Ema Klugman and RF Redfern. Photo by Sally Spickard.
It could be considered a bold move to bring a horse to his or her first CCI4*-l at an event as reputably tough as MARS Bromont, located in Quebec just to the east of Montreal. But for Australian rider Ema Klugman, this event represents a key step in her personal development philosophy. Most of the 4* riders who come to Bromont have an even bigger goal in mind: reaching that coveted CCI5* level — and Bromont is one of the events riders mark on their calendar as a key development step en route to that top of the sport goal.
For Ema, who brought both Team Fern’s RF Redfern as well as the Chiraz Syndicate’s Chiraz to compete this weekend, Bromont represents the opportunity to put her training and preparation to a real test, as well as to ride one of Derek di Grazia’s well-renowned cross country courses.
That bold move paid off in a big way: thanks to two speedy clear rounds today, Ema moved into both first and second place in the headlining division, with RF Redfern leading the way on a score of 31.8. The pair added just three seconds of time over the optimum of 9:00 — an amended optimum time after the organizers and officials opted to remove a handful of fences from the track due to particularly holding ground. Chiraz holds second place with 34.4 with 4.4 time penalties added to his dressage score.
Ema Klugman and RF Redfern. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“Fern was great,” Ema said. “I’m super proud of her. This is her first four-star long, and I’ve always believed in her and thought she was an incredible little horse. But oftentimes, you know, horses have to develop their own self-belief, and she was just absolutely incredible. From the first jump, I just sort of knew she was attacking and brave and catty, and we had a lot of fun out there. She went second — I actually rode my other horse first — and it was a bit deep in places for her. The mud was worse. So she had a bigger job to do, but she totally rose to the occasion, and she loves to go fast. So, you know, if she’s going, she’s going to be fast.”
“They are different horses,” Ema continued when asked if her first ride on Chiraz had been used as a fact-finding mission for her later round on Fern. “I had a few places in the course where there were options on striding — like there were a couple places where you could do an open four strides or a studier five stride — and I decided that if I was going to do the more open number on Chiraz, and if he was reaching for it, then it probably wasn’t going to be possible for Fern, because she has a smaller step. So yeah, they’re pretty different horses — very different brains, different stride patterns, and everything — but for sure, it’s an advantage to be able to go around the course once first.”
“[Chiraz] did Kentucky and was awesome there, so I felt like we were really prepared coming here,” she said of Chiraz’s performance today. “I’ve had the ride on him for just about a year and a half. To be honest, it wasn’t totally smooth sailing in the beginning. He’s a little tricky to ride sometimes — he’s got a bit of personality — so we had to figure out where to meet in the middle.”
For Ema, this weekend (to this point) has been a validation of her training. She’s coming off of a strong run at Defender Kentucky’s CCI4*-S in April as a lead-up to this event, and she’s left today feeling like she’s that much closer to having two more 5* horses in her stable. “I think if you want a horse to become a five-star horse, you’ve got to put them in situations like this and kind of see if you’ve done all the training, and if they’re ready to dig deep for you.”
Ema Klugman and Chiraz. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“I also think there aren’t that many opportunities to ride Derek di Grazia courses,” she continued. “He does Kentucky, I think he does Burghley — but it’s not like he’s designing events every month. I think he’s one of the best designers out there. These horses, I’d like to be Kentucky five-star horses, and so it just makes sense. Why not? It’s a great opportunity. He’s the same designer — so he’s going to be asking similar questions across different venues. That’s why we come, really — for the course design, and the amazing property and terrain. There is no part of this property that’s flat. Even when you’re walking on foot, you’re always going up and down. There’s tons of undulations — and that makes it a great place to be.”
Of the two, Chiraz has a slightly stronger show jumping record, but of course this will be a unique test in itself tomorrow as both horses are coming off of their first 9 minute cross country. At any rate, Ema will be primed to take home her first 4*-L win, and does have a rail or two in hand over third-placed Jessie Phoenix and Wabbit going into Sunday’s finale. She has been working with show jumper and former eventer Marilyn Little in this phase throughout her career.
Jessie Phoenix and Wabbit. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Jessie Phoenix has the fan-favorite Thoroughbred gelding Wabbit in this division, and the very KEEN BOY was quite pleased to be out on cross country today. His quick clear accumulated 6 time penalties and puts him into third place on a score of 41.1.
“He was phenomenal,” Jessie enthused. “Start to finish, he was just so cool. Kind of in the first two minutes, he was a little bit really on the rein — wanting to get going and get to the job at hand. But then he came up to the coffin, and he was just beautiful from there to the end of the course. He’s just such a legend of a horse, and I love every second I get to spend with him.”
Lauren Nicholson and Larcot Z. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Early leader Lauren Nicholson was a bit grumpy to have picked up 14.8 time penalties today with Ms. Jacqueline Mars’ Larcot Z, dropping her down into fourth place, but for her, the priority was ensuring her horse had a solid run, even if that meant taking less risks on the clock.
“Obviously, I’d love to be a little faster, but he’s right where he should be for where he’s at in his development,” Lauren elaborated. “You’ve got to do a few longs on them before you can confidently hustle them around early on and really know what you’ve got. He’s such a good jumper. Sometimes even when I try to flatten him out a bit, he’s like, ‘Oh, I can go even higher if I go faster!’ Hopefully as he matures, that’ll save us a few seconds and a bit of energy. But he handled all the questions out there. He was super genuine and right on it.”
Hayley Frielick and Sportsfield Lumiere. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Hayley Frielick of New Zealand rounds out the top five in the 4*-L with her newly-minted horse at the level, Sportsfield Lumiere. Hayley brought “Johnny” here for a crack at the 3*-L last year — her first trip to Bromont since relocating from New Zealand to the U.S. — and immediately made plans to return for the next step up. The pair added just 8.0 penalties’ worth of time to sit on a score of 44.2.
“Last year, we brought him here for the three-Long, and he did find the hills and the intensity of Bromont a lot of hard work,” Hayley said. “But he really ate it up this year. I’m so impressed and thrilled with how much he’s matured. He handled it really, really well. He felt full of running, read every question, and kind of felt like a real seasoned pro out there. He’s pretty cool. He has so much scope — he just makes it all feel so easy.”
Phoenix Rises to the Top of CCI4*-S
Jessie Phoenix and Freedom GS. Photo by Sally Spickard.
It was a good day in the office for Jessie Phoenix, who also took over the lead in the 4*-S with Freedom GS, the horse she partnered with for the Paris Olympics and also for two podium finishes (including a win at TerraNova) at the level already this year. This weekend is serving as a final prep for CHIO Aachen, which Jessie will be traveling to thanks to the support of a High Performance Grant from Equestrian Canada. Jessie and Freedom GS, who is owned by Charlotte Schickedanz, moved up from second with time added to their dressage score to go into Sunday with a score of 44.7.
“I was really excited to get her out on this course,” Jessie said. “It’s such a beautifully presented course, and the jumps are just really put in interesting places, so it’s a great day to train the horses. The terrain adds such a level of complexity. And I think as a preparation for Aachen, you couldn’t have asked for anything better. She had some really good questions out there, had a super fitness run, and she just loves this job so much. It’s so fun to take her around the course — she was so keen.”
Freedom came out of the start box quite hot to trot, and for Jessie, managing that boldness without taking away from it requires tact and horsemanship. “It’s so tricky — the first two minutes are basically all downhill,” she explained. “And the horses that have been produced here know the course, so when they leave the start box, they’re pumped and they know they’re going to get to run. It’s always just a bit of a game of trying to meet in the middle a little bit with them. You don’t want to dampen them, but you also want to make sure they’re listening.”
“I think it’s just a lot of horsemanship,” she continued. “When you’re developing horses, you always want to encourage their individualism — you want them to feel confident in themselves and do what they naturally want to do. So in the first two to three minutes of a Bromont course, you’re just trying to meet in the middle with them. Making sure you’re not getting in their way too much. You don’t want to be fighting with them — you want to stay as efficient and smooth as possible, because it’s also a huge fitness test — and if you’re having too many discussions at the start of the course, they’ll just get fatigued towards the end. That’s why just having this facility and this kind of track to train on is fantastic.”
Hayley Frielick and Dunedin Black Watch. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Hayley Frielick is also enjoying a nice evening after moving into second in the 4*-S with her veteran partner, Dunedin Black Watch. “Nelson” is a Thoroughbred that came over to the U.S. with Hayley and competed at the Maryland 5 Star. Now, he’s on the market looking for his next partner to teach — but in the meantime, Hayley is enjoying the ride with a horse that’s allowed her to see the world.
“He was brilliant!” Hayley said. “I just love that horse. He’s my little hot one — I’ve had him for a decade now. It’s so nice having him back at the level. He had a bit of time off not long after we got over here and did Maryland, so it’s brilliant having him back. He’s so much fun cross country. Just a little speed demon.”
Lauren Nicholson and Landmark’s Jungle Gold. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Dressage leaders Lauren Nicholson and Landmark’s Jungle Gold — a homebred out of Ms. Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark breeding program — relinquished their hold on the top spot today with just a few too many time penalties, but much the same as her ride in the 4*-L with Larcot Z, Lauren remained pragmatic and focused on the big picture.
“He was really good,” she said. “I didn’t put the pedal down today. I just wanted to have a good, confident round before aiming him for a fall four-Long. He handled everything really easily and popped around — not super fast, but about average.”
We’ll now look ahead to the show jumping finale tomorrow, which you’ll be able to watch live across divisions free of charge on the Bromont YouTube channel here, or also on RNS Video and ClipMyHorse.TV. The show jumping will begin at 9:30 a.m. EST with the 2* divisions and work its way up to the 4* later on in the day.
Here’s a look at the other leaders here at Bromont:
CCI3*-L: Boyd Martin and Kolbeinn (24.7)
U25 CCI3*-L: Ivie Cullen-Dean and Fernhill Cardavega (61.4)
CCI2*-L: Colleen Loach and Chiaro Z Excalibur (30.6)
U25 CCI2*-L: Mandolin Whitten and Cooley Easy Trip (31.1)
MARS Bromont CCI (Canada): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
