TWO for the SHOW

He’s just shy of his 25th birthday and for that very reason, Christopher Lowe is up against the toughest competition of his life. Experience.

The professional show jumper who trains with Brent and Laura Balisky of Thunderbird at Livingston in Langley modestly says, “Ian Miller has forgotten more than I’ll ever know about the sport”.

But equestrian A-circuit watchers say Lowe is a rising star and if you don’t keep an eye on him, he’ll smile and politely remove that cash purse from the grip of your fine leather riding gloves.

The Burnaby resident is a multiple recipient of the Premier’s Athletic Award, a former World Children’s Hunter Champion and was the top-placed Canadian competitor in the $200,000 CN Reliability Grand Prix.

This, however, is a sport where it takes two athletes to succeed.

“Horses are such an important part. You can be a fantastic rider, but if you don’t have a good horse under you, you’re not anyone,” he said.

“I’ve always got my eyes open for anything that could potentially be a prospect for my next big horse,” Lowe said.

One of his most successful mounts has been Jackpot, a 13-year-old German-bred Oldenburg. Lowe and Jackpot hit the pace and gained the height required to win last year’s $35,000 Spring Classic Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley. It’s his second grand prix championship.

“Jackpot is my main horse, then I have another, Atario, a German-bred Oldenburg gelding, and he’ll be nine this year,” Lowe says.

With the help of Thunderbird and some promising breeding stock, he’s hoping to produce championship foals, with an eye on the future.

This year, Jackpot is fierce, hot on the hooves of Olympic-level riders such as June’s $50,000 Warsteiner World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix in Langley. Lowe and Jackpot placed second, coming in less than a second shy of winner Jonathan Asselin of Alberta.

“What has always been hard for me is the experience level. I’m always going up against the experienced guy and experience is an important part of the sport. I lack years and years of it.

“But, wherever you go, you’ll always have some competition. The East Coast has a great Canadian team that’s based there and the European contingent is very, very strong as well, as is the States...so wherever you go, it’s there.”

Lowe said total winnings so far are “probably a few hundred thousand dollars”, and he’s just getting warmed up in the grand prix ring.

Personal romance aside (Lowe is single) his biggest heartbreak has been lameness. In 2006, Jackpot’s career stalled after he returned home lame from competition.

“When you have a horse competing in a big grand prix, and a big season planned, so much rides on the soundness of that horse.

“Jackpot never competed during his 11th year. We gave him the time off and he came back better than ever,” Lowe says of the forced hiatus.

To leverage his sport of choice, Lowe is currently waiting for certification to become a financial advisor. He says he’s balancing his life with the full-time job because show jumping isn’t exactly the sport of the middle class.

“I like the business aspect of the financial world and one day it will allow me to afford some very nice horses. Then I can ride my entire life without worrying about good horses,” he says.

He recalls, as most young riders do, the challenges of getting to the grand prix level.

“When you’re young, you have to rely so much on owner and sponsor support. I’ve spent so many tough, tough years riding so many not so great horses.”

He also says he’s been lucky to have the support of his parents, Jeff and Donna Lowe, and other family and friends allowing him to achieve the level of excellence he now enjoys.

Lowe keeps a regimented training schedule at Livingston, riding six days a week.

So what is it about show jumping that attracts this B.C. native?

“I don’t know,” he ponders. “At that level, it’s an aggressive sport and a big adrenaline rush. You definitely have to have a lot of guts to gallop at a five foot wall.”

“Ultimately, my goal is to one day be used to represent Canada at an international event.”

For more on Chris Lowe, visit www.christopherlowe.ca; for international grand prix show schedules, visit www.thunderbirdshowpark.com or www.spruce meadows.com