5 Questions For the Win: Colleen Loach

Colleen Loach and Freespirit at the Bromont CCI3* jog. Photo by Leslie Wylie. Colleen Loach and Freespirit at the Bromont CCI3* jog. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

EN karma is real and while we’re always happy to give it away, sometimes it’s fun to make riders work for it as well.

Each day here at Bromont we’re doling out a big scoop of blue-ribbon vibes to a deserving CCI3* rider … but there’s a catch. They have to answer five random questions on one of our favorite subjects — winning — on camera, on the spot. There are no right answers, but it does take a fair amount of bravery to play “ask anything” with the Internet’s most no-holds-barred eventing website. Fortune favors the bold!

Our first contestant: Colleen Loach.

Colleen is competing in the CCI3* this weekend with her 9-year-old  Hanoverian/Thoroughbred mare Freespirit. This pair is Canadian through and through: Colleen hails from here in Quebec and has known the Canadian-bred “June” since she was a foal.

Theirs is a special story, as Colleen backed June and brought her up through the levels under the watchful eye of Peter Barry, and it’s neat to see them now contesting one of the most prestigious events in North America together — especially because it’s on home turf.

With a fourth place finish in the Bromont CCI2* last year and a fourth in the Jersey Fresh CIC3* last month, the pair is ready for a crack at this weekend’s big cross-country track. And while they sometimes wrestle with a bit of tenseness in the sand box, Bromont is no dressage show: last year’s top three CCI3* finishers were in 8th, 13th and 10 after the first phase, respectively.

Colleen is qualified for the Pan Ams on two horses, Freespirit and the less experienced but exciting 2* horse Qorry Blue D’Argouges, so we’re sure she’ll have the selectors’ full attention this weekend. All the better reason to send some karma her way — best of luck, Colleen!

Bonus karma for the spontaneous horse rolling party that takes place mid-interview.

Keep it locked on Eventing Nation for comprehensive (and occasionally bordering on ridiculous) coverage of Bromont throughout the week. Alléz Concours Complet!

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