Abigail McArdle is Queen of the 1.45m at Spruce Meadows

International competition at the ‘Pan American’ Tournament got underway in the North American Ring Thursday morning with a win for Abigail McArdle (USA) and David McArdle’s Cosma 20 in the $34,000 Friends of the Meadows Cup 1.45m.

Held over a one round speed track set by Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA), the competition saw 50 competitors with 14 clear rounds. McArdle and Cosma 20 clocked in at 65.90 seconds for the win.

Hardin Towell and Jennifer Gates’ New York placed second in 68.46 seconds, and Kent Farrington (USA) finished third with a time of 68.76 seconds aboard Haity McNerney and Amalaya Investments’ Cha Cha Cha 7.

McArdle and Cosma 20 have been a winning team for several years, and the 12-year-old Hanoverian mare (Couleur Rubin x Stakkato) proved why she is a winner on Thursday, speeding through the course and giving a little extra effort at the end.

“I got lucky,” McArdle detailed. “She lost a shoe and she slipped a little bit on the way to the last line, but she still true blue left the ground for me and had a super finish.”

Thursday’s win marks the pair’s third victory in the 1.45m division for this year’s Summer Series and McArdle explained that the venue suits her horse well.

“Spruce Meadows is a great venue for her because of the grass fields; she is able to really gallop,” the rider explained. “In today’s course, the way the numbers were, she was able to keep a big stride and a big gallop where the other horses had to steady in the lines. She is also really quick away from the fences.”

“It is important to remember with her that where other people may leave out strides in the lines, I have to not get so focused on that and really try to make it up in the turns and always just stick to my plan,” McArdle added. “We have had a super partnership. I consider her the best 1.45m speed horse there is. She is super careful.”

Competition continues on Friday featuring the $34,000 Friends of the Meadows Cup 1.45m followed by the $85,000 Ashcor Technologies Cup 1.55m.