Sometimes we win and sometimes we have days where our horses didn’t quite get the memo that now is not the time to throw their own moves into the dressage test. Rarely do those two things happen on the same day. Luckily for Lauren Nicholson and Landmark’s Jungle Gold, today was one of those rare days.
It’s a great weekend for Lauren Nicholson, who is leading both the CCI4*-L and the CCI4*-S at the end of day two of the MARS Bromont CCI. As the 4*-S wrapped up with its small but mighty contingent of eight riders this afternoon, Lauren came out on top with Ms. Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark’s Jungle Gold (Diarado x Jungle Tale, by Cougar) with a score of 30.2.
After a short hiatus from the level, Richie was obviously quite thrilled to be back, as he threw a bit of his own flair into the flying changes at the end of the test. “He’s usually pretty dependable in the dressage, and honestly, I was pretty mad at him at the end,” Lauren said. “He usually has great changes and everything else, but he really wanted to ham it up for the crowd today — and I was not impressed.”
Lauren has known the Holsteiner Irish Sport Horse cross since he was in the womb. Now 10 years old, “Richie” is the product of Ms. Mars’ breeding program, in which Lauren is heavily involved.
“[The Landmark breeding program] was well on its way before I even came to work for the O’Connors and Ms. Mars — that was 21 years ago,” Lauren said. “It’s always been about finding the best career for them. Some have gone on to be fox hunters, hunters, kids’ horses, five-star horses. My job in the beginning is just to make them quality citizens, and then go on.”
“I consider that my job — to make them well-rounded when they’re young,” Lauren continued. “Then, as their skill sets start to show, you know which direction to point them. We also try to purpose-breed. Krista Schmidt — Ms. Mars’ daughter — has taken on a huge interest in breeding and revamped the program again.”
Now the program has a couple household names coming into their breeding shed, including Mia Farley’s BGS Firecracker, who she rode around the Advanced level. But Lauren will be the first to admit that there are times when breeding remains a mystery.
“It’s very hard,” she said. “It’s funny — some of the ones that were five-star mares and a five-star stallion, we got like, a little pony. A lovely little kids’ horse. You never know! So it’s always a mystery that evades me — there are a lot of experts out there, and I defer to them on the breeding. I just do what I can with what comes out.”
Speaking of what comes out (and returning to the matter at hand), Lauren says that she’s taken her time at the three-star level before moving Richie up to the big leagues. “He went up the levels pretty quickly, and he’s quite a big, gangly horse, so we just stayed at the three-star level the last two years to get him stronger,” Lauren said. “He had all the parts to do the job, but he just sometimes lost coordination. So we gave him a couple years to get stronger before bumping him back up to the four-star level. This is his first run at the 4*-S in a while.”
Before moving him back up to the level, Lauren needed to ensure Richie had full control of his big body, especially as he went through the extended period of growth spurts associated with Warmbloods.
“I’ll give him all the tools — but then he needs to utilize them,” she explained. “It’s never been about unwillingness, it’s just learning how to use his body correctly. I think it’s interesting with the horses that have warmblood in them — you really have to play it by ear with how they stop growing. Warmbloods keep growing for so long — they’re 7, 8, 9 before they stop — and every time their body changes, you plateau until they figure out how to use all their parts again.”
Jessie Phoenix and Freedom GS. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Currently in second place is Canada’s own Jessica Phoenix and her Olympic partner, Freedom GS, owned by Charlotte Shickedanz. Needless to say, Freedom GS is an experienced event horse. At 13 years old, the Trakehner/Oldenburg cross is stepping into her prime. At the Olympics, the pair came in 37th place with a score of 67.8.
Since their return to North American soil, they’ve had a spring season filled with accolades. In March, the pair won the TerraNova Equestrian Center 4*-S with a score of 39.1, before also finishing third on the podium in the Cosequin Kentucky Three-Day 4*-S in April with a score of 38. Now the question is, will their winning streak continue?
EquiRatings is here to shed some insight on the subject. Currently, Jessie and Freedom GS (Humble GS x Friedel GS, by Fidertanz) have a 38 percent chance of winning the division, and a 73 percent chance of finishing in the top three. While I feel obligated to root for team USA, it would be so fitting if one of Canada’s own brought home the blue ribbon this weekend (sorry, Lauren!).
According to Jessie, the Olympics has really motivated her to improve her dressage performance and, thanks to a new trainer, her hard work is paying dividends. “After the Olympics last year, it really felt like I needed to get my dressage better — like, stronger horses, stronger me, stronger everything,” Jessie said. “So we started training with Ashley Holzer. She had watched us go at the Olympics and said, ‘Jessie, honestly, I think I can really help you.’ It’s been a real journey of learning, and I just feel really positive about it.”
Over the last ten months, Jessie and Freedom GS have been deeply embedded in dressage boot camp. Today, their dressage score is one of their lowest yet at the four-star level.
“She is really feeling stronger and stronger all the time, and I was so happy with the way she went in and tried throughout the entire test. Like, she really stayed with me the whole time,” Jessie said. “She felt like toward the end she got a little bit muscle-fatigued, because she really was engaged and with me the whole test. So her medium trot could normally be a little bit bigger than that, but I was also so proud of the effort she put in. She worked the entire test, start to finish.”
Looking ahead in their season, Jessie and Freedom GS were selected to be part of the team Canada is sending to Aachen later on this summer. “We’ve just received the grant from Canadian High Performance to go to Aachen — which is just amazing,” Jessie said. “The fact that they acknowledge that, that’s a big deal — to get there prior to the World Championships — and then submitting the application and being chosen, it’s all kind of surreal.”
“We’re super thankful to have that opportunity, and thankful for the eventing community that they could get behind that — through various fundraisers — and be supportive of it,” she continued.
According to Jessie, this weekend at Bromont is a key part of her plan to prepare for the World Championships. “I think Bromont is always such a key event in a season for a horse. So while we’re looking forward to Aachen, we’re also looking ahead to the fall. I think we’ll be heading toward Morven Park,” she said. “Bromont is just such a useful event with the terrain. The course they’ve built out there is a four-and-a-half star — especially for the four-star short. They’ve asked every question, and they’re big. So it’s going to be a real test — both with the terrain and with the complexity of the jumping efforts.”
Hayley Frielick and Dunedin Black Watch. Photo by Sally Spickard
New Zealand’s Hayley Frielick rounds out the top three of our rather global leaderboard. Riding Dunedin Black Watch (Dylan Thomas x Love First, by Lonhro), the pair pulled out all the stops to present a dressage test that was lovely to watch and earned them a score of 32.3. Like many Thoroughbreds, “Nelson” may have a lot of heart, but he’s not naturally talented in the dressage ring. This weekend, though, he put his best foot forward. Typically scoring in the mid to upper 30s, this weekend’s dressage score is his best out of his entire FEI career– a big congratulations to Nelson and Hayley in that regard.
“He’s not born with the most natural, big movement — you know, he’s not an imported Warmblood that just floats around. We really had to work on that, especially the medium trot. When I brought him over to do Maryland, I don’t think he could even do a medium trot when he did the five-star there,” Hayley said. “So I’m really pleased with that now, because he actually knows what’s expected of him there. If I set him up and do a little half-halt and prepare him, he really tries, even if it’s not the biggest, flashiest test. Like I said, he really stayed with me, so he could be consistent everywhere. It felt pleasing to ride, so I hope it pleased.”
At 15 years old, Nelson is an experienced upper level event horse and has been competing at the four-star level and above since COVID. While that experience works in his favor in many regards, according to Hayley, it can also work against him.
“We’re like an old married couple,” Hayley said. “Even though he has so much experience, he’s a little Thoroughbred with so much enthusiasm, so it’s always just trying to get him to really relax and stay with me. Sometimes that extra experience can almost work against you because they know what’s coming and when.”
So I was really pleased he stayed with me,” she continued. “This sort of event is perfect for him. We came up a couple of days before, he’s gotten a chance to really settle in. He never does anything naughty, but it’s great that he can go in there and actually produce a really consistent test and sort of get every mark that we can.”
It’s not often that riders own their own upper level event horse– Hayley and Nelson are the uncommon exception to that rule. Sadly, that isn’t going to be the case for much longer. “He’s actually on the market, looking for another option in his future,” Hayley said. “He’s at the level, he’s doing well and loving it, but he doesn’t owe me anything.”
That being said, Hayley’s goal for the weekend is to enjoy the ride– literally. “I’m just enjoying it while I have him — until he finds his next home,” she said. “He’s naturally very, very fast, so even if I’m trying to take it handy, he’s unlikely to be very slow. But I do want to give him a good run. We might just take our time in a few spots and approach things very strategically, rather than just fly around like a bat out of hell. But he kind of only has one speed out there, so I’d be expecting him to be reasonably quick.”
Hayley first came to Bromont in 2024, where she ran around the 3*-L with Paul Richard Donovan’s Sportsfield Lumiere (Orestus VDL x Utah, by Phin Phin). Together, they came in 8th place on a score of 38.1. For Hayley, there was no question about whether or not she would be back at the event.
“It was straightaway on the calendar to come back. I think the course is phenomenal. There’s a lot of terrain and twists and turns. It’s a proper track,” Hayley said. “But the event is just so beautiful as well. The town — it’s like you drive over the American border and then you’re in Europe, almost. There’s good food, there’s good coffee, it’s just a lovely event. The venue is incredible. Coming from Australia, we don’t have a lot of facilities — if any — like this. You’ve got this amazing arena, beautiful places to work. They do a brilliant job.”
The iconic Bromont sign. Photo by Sally Spickard
Several other divisions wrapped up the dressage phase today at Bromont. Ariel Grald is leading the 2*-L with Annie Eldridge’s Obalix on a score of 25.3. She’s followed by another Canadian, Colleen Loach and Peter Barry’s Chiaro Z Excalibur who are currently holding onto a score of 27.4. In third place is Allie Knowles and Katherine O’Brien’s September Venture with a score of 28.
Allie Knowles is also leading the way with the lowest score of the day in the 3*-L aboard Katherine O’Brien’s Montpellier Scais with a score of 24.3. She’s followed by Boyd Martin, who is starting the weekend in both second and third place with Malmo Mob’s Kolbeinn (24.7) and the Fetiche Des Rouges syndicate’s Fetiche Des Rouges (29.9) respectively.
Tomorrow will be an action-packed day for riders, spectators, and event officials alike– it’s cross country day! The 4*-L will start off the day with the first rider leaving the startbox at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by the 4*-S. Jessie Phoenix and Aeronautics will be the first to gallop around the course.
Best of luck to all and Go Eventing.
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