TRAVERSE CITY, Mich,--Sean Jobin of Canada on Arkuga won the $116,500 CSIO3* Grand Prix in Traverse City on Saturday, July 25 to close out week four of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.
Sean Jobin on Arkuga“Arkuga gave me a nice birthday gift today so I’m real happy with him for pulling through,” said Jobin, who was celebrating his birthday,
Jobin finished clean in 39.59 in a 13 horse jump-off to win over McLain Ward on First Lady, clean in 39.85, with Eva Fisherman on Casallvano, the only other clean in the jump-off, third in 41.69.
“The first round I probably clicked a bit faster than I needed to but that suited well for the jump-off because he was already on a blistering pace,” Jobin said of the course set by Peter Grand of Canada. “I went quick one to two to three and then steadied off after. I got tight after the triple combination but he tried so well. After that it felt super easy for him.”
Jobin went after Ward, who had gone second in the jump-off.
“I ACTUALLY tried not to watch Mclain because they go fast but they ride their own horses,” he said. “I made the decision after being at Spruce to try to ride the tracks where I could keep the momentum going as well as I could. I probably did an extra step in a lot of spots but Arkuga is quick in the air and has a fast step so it ended up working out today.”
“It felt like a fast one,” said Jobin, who still had nine riders to go after him. “I did track a lot wider than Mclain to that last oxer so I felt maybe I left that on the table, but you never know. There are fantastic riders and horses here but at the same time he was jumping fantastic today too, so it felt great to me. I would’ve been happy no matter what.”
“It’s a great course, very careful,” Ward said of the track. “At the three-star level they can’t build too much size, but it’s a large field with some very good horses so it’s a technical course.”
“I’m super excited,” Fisherman said. “I’m so happy with my horse. He’s the best thing in the whole world. I didn’t change my plan from when we walked, just stayed up to pace, rode the lines that we walked, and I was a little slow in a couple of the turns but I’m happy that I kept the jumps up and he jumped great.”
