This was, by far, WCAR’s best year at Spruce Meadows and it had nothing to due with the results. The team spirit, camaraderie, chefs d’equipe, parents, sponsors and friends made it an unforgettable experience for everyone.
Our Prix de Nations day started early with group pictures outside the prestigious Spruce Meadows Riding Hall. Thank you so much to Mr. Van Sickle for being our in-house photographer. Diane and Danielle Korsch designed a special thank you board with the sponsor logos that turned out fantastic. Team spirit was high and all members were ready to make WCAR proud.

Led by chef Heather Olson, the 1.10 team was first to show with their matching hunt coats from Allon. The course was long and proved to be a bit challenging. Cassie Powers thought her horse was actually tired by the end of the course. Our team persevered and finished a very respectable eighth place. With the only clear round, Susie Saladino gets to keep a beautiful cooler donated from Argentina Horse Trade. The company’s owner, Sebastian Fusaro, offered to give the top scoring rider on each team and the top scoring team overall coolers to keep.
Congratulations to everyone on the team: Susie Saladino, Cassie Powers, Theo Boris and Brooke Flynn.
The 1.20 team was led by chef Joie Gatlin and they were chomping at the bit to take on yet another challenging course in the North American Ring. Everyone put in a great round but again we only had one clean: Cliff Bohart on his wonderful horse Great Bear. Cliff was so excited; he told me that it was one of the best opportunities of his life. Congratulations on winning the cooler from Argentina Horse Trade for a great ride! Team members were Cliff Bohart, Naomi Sedgwick, Sage Flynn, and Natalie Rae Medlock.

WCAR Spruce Meadows team riders with some of the goodies provided by the squad’s generous sponsors.

Next came the 1.30 team under Hap Hansen’s direction. This team competed in the Meadows on the Green field, which can certainly be intimidating. The challenging course had wide oxers, a rainbow triple combination, and a vertical with a large liverpool that only Spruce Meadows can build.
The time was very tight so there was no going slow. The 1.30 team showed tremendous spirit including our favorite blow horn just to make sure everyone knew we were there. And, wow, our team was great!
Allison Van Sickle and her truly lovely horse Blue Bayou went first and clean, so she set the bar for everyone. Paige Dotson put in another great fault-free round. Suzy Kay Jackson had an unexpected rail, and our rookie of the team, Samantha Harrison, had only two rails down. The second round came up quick with WCAR leading the way. Again, Allison went clean, followed by a fault-free round by Suzy. Paige had a bit more difficulty with this round. And Samantha, bound and determined to make it within the time, did just that. WCAR finished a very close second place with only one point separating them from first. Congrats to Allison Van Sickle, Paige Dotson, Suzy Kay Jackson and Samantha Harris. And everyone on this team earned Argentina Horse Trade coolers.
Last but not least was the 1.40 team, with Ali Nilforushan as its chef d’equipe. They had to wait all day in anticipation for their turn to prove their WCAR spirit. With the blow horn ready and everyone showing their support, we were off. Unfortunately we had a bit of bad luck in the first round with issues such as a foot in the water and a rail falling backwards. However, the team held strong, made it to the second round and finished third overall. Great job! Danielle Korsch put in the only double clear round and won the cooler from Argentina Horse Trade. Team members included Megan Edrick, Paige Dotson, Danielle Korsch and Richard Neal.
Thanks to all the chefs d’equipe, to Megan Edrick and to everyone else: you were all so helpful.
Thanks also for the generous support from so many companies. The chefs for each team received gifts from Ayora Saddlery, Kailash Diamonds and Argentina Horse Trade. The team members all received beautiful hunt coats from Allon, team jackets from Ayora Saddlery, WCAR coolers from Argentina Horse Trade, jewelry gift certificates from Kailash Diamonds, custom boot/hat duffle bags from IPPOS, gloves from Heritage Gloves, embroidery from ThreadNeedle and the team party given by Shelburne Farms.
Everyone was honored and excited to receive these great gifts. You could really feel the team spirit! Congratulations again to all of the team members and a very special thank you to the wonderful sponsors and volunteers. We could not have done it without you.