New Zealand rider Katie McVean made a dream start to her World Equestrian Games bid winning a $25,000 grand prix in Canada today.

McVean of Waikato and Dunstan Delphi headed home a 21-strong field to take the honours and the winner's cheque at the Bow Valley Classic in Calgary.

The combination was the second of six to go through to the jump-off where they came home two seconds clear of the rest of the pack.

"That first one out was pretty fast but Delphi was just awesome and she loved being able to go fast," McVean said.

The 23-year-old was ecstatic with the win, which came on the back of a fourth placing in the 1.4m class on the opening day of the show after picking up a time fault in the first round of the $10,000 class.

McVean and Delphi left New Zealand in early May in an effort to secure a berth in the New Zealand team for the World Games in Kentucky in September. The mare travelled extremely well and the Calgary show was her first outing since landing in North America.

The last time she competed was at the Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Show in Hastings in March where they won the coveted Olympic Cup as showjumper of the year.

The McVean family opted to fly the horse straight to Calgary, rather than trucking her up from California, and it paid off.

The combination will next start in the five star National Tournament, running from June 9-13, followed by the four star Continental Tournament from June 17-20, then the four star Canada One from July 1-4 and finally the five star North American from July 7-11.