Mckayla Langmeier Wins West Canadian Cup 1.45m

Monday, July 4, 2016 | Mary Phelps

Mckayla Langmeier and Classic Care

Mckayla Langmeier and Classic Care (Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media Services.)

Calgary, AB, Canada – 16-year-old Mckayla Langmeier (USA) also took home an exciting international victory in the West Canadian Cup 1.45m. The competition began with 68 competitors over Alan Wade’s (IRL) first round course, with 20 advancing to the jump-off, and another 11 clear rounds over the short course.

Langmeier rode Classic Care to victory in the tiebreaker with a time of 39.76 seconds. Mario Deslauriers (USA) and Wishing Well Farm’s Cherrypop finished second in 39.89 seconds. Jonathan McCrea (USA) and Candy Tribble’s Special Lux placed third in 39.90 seconds, and Leslie Howard (USA) guided Peter Howard’s Donna Speciale to fourth place honors in 40.14 seconds. Richie Moloney (IRL) took fifth place aboard Equinimity LLC’s Ypaja Yando in 40.35 seconds, and Howard also took sixth place riding the Utah Group’s Utah through the timers in 40.45 seconds.

Winning horse, Classic Care, is a 13-year-old Holsteiner mare (Caretino x Accord II) owned by Langmeier’s mother, Linda. Along with help from her mom, Langmeier also jumped to victory on Sunday with the help of trainer Darrin Dlin. Commenting on the accomplishment, the young rider stated, “It is my first FEI win, so there are no words that can describe how amazing it is. To have my first win at Spruce Meadows in the 1.45m is amazing.”

Mckayla Langmeier in her winning presentation with George Brookman, CEO West Canadian.

Mckayla Langmeier in her winning presentation with George Brookman, CEO West Canadian. (Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media Services.)

Classic Care is a mare that Langmeier has had for four years. The pair jumped on a team at the Adequan FEI North American Junior Young Rider Championships in 2014 and have since moved up to the higher levels.

“She is a very special horse to me. I have grown up with her doing the bigger classes,” Langmeier noted. Speaking of Sunday’s competition, the rider detailed, “I briefly walked the course in the morning because I had to go over to do the 1.35m, so we watched a few. It looked like a really nice, inviting course. It was not too scary anywhere, but it was also challenging enough. In the jump-off, my plan was just to go double clear and fast.”

Langmeier jumped about midway through a 20-horse jump-off, so the rest was just a waiting game to see if anyone could catch her. “I have a thing where if I am doing well, I do not watch the rest of the competition, but obviously I can hear the announcer sometimes,” she remarked. “I was mostly back with my horse just waiting.”

With an international win under her belt, Langmeier looks forward to returning to compete at Spruce Meadows again next summer.

The Spruce Meadows Summer Series continues with one more week of competition featuring the ‘North American’ Tournament CSI5*, presented by Rolex, on July 6-10.

For a complete tournament schedule and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.