A $50,000 purse and bragging rights over 55 other international riders belongs to Patricio Pasquel of Mexico this past weekend.
The 46-year-old rider and his mount Pomerol won the Maui Jim Grand Prix held Sunday at the Thunderbird Show Park (tbird) in Langley.
He rode to victory over second-place’s Ashlee Bond, and third-place’s Karrie Rufer – both California riders. All three riders, among others competed on two or more different horses in the grand prix.
This grand prix is one of several show jumping events being held at tbird this month, leading up to the grand finale of horse competitions next weekend.
• CLICK HERE TO SEE A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE EVENT
Thunderbird will be host to the third leg of the Longines FEI Nations Cup in Langley on June 3, where equestrian fans will be cheering on the world’s best teams from Canada, the U.S.A., Mexico, Brazil, and Ireland.
As part of Sunday’s jumping festivities, the Langley School District Foundation held its annual Grand Prix Gala, as well.
It was the 13th annual event, but the 11th hosted at tbird, and what a venue, what a backdrop for a fundraiser of this magnitude, said organizer and foundation executive director Susan Cairns.
Set up in a series of tents at ring side, more than 200 guests at the gala had a chance to witness the world-class riding competition, while enjoying and afternoon of wine, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts.
Once again, the fundraising focus of Sunday’s gala was to support the numerous food programs that help feed close to 3,000 of the district’s 19,000 students “who come to school hungry every single day,” explained Cairns.
“And if you’re hungry you can’t learn. So we realized we needed to do something about that,” she said of the efforts undertaken by the foundation and others in recent years to help ensure all kids are fed.
Last year’s gala raised about $30,000 for the programs. This year, the tally rose to $48,000, Cairns revealed Monday.
“We raised almost $60,000 (before expenses) and that will go a long way to ensuring that every child in Langley who comes to school hungry will receive a nutritious breakfast, snacks throughout the day, a good lunch and a backpack to take home every Friday to their family,” she revealed the day after the fundraiser.
“It’s incredible that we have that (hunger) in Langley, but it’s something that we’re trying to rectify and alleviate. We have breakfast programs, snack programs, lunch programs, and backpack programs, so we are making a huge amount of progress and that’s thanks to our community partners and all the people here today,” she said Sunday, looking around her at the crowds of men, women, and children in attendance.
The event was livestreamed:
