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Henselwood Victorious in Bromont World Cup Qualifier

July 24, 2005

Bromont, Quebec --- Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, Ontario and the incredible Oldenburg gelding Special Ed, topped a field of forty horse and rider combinations to earn victory in the $60,000 World Cup Qualifier held July 24 at The International Bromont Tournament.

Held at the historical 1976 Olympic site, competitors from across North America gathered to contest course designer Leopaldo Palacios' demanding test. Six horse and rider combinations mastered the technical course including Henselwood and her student, twenty year old Kim Farlinger.

The first entry back for the speed phase was Eric Lamaze and Lorraine Z. Lowering the height of two fences including the third to last obstacle, a 1.60 metre skinny jump, Lamaze incurred eight faults in a blistering fast time of 41.53 seconds. Next to challenge was hometown favourite Mario Deslauriers and Naomi who also suffered eight faults but was almost a full second off Lemaze's leading time.

Third in the order, Farlinger, a newly sponsored member of "Team Molson", had her sights set on taking over the lead. Unfortunately, Farlinger's hopes were dashed, as an open umbrella rolling down the hill beside the last set of jumps caused her mount, del Destino, to loose focus and dislodge the last two jumps.

Fourth to go, Rio's Rhapsody and Erynn Ballard opted for a cautious round hoping to be the first clear when the skinny jump fell from the cups. Ballard's four fault round in 47.19 seconds was leading as the next to challenge, Jay Hayes and Landor 17, also fell victim to the skinny jump and finished in 48.57 seconds putting the duo temporarily into second position.

Henselwood was last to go, and definitely in the drivers seat. The plan was an obvious one; jump the first and only clean round. With flawless execution, Henselwood posted an effortless clear in a prompt time of 45.20 seconds to cinch the victory and the winner's purse of $17,000 for her efforts.

"What a horse," smiled Henselwood, the reigning Spruce Meadows North American Champion. "I was concerned that Special Ed might be tired from last week's forty hour van ride home from Spruce Meadows in Calgary, but I couldn't be more wrong. He was exceptional today!"

The win in Bromont marked Henselwood's third grand prix victory of the 2005 season. Having been awarded twenty points for the win, Henselwood takes a commanding lead of the Canadian World Cup League standings with thirty-seven points after four of eight qualifiers have taken place.

Henselwood's next stop is Lexington, Virginia where she will train Farlinger and the rest of the Ontario Young Riders team as they compete for gold at the North American Young Riders Championships.

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