Nicole Walker Produces Winning Round for Canada at Wesley Clover Parks

Nicole Walker of Aurora, ON, ensured the Canadian anthem rang out over Wesley Clover Parks by winning the $70,000 1.50m Winning Round CSI5*, presented by Brookstreet, on Saturday, August 16, in Ottawa, ON.

Saturday’s five-star competition was held in a winning round format with the top 10 riders in the standings following the opening round, regardless of faults, returning for an all-deciding second round.  Starting from a clean slate, Walker and Darragh Kenny of Ireland were the only two riders to jump clear in the second round and both incurred time faults for exceeding the time allowed of 45 seconds set by Brazilian course designer Marina Azevedo.  Walker proved to be the fastest, stopping the timers in 45.48 seconds compared to Kenny’s time of 47.57 to take the win.

Kenny settled for second with Diaroubet, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Diarado x Baloubet du Rouet) that he has been paired with since May.  Alessandra Volpi of the United States had the fastest time by a large margin, 41.53 seconds, but a rail down with Glamour, her 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Numero Uno x Iroko), placed her third in the final standings.

“He’s pretty careful and always very quick, so I try not to interfere with him and keep it as smooth as possible and he covers the ground nicely,” said Walker of her winning mount, Atout des Trambles, a 15-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Nectar des Forets x Apache d’Adriers).  “I didn’t think that I would have a time fault, so I thought I was out of the contention after that, but the winning round format worked in my favour today.  My horse jumped amazing.  He always gives it his all when he’s in the ring.  I’m so proud of him.”

Better known as “Tito” around the barn, Atout des Trambles came as part of a package deal when Walker purchased him.  His therapy companion, Mimosa, is a miniature pony who is always at his side except when he is being ridden.

“‘Tito’ has been my partner of five years now and he is a 1.50m specialist,” continued Walker, who came to Ottawa directly from competing at CSIO5* Dublin as a member of the Canadian Show Jumping Team with two other horses.  “He’s naturally so quick and he’s always been very good on the grass.  We’ve always had great luck at Ottawa with him so I wanted to leave him nice and fresh for this event.  It was just so much fun out there and he always jumps very well on this field.”

Canadian victories proved to be the theme of the day with the US $6,800 1.45m Speed CSI2*, presented by CIBC Wood Gundy.  While he didn’t have the fastest round of the day, Sean Jobin of Canada was the only athlete to leave all the rails in place to take the win riding Engaye d’Amaury.  After purchasing the horse as a seven-year-old in France, it underwent colic surgery and took several years to return to the top level.  The win at Wesley Clover Parks was especially meaningful as it marked the first two-star victory for the horse owned by Antrim Equestrian.  Another Canadian competitor, Wesley Newlands of Toronto, ON, had the fastest four-fault round to place second with Django du Lys, owned by Weslands Farm.  Laurel Walker of the United States rounded out the top three with HTS Kobra Kan, owned by Oakland Training and Sales.

The RBC Ottawa International show jumping tournament concludes on Sunday at Wesley Clover Parks.  The US $35,000 1.45m Mark Motors Group Grand Prix CSI2* is scheduled for 10 a.m. followed by the grand finale, the US $340,000 1.60m RBC Grand Prix CSI5*, at 2 p.m.

Spectator tickets are available for purchase at www.ottawaequestriantournaments.com/spectators.  Live streaming of the RBC Ottawa International CSI5* and CSI2* is available on Clip My Horse.  For new subscribers, use special code OTTAWA20 for 20% off until August 18.

For more information on the RBC Ottawa Equestrian Tournaments, visit www.OttawaEquestrianTournaments.com.  All competitor information is available at www.ottawaequestriantournaments.com/calendar and full results can be found at ottawa.showmanagementsystem.com/events.

Follow @ottawaequestriantournaments Instagram page as well as Facebook for exhibitor information, show updates, results, and more.

US $70,000 1.50m Winning Round CSI5*, Presented by Brookstreet
Saturday, August 16, 2025

Rider / Country / Horse / Faults / Time
1.  Nicole Walker / Canada / Atout des Trambles / 4:1 / 45.48
2.  Darragh Kenny / Ireland / Diaroubet / 0:3 / 47.57
3.  Alessandra Volpi / United States / Glamour / 4:4 / 41.53
4.  Daniel Bluman / Israel / Kapitaal L / 4:4 / 44.05
5.  Savannah Jade Jenkins / United States / Bresil de Carnaval Santa Rosa / 4:4 / 46.82
6.  Alise Oken / United States / Forrestal / 7:3 / 51.47
7.  Richard Vogel / Germany / Michael Jackson W / 4:8 / 43.74
8.  McKayla Langmeier / United States / Carlita / 4:8 / 44.85
9.  Kent Farrington / United States / Garrison / 0:4 / 50.31
10.  Conor Swail / Ireland / Casturano / 4:4 / 50.50
11.  Erynn Ballard / Canada / Her Game Ball BG / 8
12.  Sarah Segal / United States / Tom Hanks / 8

US $6,800 1.45m Speed CSI2*, Presented by CIBC Wood Gundy
Saturday, August 16, 2025

Rider / Country / Horse / Faults / Time
1.  Sean Jobin / Canada / Engaye d’Amaury / 0 / 67.96
2.  Wesley Newlands / Canada / Django du Lys / 4 / 67.46
3.  Laurel Walker / United States / HTS Kobra Kan / 4 / 68.68
4.  Sophia Nihon Millar / Canada / Marty McFly / 4 / 68.95
5.  Livia Martin / Canada / Vico G / 4 / 79.21
6.  Savannah Jade Jenkins / United States / Comme Ci Comme Ca / 8 / 62.02
7.  William Martin / Canada / Jameson / 8 / 64.14
8.  Jessica Mendoza / Great Britain / Bullseye III Z / 8 / 71.17
9.  Stephanie Garrett / United States / Palermo AEG / 12 / 65.24
10.  Nirvana Hank / Mexico / Marcus / 12 / 66.94
11.  Pieter de Brabandere / Belgium / Levito 12 / 16 / 65.17
12.  Carson Lewis / Canada / King Kong / 16 / 67.67