Tina Irwin and Laurencio, Dressage Canada Athlete and Horse of the Year 2019

Dressage

Canada

Tina Irwin and her horse Laurencio have been named Canadian Dressage Athletes of the Year 2019 at the EC Dressage Recognition Reception held in the Tanbark Club at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON, on Nov. 5, 2019.

Equestrian Canada (EC) honoured outstanding dressage athletes, horses, owners and volunteers at the EC Dressage Recognition Reception.

Tina Irwin, Athlete of the Year 2019

Tina Irwin of Stouffville, ON, has been named the 2019 Dressage Athlete of the Year in recognition of a stellar season, in which she pushed herself to the pinnacles of the sport riding Laurencio (Laurentio x Donnerhall), the 12-year-old Oldenburg she co-owns with her husband and fellow elite dressage athlete, Jaimey Irwin.

For the 2019 season, Irwin chose to drop the bay gelding down to the small tour, in which the combination had previously found incredible success, with the specific goal of helping Canada earn their berth to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games in Peru. The strategic move paid off in spades, with Irwin and Laurencio placing top three in all but one of their 13 regular season classes. Back-to-back wins also helped the Canadian Dressage Team earn the silver medal in the CDIO 3* FEI Nations Cup in Wellington, FL.

Irwin and Laurencio soon had their chance in Lima, and rose magnificently to the occasion. In the team competition, they were Canada’s highest-scoring combination two days in a row with 73.735% in the Prix St. Georges and 73.853% in the Intermediate I. These performances led to team gold for the Canadian Dressage Team, punching Canada’s ticket to Tokyo. Not one to rest on her laurels with one more Pan Ams class to go, Irwin scored 77.780% in Intermediate I Freestyle to also lay claim the individual silver medal.

Laurencio, Horse of the Year 2019

Jaime and Tina Irwin, owners of Laurencio

The 2019 Dressage Horse of the Year title has been awarded to Laurencio (Laurentio x Donnerhall), a 12-year-old Oldenburg owned by Tina and Jaimey Irwin of Stouffville, ON.

Laurencio has received this honour once before: In 2017, he was named Dressage Horse of the Year for his domination of the small tour level after nine consecutive FEI wins. The bay gelding displayed those skills once more in 2019, bringing the Irwins to the winner’s circle time and time again with seven wins in the regular season. Furthermore, two of those wins contributed to a silver medal for the Canadian Dressage Team at the CDIO 3* FEI Nations Cup in Wellington, FL.

Laurencio’s most memorable efforts, however, came at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games in Peru with Tina in the irons. The pair was Canada’s highest-scoring combination two days in a row in the team competition, propelling the Canadian Dressage Team to the top of the podium. The team gold medal was the first for the maple leaf in 28 years, and earned a spot for Canada in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

To cap off his major games debut, Laurencio showed off his mastery of complex movements such as three-tempi changes on a bending, serpentine line to secure the individual silver medal.