night begins with the Horse Sport Pony Winner’s Stake class, before an action-packed evening much like Friday’s: Belgian Two-Horse Team, Stacy Westfall, a parade of top agriculture, the dressage pas-de-deux feature again, the second round of the Good Crop Services Indoor Eventing, and then a few annual awards for Sportsmanship, Groom,and the Best Junior Rider before the second round of the Canadian Show Jumping Championships, presented by Greenhawk.

Sunday is the Ontario Toyota Dealers Royal Rodeo, including bull riding, bronc riding and barrel racing. Further entertainment includes Stacy Westfall’s final Toronto performance this year, pole-bending, the Girls in Blue Precision & Drill Team and a competition of young Trick Riders.

Stay tuned for up to date information on the Royal Horse Show lineup.