Thunderbird Show Park hosts seven major tournaments between May and September, including the Summer Fort Festival featuring the Keg Steakhouse & Bar World Cup Grand Prix on Saturday, Aug. 28.

In its 37th season, the Langley equestrian facility welcomes thousands of competitors and spectators to its 85-acre equestrian show grounds.

Each tournament features both amateur and professional riders in hunter and jumper classes from Wednesday to Sunday.

The July 11 Western Family Tournament Grand Prix featured a local winner.

Horsepower took two forms as MCL Motorcars hosted the $20,000 Western Family Tournament Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park.

Amid a colourful course that featured sports cars such as a Jaguar, Bentley, and Aston Martin, Langley's Chelsea McNeill rode the aptly named Coupe Champagne to the win with the fastest clear rounds of the day.

Finishing fourth in the previous week's $20,000 West Coast Grand Prix, McNeill and Coupe led the field of 21 horse/rider combinations with the first clear round of the class.

Six more would follow, putting her up against Alberta's Lynn Macyk and Thunderbird Show Stables' Laura-Jane Tidball.

Course designer Meghan Rawlins incorporated a daunting triple combination in the first round that had competitors jumping towards the spectator tent, and several elements that tested riders' ability to bring their mounts through a power fence before settling for a careful vertical.

The jump off brought three new fences to challenge their bravery while demanding quick times.

Lindsay Uyesugi got the jump off underway with Oz 42, finishing her round with four faults and a time of 48.83 seconds.

McNeill and Coupe Champagne were quick with their turns and efficient over each obstacle to put in a clear round with an unbeatable time of 42.61.

Ashley Papalia and Novalis clipped the final rail for four faults, followed by an eight-fault round by Tidball and Yoshi.

The final three riders, all hailing from Alberta, did their best to challenge McNeill, with both Macyk on Captain Forever and Jaclyn Duff on Pan Tau 55 posting clear rides.

McNeill and Coupe Champagne were named Reserve Champions in the 1.20m Open Jumpers at the 2009 BCHJA Year End Gala.