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Farouche Shines at Brilliant Bolesworth
June 20, 2015
By British Dressage
It may have been a short foray into dressage for Bolesworth International but it was ever so sweet. Eight invited combinations came forward for the inaugural equestrian.com Inter I freestyle on Thursday evening in glorious sunshine in the spectacular Cheshire arena – which has its own moat! The bill was an exciting mix of up and coming talent in the horse and rider stakes with some experienced names to boot.
First on was Nicola Lickley with her Dutch-bred Zaire LH by Sir Sinclair. With husband Rob, she runs Kingswood Equestrian Centre in the West Midlands and made her international competition debut with this horse last year at small tour level. They really made a great opening to the class with a polished performance including a great curving line of two time changes and the horse showed great reach and ground cover in the half passes. The judging panel of Andrew Gardner (C), Jo Graham (M) and Clive Halsall (E) awarded the duo 69.875%.
Next was the ever-elegant Richard Barrett with Mark Philpott’s Walid 4. German-bred by Warkant, Walid has been partnered by Richard for two years and they have several wins at small tour. Their Ray Orbison inspired routine was a pleasure to watch although Walid became a bit tense in the final walk. 71.458% was the score, just two in and already the 70% barrier had been broken.
On to Bolesworth-based rider Chris Pugh, who’s making a name for himself with his ride, Kylix Karrasel, whom he took the ride on late last year from owner Victoria Rutherford. The duo added a touch of the exotic to the occasion with a great Bollywood music score including a blast of the original ‘Jai ho’, which translates as ‘let victory prevail’. Sadly victory wasn’t to be theirs on the night as they scored 63.45% but there’s clearly more to come as the partnership grows in confidence.
Then it was the turn of Charlie Hutton with Charlotte Dunkerton’s 13 year-old Douglas IV, by Diamond Hit. The pairing won the winner takes all £1000 Moet Chandon invitational PSG at Bury Farm as part of last year’s Team Quest Championship and certainly have form at this level. Those who’ve seen them ‘dance’ before had their fingers crossed that Charlie had decided on everyone’s favourite music and they weren’t disappointed as the Eurythmics’’ Sweet Dreams blasted from the speakers. The music suits Douglas well and he really uses the beat. It was a fairly fault free performance for 73.58% – with an average of over 76% for their artistic marks from the judging trio – and into the lead they went.
Last night will be one to remember for the next rider as it was her freestyle debut – and what a place to do it. Nicole Begovic , wife of Stoke City goalkeeper, Asmir, is relatively new to the sport and just over 12 months ago had only ridden up to medium level. Under the guidance of Richard Davison, she’s found a great partner in the lovely giant Waldessarini and he’s helped catapult her to small tour level, represent Britain for the first time internationally and now make her dancing debut in this special class. Nicole really injected glamour and artistry to the occasion with her bling outfit and some really funky, futuristic music – it was clear that she’d put a lot into preparing for the occasion! Their test was a great effort and while there was a few minor blips, it was a dream start for the duo which the judges gave 65.75%.
Yorkshire’s Becky Moody was next with Carinsio and it’s easy to forget that this special horse is just eight years old. He’s won so many accolades, including both small tour freestyle titles at this year’s NAF Five Star Winter Championships and has never finished lower than sixth in any competition he’s been in. In Becky’s hands the quirky ‘Jack’ has flourished and the performance in the arena last night was a new level. He looked more established, even more so than his winning test at Hartpury in April and Becky’s choice of ‘tinkling’ piano music from Sherlock Holmes was perfect. Their 73.792% just edged Charlie off the leader’s podium.
Down to the final two competitors and in trotted the horse most had come to see, Woodlander Farouche with rider Michael Eilberg. Michael has put a lot into selecting music for the British-bred double Young Horse World Champion and has gone for very dainty piano based music, much like he used with her mum, Woodlander Dornroeschen. Owned by dad Ferdi and Alison Walton, the mare danced like a ballerina, giving much of the crowd a case of goose bumps. At nine, there’s still much to work on at this level but being only her third Inter I start, the potential is clear and present. 77.45% was met with a huge cheer and the crowd knew they’d seen something special.
From a combination who’ve been together for five years to one with just three months, our final combination was another crowd puller, multi medallist Laura Tomlinson and her exciting youngster Duvals Capri Sonne Jr, owned by father Wilfried. The Dutch-bred stallion by Rhodium will only be eight on 1 July and is a former bronze medallist at the World Breeding Championships. They’ve only started twice together, winning on both occasions with plus 71% but this was her freestyle debut with him. Laura used some established music which was apt but not quite timed to the 16.3hh tall leggy chap so there were a few tactful circles and a slight miscommunication in the canter pirouettes but overall, it was pure pleasure to watch. The crowd certainly appreciated watching and all had Rio on their minds for the partnership. It was a tense wait for the score but at 74% it wasn’t quite enough to topple Farouche off the top.
Michael told the crowd at the prize giving; “She’s a very exciting horse for the future and there’s a lot more to come. The venue here is absolutely fantastic – it really feels like you’re at a major championship venue!” The Worcestershire rider takes home £2500 for the generous £7500 prize fund thanks to sponsors, equestrian.com
Thanks to President Nina Barbour and the Bolesworth team for show casing dressage at this special venue – we certainly hope to be back bigger and better next year!
Results:
1 Michael Eilberg/ Woodlander Farouche
2 Laura Tomlinson/Duvals Capri Sonne Jr
3 Becky Moody/Carinso
4 Charlie Hutton/Douglas IV
5 Richard Barrett/Walid 4
6 Nicola Lickly/Zaire LH
7 Nicole Begovic/Waldessarini
8 Chris Pugh/Kylix Karrsel
Bolsworth CSI continues today and throughout the weekend – click here for more information
FEI Nations Cup™ Dressage 2015 – Round 3
Rotterdam (NED), 21 June 2015
Photo caption: The Dutch team celebrate victory in the third leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ Dressage 2015 pilot series in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (L to R): Edward Gal, Diederik van Silfhout, Patrick van der Meer and Hans Peter Minderhoud. Dutch Chef d’Equipe, Wim Ernes, accepts the trophy from Show President, Belle de Bruin. (FEI/Arnd Bronkhorst)
Dutch deliver again on home turf in Rotterdam
By Louise Parkes
The defending series champions from The Netherlands made it a back-to-back double on home ground at the third leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ Dressage 2015 pilot serles in Rotterdam, The Netherlands yesterday. With another new format on trial at this event, the competition began with a Grand Prix team competition on Thursday, from which riders representing the five leading nations went through to Saturday’s Grand Prix Special and Freestyle.
The consistent Dutch pipped Sweden by a decisive margin of almost 2.5 per cent, but Sweden’s Patrik Kittel and his 16-year-old campaigner Watermill Scandic were the show-stealers when producing the highest individual score in the Grand Prix – 77.260 – and then topping the Freestyle with a mark of 81.875.
Third place in the team competition went to the USA, with Belgium lining up fourth and Germany in fifth. Only riders from the leading five nations qualified for Saturday’s Special and Freestyle in which two from each side were eligible to compete in each class. Lying fifth, the three-member German team was already at a disadvantage, and when Bernadette Brune retired after running into problems with Spirit of the Age OLD in the Freestyle, Germany was eliminated. In sixth and seventh after the opening Grand Prix, Great Britain and France failed to make the cut into the closing stages, but their scorelines indicated the close nature of the competition, with the British completing on a total of 68.967 and the French on 68.933.
Third pilot season
The FEI Nations Cup™ Dressage series is now in its third pilot season and continues to provide both valuable exposure for up-and-coming horse-and-rider combinations and the perfect stage for top teams to test out the form of their leading combinations. And the crack Dutch team that included Olympic and World Championship-level riders always looked formidable.
They established a firm grip at the top of the leaderboard when filling second, third, fourth and fifth places in the opening Grand Prix. And when Diederik van Silfhout (Arlando NOP) and Patrick van der Meer (Uzzo) scored 77.098 and 74.429 respectively for first and second places in the Grand Prix Special, and then Hans Peter Minderhoud (Glock’s Johnson TN) and Edward Gal (Glock’s Undercover NOP) slotted into second and third in the Freestyle with marks of 81.050 and 77.900, they had it all sewn up.
Dutch Chef d’Equipe, Wim Ernes, reflected on the result. “For my team it was a good performance. Edward’s result was a bit below the normal level – there were moments of tension. The rest were good performances and Hans Peter had the best result in the Freestyle, his horse just keeps improving. Patrick has been doing well since competing in Aachen, and Diederik stayed at his normal level so I’m happy”, he said. “This was an important show for us to look at our top riders, because we will be deciding the selection for the European Championships after the Dutch Championships take place,” he added.
He felt the decision to spread the competition over the three classes worked well. “I believe this format is a good new idea because it makes it more exciting – first the Grand Prix in which we will see a little bit the direction it will go, then the Special and Freestyle to decide the result. Breaking it up like that makes it more interesting for the public I think, and brings it to a more exciting conclusion.”
The Dutch might have expected to also produce the best individual performances, but Ernes said Sweden’s Patrik Kittel was “very impressive” with Watermill Scandic. “Patrik did a very good job in the Freestyle especially, he had some real highlights in piaffe and passage and he deserved to win!” the Dutch team manager insisted.
Unexpected
Kittel said he was really surprised by his own results – “it was very unexpected to win both the Grand Prix and the Freestyle! I can hardly believe we did that, but my horse is in great shape and the judges could see that and gave us some great scores!”
He believes a new routine for his horse has played a part in the results he is achieving. “I have found a really good system for Scandic, I don’t ask too much from him in training, he goes out in the field for half the day every day and that keeps him happy and fresh, and he goes to the spa and does a bit of jogging. He’s been showing fantastic form. He won the Swedish Championship a couple of weeks ago and before that went really well at Munich. He may be 16 years old now but he feels great!” said the man who has been crowned Swedish champion with this same horse for three consecutive years.
Asked if he would choose Watermill Scandic for the forthcoming FEI European Dressage Championships in Aachen, Germany he replied, “I’m very lucky to have two good horses and I don’t think I will be asking him to do the Europeans, but he was unreal today and I’m so happy with him!”, he replied.
His Swedish team-mates Kristian von Krusenstierna (Biggles) and Rose Mathisen (Zuidenwind) posted marks of 71.098 and 70.808 in the Special, while Paulinda Friberg (Di Lapponia T) impressively filled fourth spot individually in the Freestyle with a mark of 76.325 to finish ahead of Belgium’s Claudia Fassaert (Donnerfee). Team USA’s Charlotte Jorst (Kastel’s Nintendo), Arlene Page (Woodstock), Shelly Francis (Doktor) and Kathleen Raine (Breanna) posted a team total of 71.019 for third place, while Belgium’s Fassaert, Mario van Orshaegen (Wilco V), Jorinde Verwimp (Tiamo) and Laurence Vanommeslaghe (Avec Plaisir) completed on 70.857 in fourth.
For further information on the third leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ Dressage 2015 pilot season, visit website www.chio.nl or contact Press Officer Anita Lussenberg, Email pers@chio.nl, Tel +31 10 750 86 11.
The next two legs of the series will take place in Falsterbo, Sweden and Hagen, Germany between 8 and 12 July. For all information on the Swedish fixture visit www.falsterbohorseshow.com or contact Press Officer Malin Fredriksson, Email press@falsterbohorseshow.com. Fro details of the German fixture see www.cdio2015@hagen.de or contact Press Officer Anna Baden, Email anna.baden@psi-sporthorses.de, Tel +49 5401 364543.
Result:
1. The Netherlands 77.195: Uzzo (Patrick van der Meer) 74.240/74.529, Arlando NOP (Diederik van Silfhout) 74.180/77.098, Glock’s Johnson TN (Hans Peter Minderhoud) 76.720/81.050, Glock’s Undercover (Edward Gal) 76.160/77.900.
2. Sweden 74.785: Biggles 1015 (Kristian von Krusenstierna) 68.420/71.098, Zuidenwind 1187 (Rose Mathiesen) 70.900/70.608, Di Lapponia T (Paulinda Frieberg) 71.260/76.325, Watermill Scandic (Patrik Kittel) 77.260/81.875.
3. USA 71.019: Kastel’s Nintendo (Charlotte Jorst) 69.540/71.333, Woodstock (Arlene Page) 71.360/73.825, Doktor (Shelly Francis) 68.660/70.078, Breanna (Kathleen Raine) 69.980/70.075.
4. Belgium 70.857: Wilco V (Mario van Orshaegen) 67.080/67.080, Donnerfee (Claudia Fassaert) 69.780/69.039, Tiamo (Jorinde ver Wimp) 68.920/69.059, Avec Plaisir (Laurence Vanommeslaghe) 71.080/72.300.
5. Germany 69.980/Elim: Daintree 3 (Kathleen Keller) 68.980, Damsey FRH (Stefan Frahm) 67.800, Spirit of the Age OLD (Bernadette Brune) 70.600.
6. Great Britain 68.967: Headmore Delegate (Alice Ruth Oppenheimer) 68.080, Weltzin (Hannah Biggs) 69.360, Numberto (Spencer Wilton) 69.460, Rubins Nite (Hayley Watson-Greaves) 64.440.
7. France 68.933: Badinda Altena (Pierre Bolla) 68.000, Amorak (Stephanie Brieussel) 67.000, After You (Ludovic Henry) 69.280, Robinson de Lafont de Massa (Arnaud Serre) 69.520.
Detailed result here
FEI Classics™: Klimke is Unbeatable at Luhmühlen
By Kate Green
Ingrid Klimke (GER) rode brilliantly to produce a clear round under huge pressure to win her home CCI4* at Luhmühlen (GER), presented by DHL, for the first time and set up an unassailable lead in the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015.
In a thrilling finale, her flawless round on the spring-heeled 11-year-old Hannoverian mare FRH Escada JS denied New Zealander Jonelle Price her first CCI4* victory by just one-tenth of a penalty.
Klimke’s trainer, Kurt Gravemeier, had promised that he would come and help her on the final day if she was in the top three. “So I said to him, fill your car up with gas and come here!” said a smiling Klimke.
“We have trained together for so long and when he said to me: ‘You must go for it!’ I was full of confidence. I’m really thrilled with my fantastic horse. She felt so full of herself today.”
When Klimke entered the arena, she could not even afford a single time fault because Price, on her exciting Olympic prospect, the 10-year-old Dressage-bred Faerie Dianimo (by Keystone Dimaggio out of a Catherston Dazzler mare), had ridden a perfect round.
So, too, had Michael Jung (GER) and his wise 15-year-old gelding, La Biosthetique Sam FBW, third, Christopher Burton (AUS) on the rising star Graf Liberty, fourth, and Sir Mark Todd (NZL) with NZB Campino, fifth, which meant that, unusually for this level, there was no change to the top five after Cross Country.
Heiko Wahler’s Jumping course invited forward riding, but there was a tricky treble combination and the time was tight – 12 of the 25 finishers had time faults. Nicky Roncoroni (GBR), lying 17th on Stonedge, was the first to produce a completely penalty-free round and this elevated her to 12th place.
The young New Zealander Jesse Campbell, sixth after Cross Country on Kaapachino, had an unfortunate 21-penalty round which dropped him to 16th place and allowed the American combination of Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen to rise a place to sixth with their clear.
World team bronze medallist Tim Lips (NED) is well known for his prowess in the Jumping ring and a clear on Bayro lifted him five places to seventh. World team gold medallists Dirk Schrade and the aptly named Hop and Skip also rose five places with a fault-free round, to eighth.
Looking towards the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 finale at Burghley (GBR) in September, Klimke is out in front but her peers, such as second-placed Michael Jung, who has now overtaken four-times series winner William Fox-Pitt, Christopher Burton, Mark Todd and Tim and Jonelle Price, will be in fierce and fascinating competition for the other cash prizes.
Final results
1 Ingrid Klimke/FRH Escada JS (GER) 32.7 + 0 + 0 = 32.7
2 Jonelle Price/Faerie Dianimo (NZL) 32.8 + 0 + 0 = 32.8
3 Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FBW (GER) 34.2 + 0 + 0 = 34.2
4 Christopher Burton/Graf Liberty (AUS) 36.4 + 0 + 0 = 36.4
5 Sir Mark Todd/NZB Campino (NZL) 36.5 + 0 + 0 = 36.5
6 Clark Montgomery/Loughan Glen (USA) 37.1 + 0.4 + 0 = 37.5
7 Tim Lips/Bayro (NED) 40.8 + 2.4 + 0 = 43.2
8 Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip (GER) 44.4 + 0 + 0 = 44.4
9 Niklas Bschorer/Tom Tom Go 3 (GER) 40.7 + 0 + 4 = 44.7
10 Rebecca Howard/Riddle Master (CAN) 42.5 + 0 + 5 = 47.5
Full results on www.luhmuehlen.de
About the winner
Ingrid Klimke, 47, is enjoying her most successful season in a long and distinguished international career. The daughter of the late Dr Reiner Klimke, one of the most medalled Dressage riders in history, Klimke’s “day job” is producing Dressage horses but she has been a key member of the German Eventing squad since 1999.
With her first top horse, Sleep Late, she represented Germany at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, won European team and individual bronze medals in 2005 and world team gold in 2006, and set a German record when second at Badminton in 2006.
With FRH Butts Abraxxas, she won Olympic team gold in 2008 and 2012, plus European team gold in 2011, and was fourth at Burghley in 2013. Riding FRH Escada JS, she won European team gold and individual silver medals in 2013 and world team gold in 2014.
Klimke won her first CCI4*, Pau, in 2014 and was second at Badminton this year on Horseware Hale Bob. Klimke, who is based in Munster, Germany, is married to Andreas and has two daughters, Greta and Philippa. She is in great demand as a trainer and has written books on riding.
Download the FEI Classics™ press kit here: www.feipresskits.org/press_kits/subevent/fei-classics
Use hashtags #FEIClassics and #Eventing
FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 Leaderboard (after 5 out of 6 events)
1 Ingrid Klimke (GER) 42 points
2 Michael Jung (GER) 25
3 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 23
4 Jonelle Price (NZL) 20
5 Jessica Manson (AUS) 15
6 Mark Todd (NZL) 14
7 Tim Price (NZL) 12
8 Andreas Dibowski (GER) 12
9 Megan Jones (AUS) 12
10 Jock Paget (NZL) 10
See full leaderboard here.
Photo caption: Ingrid Klimke (GER) is flawless to win her second CCI4* of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 with a confident clear Jumping round on FRH Escada JS at Luhmühlen (GER) presented by DHL.
FEI Classics™: Despontin Leads Stellar Field After Dressage at Luhmühlen
By Kate Green
Belgian rider Julien Despontin, who is competing in only his second CCI4*, leads a distinguished field of Olympians after Dressage at Luhmühlen (GER), presented by DHL, the fifth and penultimate leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015.
“It’s amazing. Unbelievable,” exclaimed the 25-year-old rider, who managed to hold his first-day lead over Olympic gold medallists Ingrid Klimke (GER), Michael Jung (GER) and Sir Mark Todd (NZL) after a Dressage phase of particularly high standard.
Despontin scored 31.9, one of the highest Dressage scores at CCI4* level, on the 14-year-old Waldano 36, a Hannoverian by Wolkenstanz. He has lived in Germany for eight years and trains with Andreas Ostholt (GER).
“I just went in there and did my best, but my horse moves beautifully; his strength is definitely in his walk and trot. He did well in the Dressage at Pau (FRA) last year as well, but ended up in 14th place [with several Cross Country time penalties], so it will be interesting to see how it goes here,” commented Despontin. “The riders will need all their concentration.”
The Belgian newcomer will certainly need all his focus to remain in the top spot after Cross Country. Two female riders known for their Cross Country speed are in close contention, both riding mares: Ingrid Klimke, the current leader of the FEI Classics™, is lying just 0.8 penalties behind Despontin in second place on FRH Escada JS, and Jonelle Price (NZL) is third on Faerie Dianimo on a score of 32.8.
The top 11 placed riders in the field of 38 all scored in the 30s. The reigning Olympic champion, Michael Jung, is fourth and fifth with fisherRocana FST, second last year, and La Biosthetique Sam FBW, the winner here in 2009 and European champion in 2011.
Jung revealed that both horses are being entered for Burghley (GBR), the final leg of the FEI Classics™, and that he has a choice of potential rides with which to defend his title at the Longines FEI European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle (GBR) in September.
“I’m lucky that I have so many nice horses,” he said. “I always enjoy coming to Luhmühlen because it has a championship feel and horses always learn something here.”
The Australian Olympic rider Christopher Burton is in sixth place on Graf Liberty on 36.4 penalties, just a fraction at 0.1 ahead of double Olympic champion Sir Mark Todd, seventh on NZB Campino, the horse on which he won team bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Riders have been assessing Mark Phillips’s Cross Country course, which runs in the opposite direction to last year and contains several accuracy tests in the form of narrow fences and corners, and twists and turns which could make the optimum time difficult to achieve.
Klimke, who is yet to win her home CCI4*, is looking forward to the challenge. “It looks super,” she said. “It’s very friendly and inviting but there are some technical questions, especially the Ariat question near the end of the course which is asking for precision and concentration.”
Cross Country action starts tomorrow at 9.35am local time live on FEI TV www.feitv.org with live results on www.luhmuehlen.de
Results after Dressage
1 Julien Despontin/Waldano 36 (BEL) 31.9
2 Ingrid Klimke/FRH Escada JS (GER) 32.7
3 Jonelle Price/Faerie Dianimo (NZL) 32.8
4 Michael Jung/fischerRocana FST (GER) 34.1
5 Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FBW (GER) 34.2
6 Christopher Burton/Graf Liberty (AUS) 36.4
7 Sir Mark Todd/NZB Campino (NZL) 36.5
8 Jesse Campbell/Kaapachino (NZL) 36.8
9 Clark Montgomery/Loughan Glen (USA) 37.1
10 Lizzie Brown/Henton Attorney General (NZL) 38.2
Download the FEI Classics™ press kit here.
Use hashtags #FEIClassics and #Eventing
FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 Leaderboard (after 4 out of 6 events)
1 Ingrid Klimke (GER) 27 points
2 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 23
3 Michael Jung (GER) 15 points
4 Jessica Manson (AUS) 15
5 Tim Price (NZL) 12
6 Andreas Dibowski (GER) 12
7 Megan Jones (AUS) 12
8 Jock Paget (NZL) 10
9 Arnaud Boiteau (FRA) 10
10 Mark Todd (NZL) 8
Photo caption: Julien Despontin (BEL) and Waldano 36, who lead a distinguished field after Dressage at Luhmühlen (GER), fifth leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015. (Hanna Broms/FEI)
Diane Creech and Robbie W Named Reserves for Canada’s Pan American Games Team
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Canadian Equestrian Team Nominated For Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games
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Megan Lane (Photo Credit: Sharon Packer)
TORONTO – On Saturday, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Equine Canada (EC) announced the Canadian Equestrian Team (CET) athletes who have been nominated to represent Canada at the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games, taking place July 10-26, 2015 in Toronto, ON. The excitement of equestrian sport at the Pan Am Games will kick off with dressage, which runs on July 11, 12 and 15. Eventing will follow July 17-19, with jumping closing out the equestrian portion of the Games on July 21, 23, and 25. Dressage and jumping will be held exclusively at the OLG Caledon Pan Am Equestrian Park, a publicly-owned, world-class facility in Caledon, ON. The dressage and jumping phases of eventing will also take place in Caledon, while the highly-anticipated cross-country phase will be hosted by one of Canada’s premier eventing facilities, Will O’Wind Farm in Mono, ON – which will be named the Pan Am Cross-Country Centre during the Games. The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games will prove especially meaningful for the dressage and jumping teams by providing the opportunity to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. The Canadian eventing team has already secured Olympic qualification through their sixth place finish at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. Historically, the CET has had great success at the Pan Am Games, most recently bringing home three medals from Guadalajara 2011. Both the dressage and eventing teams earned team silver, while Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON won the individual gold medal in eventing. In addition, legendary jumping athlete, Ian Millar of Perth, ON, (known as “Captain Canada”) has had immense success, having won nine medals across nine Pan Am Games — more than any other jumping athlete. Millar is also a ten-time Olympian, giving him the record for the most Olympic appearances of any athlete in any sport. The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games will also go down in the history books with a record, as Canada is expecting to field its largest-ever Pan Am Games team, comprised of over 700 athletes. This level of Canadian representation, along with the exciting experience of a “home games” is sure to offer an unforgettable experience for Team Canada athletes volunteers, spectators, and fans alike. QUOTES “I am excited to welcome our equestrian athletes to the Canadian Pan Am Games Team. Traditionally, these athletes have delivered outstanding performances and I have full confidence this team has what it takes to continue this trend. Congratulations to all those who were nominated.” Marcel Aubut, President, Canadian Olympic Committee
“Canada has a long tradition of excellence in equestrian events and I am proud of the team that has been nominated to represent our country for the Games. Congratulations to the athletes that have been named by Equine Canada.” Curt Harnett, TORONTO 2015 Team Canada Chef de Mission
“Our Canadian Equestrian Team for the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games reflects the uniqueness of equestrian sport, with an almost even mix of men and women, and an age range that spans from 24 to 68 years old. We have a very talented and strong team of athletes and horses for these Games, and look forward to witnessing their strength and celebrating their successes in Toronto.” Amie O’Shaughnessy, High Performance Director, Equine Canada
“We are really looking forward to having the Pan Am Games at the Caledon Equestrian Park, a venue that we’ve spent so much time competing at over the years. With so many friends in the area supporting us, it should be a great ambiance for Canada. These Games are especially important for Canada, as Olympic qualification is on the line.” Eric Lamaze, Beijing 2008 Olympic Champion, London 2012 Olympian, four-time Pan Am Games athlete, three-time Pan Am Games medallist
“I am absolutely thrilled to have been named to the team and to be a part of something so important. I feel so honoured to have such a strong team and group of supporters behind it. I am really optimistic about our Canadian team, and ultimately, I don’t think there is anything that would stop us from the gold!” Megan Lane, 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games athlete
“It is a great honour to represent Canada at my tenth Pan American Games in Toronto. The equestrian venue is the Caledon Pan Am Equestrian Park. It is an outstanding facility and we are very proud to host the North, Central, and South American Teams. Our team riders have competed at this facility in the past and we have great memories. We also have many friends and supporters in the area. To ride for Canada at these Pan American Games is a great privilege.” Ian Millar, ten-time Olympian, nine-time Pan Am Games athlete, nine-time Pan Am Games medallist
“I am incredibly excited to be representing Canada at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games!! Thank you to our owners, sponsors, supporters and our entire staff for their help in pursuing these games.” Jessica Phoenix, London 2012 Olympian, Guadalajara 2011 Pan Am Games individual gold medallist
“Congratulations to the athletes named today to the Canadian equestrian team for the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games. During this Year of Sport in Canada, we look forward to being inspired by your performances as you proudly wear the maple leaf on home soil.” The Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport)
Canada will be fielding teams in all three equestrian disciplines featured at the Pan Am Games — dressage, eventing and jumping. The team members are as follows: Dressage athletes:
Eventing athletes:
Jumping athletes:
Support Team:
For more information, please contact:
Equine Canada:
Jessie Christie
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Tel: 613-287-1515 x 133
Email: jchristie@equinecanada.ca
Canadian Olympic Committee:
Devin Heroux, Manager, Media Relations
Tel: 416-324-5020/ Cell: 416-788-6527
Email: dheroux@olympic.ca Cherry Ye, Coordinator, Communications Carl Vallée, Executive Director, Communications
Tel: 514 861-3702 / Cell: 514-755-1987
Email: cvallee@olympic.ca
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