Top Show Jumping Athletes Headed to Toronto’s Royal Horse Show

The Royal Horse Show, held as part of the 100th Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, will once again feature star-studded international show jumping during its centennial celebration at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto, Canada, from November 4 to 13, 2022.

This year’s elevated CSI5*-W designation from the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) represents the highest level of international show jumping and will see the Royal Horse Show offer more prize money than ever before.  The biggest names in the sport including Conor Swail of Ireland, currently ranked number five in the Longines World Rankings, and Israel’s Daniel Bluman, currently ranked 18th in the world, will be back in Toronto.  They will be joined by reigning Olympic champion Ben Maher of Great Britain as well as U.S. Olympic team gold medalists Laura Kraut and McLain Ward.

Canada will be well represented by Olympians Mario Deslauriers, Tiffany Foster, and Amy Millar as well as 20-year-old Sam Walker who is making his international division debut.  The top two Canadians from the $125,000 Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping Championship held during opening weekend who are not already qualified based on their world ranking will also move forward to the international division.

No stranger to the winner’s circle, Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil has marked The Royal as an important stop on his 2022 show schedule.  The three-time World Cup champion is returning to The Royal on his quest to earn a fourth World Cup title.  The 2004 Olympic champion previously competed at The Royal in 2006 and 2016 and will be looking to gain valuable World Cup qualifying points in the $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto.

“This year, I’m trying to get qualified for the World Cup™ Final in Omaha, so that was a big reason behind coming back to The Royal,” explained Pessoa of his hopes of competing at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Omaha, Nebraska, from April 4 to 8, 2023.  “I’m going to bring two horses, and hopefully we’ll have a good show.  You always want to perform well but there are not very many shows that still have the tradition that The Royal has.

“I really enjoy competing at The Royal,” continued Pessoa.  “The atmosphere is very unique.  That the people really dress up at night to come is something special that we don’t have much of anymore.  Toronto is a great city as well, so there’s a lot of things that are really nice about the event.  It will be very nice to be back.”

The international division kicks off on Wednesday, November 9, with the $38,000 McKee Family International Challenge.  The fan-favourite $138,000 Big Ben International Challenge follows on Thursday, November 10, while Friday night will up the adrenaline factor with the $75,000 Royal Centennial Cup Speed Challenge.  The grand finale on Saturday evening, November 12, is the highly anticipated $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto which will take place in front of a sold-out audience of more than 7,000 show jumping enthusiasts.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Royal Horse Show, the marquee event of The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, please visit www.royalfair.org/horse-show.

Funding support for The Royal has been provided by the Government of Canada and the City of Toronto.

About The Royal
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is the world’s largest combined indoor agricultural and international equestrian event.  The 100th Royal Agricultural Winter Fair runs November 4-13, 2022, at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada.  For competition schedules, live webcasting, results, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.royalfair.org.