A busy weekend of eventing all over the world is well underway now. I will bring you coverage of Bromont including all of the US and Canadian short list selection info. Samantha Clark is in England this weekend for the Bramham CCI3*, which has big implications for European Olympic selection. For all things Bramham, check out SamanthaLClark.com and we will be cross-posting a bunch of the cool stuff here on EN. Here are a few random notes from Bromont as the first few CCI* horses are working through their dressage tests.
–Bromont scores are now posted! [Bromont Live Scores]
–The Bromont CCI3* field is characterized by talented but inexperienced horses. Boyd, Buck, and Phillip all have one horse each and they all fall under that talented but inexperienced category. I really like *Buck Davidson and The Apprentice to do well this weekend. However, I have to go with my heart and pick Michael Pollard and Schoensgreen Hanni to win, we’ll all be cheering them on this weekend. Look out also for Diana Burnett and Shigatzi of Canada to put on a big show on Saturday.
–The Bromont CCI3* cross-country course is tough–it is technical and very big. I mentioned in our course photo gallery that the high performance horses are entered in the CIC3*, which makes for an overall less experienced CCI3* field and therefore a more impactful cross-country phase. I feel more strongly that the CCI3* cross-country is going to ride really tough each time I talk with riders about the difficulty level of the course.
–Turning to the CIC3*, that division is all about Olympic short list selection. 12 Canadian and 21 US pairs are competing in the CIC3*. Around 7 Candian and around 10 US pairs will get selected next week to fly to England for further Olympic preparation. Winning is not the goal–getting to the Olympics is the goal, and as a result each high performance pair will have a slightly different set of goals and standard of success.
–The Canadian high performance situation is pretty straightforward. In my opinion, Rebecca, Selena, Hawley, and Jessica (even with yesterday’s broken collar bone) are all on the team unless they do something incredibly stupid on Saturday. That fifth and final spot is up for grabs to any Canadian pair who steps up in these last weeks before the Olympics to impress the selectors. At this point I think there are at least 6 pairs who could step up to take that spot and probably 3 of those will get a chance to make the short list and fly to England. The goal for this weekend for these pairs “on the bubble” is a solid performance to convince the selectors to send them to England.
–The US selection picture is much more wide open. Boyd, Sinead, and Phillip all look really good right now, especially with Manoir De Carneville and Mystery Whisper bubble wrapped and not even attending Bromont. A few weeks ago I listed 17 pairs who I felt had the best shot at making the USEF short list of approximately 10 pairs who will fly to England for final selection. Here is an update for that list along with what I feel each pair needs to do this weekend to make the flight to England:
Will Coleman and Twizzle — After a 5th at Rolex 2012, Will and Twiz need to stay sound, avoid bad luck, and get around clear, and I believe they will be short listed.
Phillip Dutton with Mighty Nice and Fernhill Eagle — Stay sound–which goes without saying for all of the remaining pairs. I believe that all the selectors are looking for this weekend is which of these horses should join Mystery Whisper on the flight to England.
Boyd Martin with Remington and Otis Barbotiere — Same story as Phillip’s two–who will join Nev on the trip to England?
Becky Holder with Can’t Fire Me — Becky had a great weekend going at Rolex before being pulled up with a cut on Can’t Fire Me a few fences from home. She needs to show that Rolex was no fluke and that Can’t Fire Me can show jump well after a tough XC round, something she didn’t have a chance to show the selectors at Rolex.
Allison Springer with Arthur — Some might say that Allison and Arthur are a lock to make the flight after a second placed finish at Rolex, but I believe they need a good cross-country ride to continue to prove they can deliver under pressure on Saturday.
Karen O’Connor with Mr. Medicott — After a 4th at Rolex, Karen needs to show the selectors that her partnership with Mr. Medicott has continued to develop–a top 10 should be fine to get a plane ticket.
Marilyn Little-Meredith with RF Demeter — In a strange twist of fate, Marilyn needs a good show jumping round after pullingtwothree rails at Rolex. The Olympic format utilizes two show jumping tests so that phase is very important for selection. Demeter’s stable mate, RF Rovano Rex is back in action this weekend and definitely could get into the selection mix with a good performance.
Phillip Dutton and Mystery Whisper — When will this horse lose?
Michael Pollard and Jude’s Law — Sadly, the trailer accident two weeks ago took Jude’s Law. Michael still has a chance at the short list with a perfect weekend aboard his 2011 Pan Am horse, Hanni, in the Bromont CCI3*.
Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle RM — A top 10 quality weekend should get this veteran pair on the flight.
Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville — Two words–bubble. wrap. Tate is already in England.
Will Faudree with Pawlow and Andromaque — If I was the selectors I would want Will’s experience on the flight over to England, but Will needs a good performance on each horse. I like his odds to get at least one horse selected and I expect him to come up big under pressure this weekend.
Boyd and Neville — From what I have heard, Neville was still feeling a bit under the weather from his trailer ride to Canada on Wednesday. I know Boyd planned to run him cross-country here this weekend, but depending on how Neville feels that plan might change.
Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen — No one doubts that Clark and Loughan Glen can come up big in the dressage and show jumping. They need a foot perfect cross-country round to make the selectors happy.
–In terms of the always present selection event question of who will run cross-country on Saturday, my understanding is that all Canadian Olympic hopefuls will run. The US situation is much more varied with different riders having different options/instructions from coach Captain Mark Phillips and the selectors. My general feeling is that quite a few US pairs will decide not to run or to run an abbreviated course, especially those that had really good runs at Rolex. If a big number of US pairs decide not to run then the selectors will have to evaluate their performance on a sliding scale.
The CCI3* division is underway and will end with EN blogger Jessica Bortner-Harris and Win The War at 1:54pm. Go Bromont.
