Brianne Goutal is an English major at university. And a part-time show-jumping rider.
She's only 22 years old, and her mount, Ballade Van Het Indihoff is young and inexperienced, too, at age 9.
Yet the student from New York and her horse showed their heels to a top-calibre field of show jumpers Wednesday night to win the $100,000 World Cup qualifier at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Needless to say, it was her biggest win.
Last year, she was the youngest rider to win a Grand Prix at Lake Placid, N.Y., in its 40-year-history.
Goutal was one of only five to make a jump-off among 25 starters Wednesday, and she didn't make a single error for the victory, posting two clean rounds. She was the fastest of five in the jump-off, finishing the course in 36.60 seconds, dusting off Dutch veteran Harrie Smolders, who smoked the course in 37.70 seconds.
Third was Robert Whitaker of Britain, son of five-time Olympian John Whitaker, who couldn't get past the first round in the World Cup. The older Whitaker fell afoul of a tricky triple-jump combination that tripped up 14 of the entries, with its two enormous, wide oxers and then a vertical. The younger Whitaker jumped two clean rounds, but just wasn't as fast as Goutal, and he finished in 38.69 seconds..
Olympic silver medalist Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, Ont., missed the formidable combination aboard her non-Olympic mount, Bottom Line. So did Olympic silver medalist Mac Cone of King, Ont., who also was on a young horse, Unanimous, just learning.
John Whitaker's brother and Robert's uncle, Michael Whitaker, also a five-time Olympian, met his Waterloo at the middle part of the combination. World Cup final winner Leslie Howard ran into problems at that woeful obstacle with the promising Lennox Lewis 2. Even one of the top-ranked riders in the world, McLain Ward missed it, too, also on a young horse. The entire Millar family - veteran Ian, and offspring Jonathon and Amy - are all looking for a brighter day, because of that combination.
But the kid, Goutal, figured it out. She credits her horse.
"She's so green," Goutal said afterward. "But she's a really classy horse and so confident. She always tries really hard."
Goutal said the Royal is her favourite horse show, although this is the first time she's ever attended it. She says she loves the stadium and the atmosphere. Her knowledge of the show comes from others who have raved about it to her, she said.
Goutal flew in to Toronto from school (Brown University) on Tuesday, just 10 minutes before the first international class. She didn't have much of a chance to take things in. She visited the horses and sheep and roosters earlier Wednesday, and then got ready to put on her own show.
The young rider said she wasn't nervous at the task that awaited her, although she admitted to feeling a little concerned when she walked the course and had a look at what she had to do. The course was designed by former American rider Anthony Ambrosia, who had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
She was hoping for a top-10 finish.
And she's not rushing right back to school. She'll stick around for a few days, and catch up when she gets back. "I live the life of a gypsy," she said.
Neither of her parents ride horses. But her grandfather was in the French cavalry in World War I. Perhaps it's in her genes somewhere, but she also has what so many riders dream of: the right horse.