BEN ASSELIN

BIO:

From 2010 junior of the year, to 2014 double clear in the BMO Nations’ Cup – Ben Asselin is a passionate horseman on the rise in the international sport of show jumping.  Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Ben is based at Attaché Stables, located just outside the city limits.

After winning an individual gold medal at the North American Young Riders’ Championships and individual silver at the World Children’s jumping Finals, Ben began competing at the FEI level at the age of 16. In 2011 Ben achieved two top three placings at Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament CSIO 5* in Calgary AB, and first place in the Timberframe Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park, Langley BC.

With his most recent mounts Makavoy, Veyron, Doremi, Cool Feeling and now Luikan Q, Ben’s skill, performance and dedication to the sport has continued to progress. In 2013 Ben paired with Makavoy to claim victory in the 1.60m Encana Cup at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament. This first FEI sanctioned event win was a breakthrough for Ben’s career – pushing him to set new goals to succeed in the sport of professional show jumping. Since then, Ben has risen above the expectations of a junior rider and has proven himself to be a valued member of Team Canada.

The second time he was named to Team Canada, he led the nation to victory in the BMO Nations’ Cup at the 2014 Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament. Aboard Makavoy, Ben performed one of only two double clear rounds against eight other competing nations.  The 2014 season didn’t finish there as the pair then headed to Barcelona for the Nations Cup Final and helped Team Canada to a Silver medal finish.

Ben’s second FEI sanctioned event win came in 2016 when he paired with Veyron to claim victory in the CSIO4* Grand Prix of Veracruz at Coepaxpan, Xalapa.  They then went on to be a member of the Canadian Nations Cup team at Thunderbird the following month. It was just an unlucky toe in the water in the first round but they came back and jumped clear in the second round to help Canada to a second place finish.

Ben spent time during 2016, 2017 and 2018 in Riesenbeck, Germany under the instruction of Stall Beerbaum where he maintained a vigorous training and competition schedule with all future ambitions set to compete for Canada at the top of the sport and amongst the best in the world.  His time out there lead to him being a member of the Berlin Eagles GCT team during the 2018 season alongside Ludger Beerbaum, Philip Weishaupt and Christian Kukuk.

Ben and Cool Feeling had a great start to the 2018 season and placed 5th in their first GP of the year, a 4* in Wellington, Florida.  They also jumped in a number of GCT Grand Prix’s and were a part of the Canadian Nations Cup team in Wellington, Florida and La Baule, France.

Unfortunately the rest of the 2018 season and the majority of the 2019 season didn’t go quite as planned after Ben sustained a couple of injuries that kept him out of the ring. However, his return to the ring was a successful one with a win at Spruce Meadows Oktoberfest with Makavoy and a 5th place in the World Cup Qualifier at Desert International Horse Park with Veyron at the beginning of November.

2020 was a very quiet year due to COVID-19 but Ben was able to use this time at home to bring on the younger horses and get to know his new horse, Luikan Q, better. 2021 started with some fantastic results for a Ben and a number of the horses at Desert International Horse Park. Ben and Luikan Q jumped to a 3rd and 4th place finish in the two 3* Grand Prix’s and ended the circuit with a 5th place finish in the 4* Grand Prix. Ben concluded his main 2021 season with three weeks at Spruce Meadows in September. It was great to be back in the big grass rings and in front of a home crowd after two years away due to COVID. Luikan Q had a great show with a 6th place finish in the National 5* Grand Prix but the star of the show was The Freshman, who during the Masters was a part of the Canada 2 team and helped them finish in 3rd place in the 5* Nations Cup. Ben and The Freshman closed out the show with a win in the North American 3* Grand Prix.