Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Someone grab the tea, it’s time to find the nearest harbor. It’s the USA vs the Brits at the end of day two at the MARS Equestrian Bromont CCI4*-L. American rider Shannon Lilley & Eindhoven Garrette (Iowa 960 – Rose Rouge Garette, by Manillon Rouge) have been knocked out of first place by Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo & Dyri (Diarado – La Calera, by King Milford xx). Boyd Martin and Allison Springer hold onto second and third place for the American contingent with Miss Lulu Herself (Stolzenfels – Noisette, by Nobre XX) and No May Moon (Catherston Dazzelr – Ebony Moon, by Mystic Replica) respectively.
Scoring a 26.0, Lucienne and Dyri have once again earned their lowest score yet at the CCI4* level, including long and short formats. This is actually the second time they’ve earned this low score, the first being just six weeks ago at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event’s Cosequin Lexington 4*-S. Historically, dressage is Dyri’s strongest phase, but Lucienne believes the 12-year-old Holsteiner/Trakehner cross still has a lower score in him.
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“The goals today were to try and improve a little bit with his canter work, both the changes and the canter half-pass, and I felt we did that,” Lucienne said. “We’ve got a bit of a different system now with the way I’m asking him for his changes. He’s a sensitive horse and can sometimes be a bit of a slow-thinking horse, and the canter’s very big. So luckily today I think it was better, a bit more reactive at the right time. His canter work, again, in the half-pass felt a bit more supple. He’s just a little bit more letting me ride him once he hits the centerline. The walk work I wasn’t as pleased with today, we’ve kind of focused in one area and broken in another. But all in all, he’s such a pleasure to work with on the flat and everything we do is because he does want to try and please. I genuinely think that we can get this test a lot better by this time next year, hopefully.”
Dyri tends to struggle with his gallop across the country, which isn’t too surprising for a gelding that just started eventing four years ago. “I’ve been in this position a couple of times with him where I’ve laid down a pretty nice test and I got on course and I’ve gone ‘Hang on a minute, who are you doing this for? Because he isn’t ready.’ And you can feel him, he kind of stops breathing properly, he gets a little introverted and a bit anxious,” Lucienne said. “A gelding that obviously didn’t start eventing until he was eight never learned to gallop, so he really is still learning when it gets tough how to push through and stay confident. But he will get there. I figured if he jumps around this well, then I’m hoping he’s kind of maybe ready to have a bash at Maryland [5 Star in October], and if not then we’ll keep coming out until he is.”
Boyd Martin and Miss Lulu Herself. Photo by Sally Spickard.
In second place, riding Bonnie Stedt’s Miss Lulu Herself, is Boyd with a score of 31.5. “Lulu” and Boyd have been playing the long game over the last two years. Bromont will be Lulu’s third go-around at a long format 4* event. “She’s been a horse that’s slowly been developing a long. She’s a very careful jumper. This will be by far the biggest track that she’s seen. I’m quite nervous coming into tomorrow because it is a very challenging track and tough terrain. I feel like she’s potentially a five star horse for next year, so this will be a good indication of if that dream is a possibility.”
Boyd has had a helping hand in preparing Lulu for this event from dressage superstar Silva Martin. “Silva’s been riding her a lot for me on the flat, as I’ve been very focused on the Olympic horse. Silva’s done a wonderful job helping me out with a lot of the horses on the flat. She’s a hotter horse and funny enough Silva loves riding her, I wouldn’t have thought she would’ve been Silva’s favorite. She’s not a huge mover but has a great mouth and an unbelievable work ethic. She’s starting to know all the movements pretty well now. I think the biggest thing is she’s a bit pony-ish, so it’s tough trying to present her in a big uphill frame.”
Allison Springer and No May Moon. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Allison Springer and Nancy Winter’s No May Moon are holding tight to third place by a margin of just 0.7 points between the Connemara cross and fourth place rider Lauren Nicholson. After earning a fourth place ribbon at last month’s 4*-S at Tryon, Bromont will be “Mayzie’s” first attempt at completing a long-format at this level. It’s clear the little mare is up for the task. She has a stellar FEI record, rarely placing outside the top ten.
Jessica Phoenix and Watson GS. Photo by Cealy Tetley Photography.
It’s all North America in the 4*-S, with Canadians Jessie Phoenix and Karl Slezak leading the way with Watson GS (Humble GS – Woodsock GS, by Voltaire) and Hot Bobo (Arkansas VDL – Taneys Leader xx, by Supreme Leader xx) respectively. They’re closely followed in third place by America’s Hannah Sue Hollberg and Capitol H I M (Con Air – O-Heraldika, by Heraldik xx).
Jessie Phoenix and “Watson” have a long history together. Watson is the son of her former 4* stallion, Humble GS, who she also competes in Grand Prix show jumping. “Watson I bought as a three-year-old and we’ve just kind of slowly produced him up the levels. He’s done four four-star Longs now and a lot of Grand Prix show jumping as well,” said Jessie.
Watson’s score of 27.4 marks his personal best; a sub-30 score that’s been a long-time coming, and even more cherished because of the pressure of the upcoming Olympics. “He’s obviously a bigger boy, so it took him longer to really get his strength on the flat, but boy what a weekend for him to come out and do his personal best,” said Jessie. “He’s kind of been knocking at the door for awhile now, but it’s just so rewarding to bring a horse along and to have them for that long and feel them come in and be so confident and reliable in the ring. It was just so much fun to do that on him today. Our Olympic team gets named in the next couple of weeks, so I think we’ll hopefully have a good next couple of days and see how that all plays out. I’ve got four qualified, so it’ll be interesting to see, hopefully one of them gets chosen.”
Karl Slezak and Hot Bobo. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Another contender for the Canadians in Paris, Karl Slezak and Katlyn Hewson’s Hot Bobo (Arkansas VDL – Taneys Leader xx, by Supreme Leader xx) are just 0.2 points behind Jessie & Watson, with a score of 27.6. The 11-year-old Irish Sport horse mare has made quite a name for herself over the last five years, typically staying within the top ten in the rankings. Today’s dressage score marks a personal best for “Bobo,” who typically earns dressage scores in the low-30s. Tomorrow’s biggest challenge for the pair will be getting the adrenaline flowing as they leave the start box. Having already completed three 4* courses so far this year, the Advanced level is starting to feel old hat for the pair, according to Karl.
The 2*-L and 3*-L will also leave the startbox tomorrow. Our top two in the 3*-L division may sound familiar – Sara Schulman & Cooley Chromatic still lead the way, chased closely by Boyd Martin & Barney Rubble. Third place has a new name, with Ariel Grald & Annie Eldridge’s Adagio’s Nobility scoring a 27.5 to narrowly claim the title from Sydney Elliott & Chin Tonic 3.
Our 2*-L leaderboard has a familiar name at the top. Boyd Martin bested himself, taking the lead with the Fetiche des Rouges Syndicate’s Fetiche des Rouges, bumping Malmo Mob’s Kolbeinn down to second place. Fetiche des Rouges, who was formerly ridden by Laura Collett and, before that, Aoife Clark, is holding the lead on an impressively low score of 20.8, a personal best for the 9-year-old Selle Francais. Caravanning along behind the Boyd Train is USA’s Michael Pendleton & Kara Angulo’s Adorrado in third place, with a score of 26.0.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s cross country, the riders should be prepared for a beefy and airy track, filled with Derek’s signature use of terrain and subtle, but challenging style. Lucienne compared the 4*-L track to others she’s ridden in the United Kingdom. “I came here and did the four-short for the first time last year with him and another horse, Tremanton, and I took him really slow around the four-short. I love it – it actually reminds me a lot of being back at home in Europe or England, and it’s just a beautiful track and a typical Derek [di Grazia] course. You just keep riding and if you’re riding well and your horses trust you, it’s fantastic.”
We’ll have a full preview of the CCI4*-L course coming your way first thing tomorrow, but you can also preview it on CrossCountryApp here.
Hannah Sue Hollberg and Capitol H I M. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Less than a point separates the top three riders in the 4*-S, leaving no room for mistakes on the cross country course. As the one to beat, Jessie isn’t letting the pressure of holding onto first place get to her and instead certainly seems to be feeling confident ahead of tomorrow’s excitement. “I think the plan is to see how much rain we get overnight. Certainly the footing this morning looks as good as it’s ever been here. It could not have been any better footing than it was this morning,” said Jessie. “The course looks incredibly well-designed from start to finish. They’ve put a lot of thoughtfulness into it and I think it’s designed well for the horses to give them a good run and it asks all of the questions. So just going out and doing a confident, rhythmical round and giving them confident runs.”
The action begins tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. when Lucia Strini and DHI Kevin G leave the startbox in the 3*-L division. 4*-L leaves the startbox at lucky 11:11 a.m., followed by the 4*-S at 12:35 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.
If you’re spectating on the cross country course tomorrow, don’t forget your rain jacket as we are expecting some weather throughout the day. Bring your four-legged friend and check out the dog demos, including the chance to try your hand (paw?) at canine agility, and join the dog parade. International cani-cross medalists Sandra Lallier and Daniel Lusignan will also be attending as special guests.
MARS Bromont CCI (Quebec, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Dressage Times] [Scoring] [Live Stream]
