Allons à Bromont: Take a Stroll Around Derek di Grazia’s MARS Bromont CCI4*-L Course

The Fairway Question at Fence 8. Photo by Sally Spickard.

We come to Bromont each year well aware of the fact that this event is, as it should be, anything other than a dressage competition (if I had a dime for every time we wrote that phrase on EN, I’d probably be a lot wealthier than I currently am).

Setting foot on Derek di Grazia’s track for the CCI4* divisions feels a bit like you’re stepping onto the pitch ahead of a big match (yes, I’ve been watching Ted Lasso a lot): you’re immediately hit with the feelings of anticipation, the nerves that come along with the knowledge that you’re about to do something really hard, and more than a little desire to rise to the occasion in what could well be the biggest challenge you and your horse have faced to date.

Preparation is key if you want to come to Bromont and have a good outing. Riders who aim for the four-star here will have taken their horses, for the most part, to other events at the level with the goal of tackling an event like Bromont or Morven Park as a more intensive test of readiness for potential CCI5* horses.

But Derek has done what he does best here once again: he knows what riders are coming here to do, and he knows exactly how to test them with his special sauce of using the ground in ways a layman wouldn’t even think to look at a piece of property, while also laying out a challenge that will separate the best from the rest. He’s also designed the course so that a thinking rider will be able to properly plan their attack, giving riders every opportunity to get into a rhythm and fight their way ’round.

For this year’s CCI4*-L track, we’ll see the competitors jump five standalone fences, including one at fence 4 that comes after a short jaunt through the MARS Sustainability Way water — “almost a jump in itself,” as Derek describes the getting the feet wet early concept. By the time they reach the first combination at fence 6AB, riders will have had a chance to gallop uphill and downhill, as well as through the water, gathering information the whole way to know how their horse is settling in.

“They’ve had time to sort of get themselves going, which I think will help a lot of people, especially because Bromont does have a lot of terrain and I think, again, it’s about getting into the rhythm galloping up and down the hills and getting comfortable with that before you really start anything,” Derek says.

That first combination, the Quebec Shelter and Chevron Brush, shouldn’t cause any major problems, unless a horse takes a huge leap over the ramped shelter jump at A, which is set with a downhill landing that could catch an overly keen horse out at the skinny chevron a few strides later.

The steeply-angled CD elements of the Fairway Question.

Competitors will then swing into the next field to the Fairhill Question at 8ABCC, a stiff coffin complex challenge that’s set on the opposite of a straight line with two steeply angled cabins awaiting on the other side of the ditch.

Derek notes that the endurance factor of this course will begin to kick in here as the horses gallop slightly uphill on the lush fairway following the coffin, which is also the lowest point of the track.

“Once they get down to the Fairway Question, from there you’re actually at a low point and then you’re climbing all the way up to the top before you go back down to the arena,” he notes. “And so to me that’s an endurance pull, but at the same time then you get a bit of a break when you go through the arena because it’s flat there, and then again what happens is once they come out of the second water, that’s where you really start to know if they’re starting to get a bit tired because they then have to go up that hill and then they have that long pull at the end.”

MARS Sustainability Bay.

Riders will be put onto a slight S-turn line at the MARS Sustainability Bay, which comes at fence 12ABC as the riders make their way to the Ecogold Horseshoe, Log and Brush downhill question before the fences in the main arena.

Because who doesn’t love a little wood-carved partial nudity?

After navigating the Antech Arena Turn (and trying to avoid distraction by the interestingly random carved wooden bust that features in the middle of the two elements here), the horses and riders will head up to the far sections of the course, including a big LeMieux Lagoon and a steep uphill pull to the Spaceship Table at 21. They then must gallop back into the far Fairway field before making their way back toward the finish flags.

It’s grueling, and with an optimum time of 10 minutes and potentially slick conditions with rain forecasted for much of the day, it’s hard to see many, if any, pairs making the historically difficult time here tomorrow.

The LeMieux Lagoon.

“Once they come out of the second water [LeMieux Lagoon at fence 20ABC], that’s where you really start to know if [the horses are] starting to get a bit tired,” Derek explains. “Because they then have to go up that hill [to the Spaceship Table at 21] and then they have that long pull at the end. That’s where, if you think you have the horse still, you might be be able to say ‘let’s go’ to try and get close to the time. Others will say ‘I can’t do that, I’m just going to get up the hill and finish the course.’ That’s where the riders have to gauge how their horse is feeling.”

The Spaceship Table that comes after a decent pull uphill.

Derek feels confident that the riders will know much more about their horses’ suitability for the next level after this run. “I just think that this event, everything about it — the terrain, the endurance factor, and then of course the course itself — lends itself to really finding out what sort of horse you really have because there is quite a bit of endurance here, it’s hard to make the time here, so I think if you have here and you have a really good outing, you can kind of start to think about going and doing a five-star.”

You can view the CCI4*-L track below or on CrossCountryApp:

And here’s the CCI4*-S track. This and all other levels can be found on CrossCountryApp.

It’s very much all to play for tomorrow, and the CCI4* divisions will kick off with the Long at 11:11 a.m. followed by the Short at 12:35 p.m. The day will begin with the CCI3*-L at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude with the CCI2*-L at 2:40 p.m. Don’t forget to tune in to the free live stream from MARS Bromont all weekend, both on the Bromont YouTube channel as well as Horse & Country.