Classic Eventing Nation

How to Follow the First CCI5* of the Season in Adelaide

By on Apr 18, 2024 12:30 pm -

Kentucky may be looming, but the first CCI5* of the season belongs to the Southern Hemisphere: the Adelaide Equestrian Festival, to be specific.

You’ll likely be familiar with the iconic atmosphere of Adelaide, which hosts one of the most unique cross country courses in the world, traveling through the city surface streets for a portion of the track.

You can get an idea of the layout of this course, designed by Mike Etherington-Smith, below (click the image to view the full preview on CrossCountryApp).

You can view entries for this event here; the competition includes the Bates Saddles Young Rider Championship, the Racing SA CCI3*-L, the Horseland CCI4*-S, and the Adelaide International CCI5*.

The 5* roster includes 13 competitors hailing from Australia and New Zealand. The field includes WEG riders David Middleton, Donna Edwards-Smith with two horses each as well as Olympic team silver medalist Megan Jones (2008). View the full CCI5* field here.

The action begins tomorrow in Australia, which means I’ve done some time zone gymnastics that I’m not wholly certain are correct. The CCI5* does not get underway until Friday — the full schedule can be found here.

The CCI5* schedule is as follows, and all phases can be found live on Horse & Country (membership or one-time event pass required; use code EVENTINGNATION15 to save 15% on your annual membership) here. Adelaide is 13.5 hours ahead of Eastern time in the US and 7.5 hours ahead of Central European Standard Time. Click here to check the local time against your time zone (and if my math has gone wrong below!).

Friday 19th – 5* Dressage – 1:45pm local time / 12:15am ET / 6:15am CEST

Saturday 20th – 5* Cross Country – 1pm local time / Friday (19th) 11:30pm ET / 5:30am CEST

Sunday 21st – 5* Show Jumping – 2:45pm local time / 1:15am ET / 7:15am CEST

Adelaide Equestrian Festival [Website] [5* Entries] [Schedule] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

Rubens D’Ysieux Stepping Back from FEI Levels

By on Apr 18, 2024 9:30 am -

Sara Kozumplik and Rubens D’ysieux. Photo by Shelby Allen.

At 19 years old, Rubens D’Ysieux has had a long career at the upper levels. Beginning with Michele Kuchta, “Rubens” won his first ever FEI event, a CIC1* in 2013 at Poplar Place Horse Trials in Hamilton, GA. Eventually, Sara Kozumplik took over the ride on Rubens, owned by herself and Edy Rameika, in 2016 when the gray Selle Francais was 11 years old. Now, after traveling through North America with Sara on board, Rubens is stepping down from the upper levels after finishing in the top ten at the TerraNova 4*-S earlier this month.

Far from being injured or mentally “burnt out”, Sara is preemptively stepping Rubens back from the most demanding levels of the sport, purely so he can continue to do what he loves. “I’m not retiring him from doing things. I just am not going to ask him to do that level of eventing competition anymore. He’s 19 and he’s been jumping consistently since he was four years old. He’s done a lot and he’s still really keen and really enjoys his job. But I just don’t think he should be asked to gallop as much as is required for FEI events. He’s not a Thoroughbred, he’s more like a show jumper. And so for him, that’s kind of a lot.”

While bravery is one of Rubens’ best traits, Sara doesn’t want his big heart to get him into trouble as he gets older. “He’s very, very brave. He’s almost sometimes too brave and will drag me down to a fence. With everything that he’s done, I’m just recognizing what is appropriate for him to do. And the very last thing I want is for him to drag me down to something out of heart, and then hurt himself.”

Sara Kozumplik and Rubens d’Ysieux claim victory in the Dixon Oval! US Equestrian photo.

We may not see Rubens sailing around Kentucky or the Maryland 5 Star, but keep an eye out for him in the show jumping ring and particularly at his favorite event, Devon Arena Eventing typically held at the Devon Horse Show at the end of May. “If you go to Devon, the girls that work for me will tell you, you can barely get on and I have to flip onto him from the side of the ring. He just loves it. He thinks that they built the show for him. He thinks it’s amazing. You can barely hold on to one side of him until you get him in the ring and then he’s perfect. And so I don’t want to take that away from him. He really enjoys that stuff.”

Sara Kozumplik Murphy and Rubens D’Ysieux. Photo by Shelby Allen.

As for Sara, she’s not relinquishing the reins anytime soon. She says she’ll keep riding Rubens as long as he enjoys what they’re doing together. “I’m gonna keep riding him in these small Grand Prixs and show jumping. It’s really great for me, for my experience, and I really enjoy that but I’ll know the second it’s too much, and then that’s fine. We’ll move on to the next thing, but right now, we’re managing everything.”

For his first job as a semi-retiree, Rubens played the role of schoolmaster in a week-long clinic Sara held at the farm for the Barbados Equestrian Association and the Trinidad & Tobago Equestrian Association (more on this to come!). After one of the horses Sara had leased for the job was unable to come, Rubens stepped up to the task.

“He certainly wasn’t supposed to be doing the clinic. I mean, I trust him to do that – he’s certainly one that I would do that sort of thing with like, let them just trot around and things like that, simply because I trust him implicitly,” Sara said. “I always call him a circus pony because he’s lovely. And I trust him more with these little kids than I trust him with me. It wasn’t like it was very hard work. He enjoyed it. He’s on a little bit of a holiday right now.”

Sara Kozumplik and Rubens D’Ysieux. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

While Rubens is relaxing at home on his holiday, you’ll find Sara leaving the start box with Rock Phantom at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event next week. As you watch Sara tackle the course as the field’s trailblazer, pour one out in honor of the big gray who tackled this course just last year. Thanks for the memories, Rubens, and happy retirement!

Thursday News & Notes from Ecogold

By on Apr 18, 2024 12:01 am -

Happy High Five Day ENers!✋Seriously, we couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate national day to celebrate the start of the 5* season.

Adelaide Equestrian Festival kicks off today, with the 5* dressage happening tomorrow. For those of us not Down Under and unable to make the trip, we can get our eventing fix via H&C+ (subscription required). Here are the times you need to know:

Friday 19th – 5* Dressage – 1:45pm local time / 12:15am ET / 6:15am CEST
Saturday 20th – 5* Cross Country – 1pm local time / (Fri 19th) 11:30pm ET / 5:30am CEST
Sunday 21st – 5* Show Jumping – 2:45pm local time / 1:15am ET / 7:15am CEST

If burning the midnight oil or waking up at the crack of dawn isn’t your jam (even for eventing), don’t fret as replays will be available for your perusal at more social hours.

The 5* Horse Inspection is happening today at 3:30pm local time / 2am ET / 7am BST. For those of you craving some hot trot up action, make sure you’re following @adleqfest for a glimpse of the fashion exploits on show. And it’s not just the riders who’ll be ‘fitting up and trotting on, oh no! Enter eventing’s swishest canines for the dog jog. Yes, really.

As ever we’ll be keeping up you up to date with all the eventing from around the globe – including the build up to the big one in Kentucky that’s happening so very soon (eek!) – so eyes peeled for our epic Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event Form Guide (watch this space), keep it locked onto EN and go eventing.

Adelaide Equestrian Festival [Website] [5* Entries] [Schedule] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

U.S. Weekend Preview

Fair Hill International April H.T. & CCI-S (Elkton, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Masterson Equestrian Trust YEH/NEH Qualifier (Lexington, KY) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Meadowcreek Park – The Spring Social Event (Kosse, TX) [Website] [Entries][Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Ocala International Festival of Eventing (Ocala, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Sporting Days Farm April H.T. III (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]

Major International Events

Adelaide Equestrian Festival [Website] [5* Entries] [Schedule] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

UK International Events

Kelsall Hill International [Website] [Entries] [Scoring]

European International Events

Strzegom Spring Open II [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

Thursday News and Reading

We love to see what eventing superstars are getting up to once they’ve stepped away from top-level competition. Tim Price’s 5* specialist Ringwood Sky Boy made eighteen top-level starts over his eventing career, finishing top-20 in twelve of them. He won Burghley in 2018 and has been runner-up there too, with six other 5* top-10 finishes on his record. It’s great to see the now 21-year-old is still taking the podium by storm, wowing the judges on the British Dressage scene and giving Emma Duffy the ride of her life. Go Ozzie!

Meet the Young Event Horse graduates who are going for the big one at Kentucky. There are six alum of the YEH program on the 5* entry list for Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this year: Boyd Martin’s long-time campaigner Tsetserleg, Doug Payne’s 5* first-timer Camarillo and Kentucky third place finisher in 2022 Quantum Leap, Jennie Brannigan’s Thoroughbred Twilightslastgleam, Andrew McConnon’s YEH Reserve Champion as a 5-year-old Ferrie’s Cello, and our pathfinder for the competition, Sara Kozumplik’s 5* debutant Rock Phantom. Find out more about these star campaigners here.

Today’s interesting read – enjoy this romp through Olympic history and how it came to be that an event intended for ‘gentleman’ amateurs to show off their sporting prowess turned into the pinnacle of pro sportspeople’s careers.

Dressage has been on the receiving end of some pretty strong criticism lately. From undercover operations revealing serious horse welfare issues to online critics denouncing both the riding and the judging in top competitions, the sport seems to be treading a fine line at the minute. Enter veterinarian, 5* judge and IDOC president Hans-Christian Matthiesen, who’s shared his opinion on a number of progressive ways he believes dressage could be adapted to bring it firmly into the modern day in order to secure its future within horse sport. From judging the warm up to scaling back the requirements in terms of tack, here’s what he has to say about dressage today, and in the future.

Horses don’t speak human, they just don’t. So if we want to communicate with our equine pals it’s up to us to tap into horse-speak. Where to begin? With this helpful list of six things you need to know about horse communication, that’s where.

Sponsor Corner

 

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Video Break

I talked a little bit yesterday about the safety measures horse sports are putting into place to make things as safe as possible for the stars of the show. On that note, here’s assistant course designer at Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event Jay Hambly catching us up with how they’re prioritizing horse and rider safety at the Horse Park:

Olympic Flame Starts Journey to Paris as 100-Day Countdown Begins

By on Apr 17, 2024 12:30 pm -

A composite image of the Port of Marseilles, which will welcome the Olympic torch to France this month. Photo © Paris 2024 – Florian Hulleu.

We’ve officially made it to the 100-day countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and whether you’re one of the (very lucky) few who managed to bag some tickets in today’s final release, or you’re planning a watching party from home, it’s hard not to feel the frisson of excitement that comes with this kind of proximity.

And if that spark hasn’t quite been lit for you yet? Perhaps a literal flame will do the trick.

Yesterday saw the start of the traditional torch relay, which wends its way to the site of the Games, begin as usual in Olympia, Greece – the site of the original, ancient Olympic Games. Though traditionally, the torch is lit using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror, an unseasonably overcast day meant that a bit of help was needed from another flame. The ceremony was helmed by Greek actress Mary Mina, who adopted the role of high priestess in the dramatic ceremony, which took place in Olympia’s ruins. Mina lit the flame, and then passed it along to its first torchbearer, Greek rowing champion Stefanos Douskos, who won gold in the men’s single sculls at the Tokyo Olympics.

Now, the torch begins a long and winding 3,100 mile journey to Paris, where it’ll land on July 26 for the Opening Ceremony. In the meantime, it’ll first spend eleven days travelling around Greece – helped by 600 torchbearers –  finishing its tour of the country in Athens at the Panathenenaic Stadium on April 26. Then, the torch will travel on the Belem, a historic ship that dates back to 1896, the first year of the modern Olympics, to Marseille in the south of France.

Once the torch reaches France, it’ll begin its passage between a whopping 10,000 people chosen as torchbearers – from Olympic athletes to ordinary citizens to folks with incredible stories of their own, representing a cross-section of the diverse French population. While Marseille looks set to have the biggest celebration of all (Paris notwithstanding, of course), with a full day of parades, workshops, parties, and exhibitions planned for April 26 at the city’s port, there’ll be plenty going on elsewhere in France as the torch makes its way through the mainland and overseas French territories, too – and these celebrations can be tracked from 8 May using the official Games app.

The torch isn’t just a celebration of the Olympics – it’s also intended as a symbol of global unity, which feels particularly poignant as conflict continues to escalate around the world.

“This torch is a message of peace, a message of friendship between peoples, which is all the stronger at a time when the world is in such bad shape,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to France 2 TV at the torch-lighting ceremony.

The full route of the Olympic torch can be previewed here.

EN is proud to partner with Kentucky Performance Products for coverage of the Paris Olympics. Click here to learn all about KPP and their line-up of science- and research-backed nutritional support products.

Get a First Look at Derek di Grazia’s Defender Kentucky Cross Country

By on Apr 17, 2024 11:28 am -

Some new features and a different direction greet us in the first preview of Derek di Grazia’s cross country designs for this year’s Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by MARS Equestrian.

Take a look at the above video, which takes us around some of the key and newly-added questions on the CCI5* course. The iconic Head of the Lake complex, for instance, comes much earlier on this year’s track, around minute 5 at fence 13 versus at fence 17 in 2023.

Keep an eye on CrossCountryApp for publication of the full fence-by-fence preview, and of course you’ll have your EN team on the ground next week to give you a closer inspection at this year’s challenge.

EN’s coverage of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is presented by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional support for all types of horses. Click here to learn more about Kentucky Performance Products.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Entries/Drawn Order]

Top Contender Among Latest Badminton Withdrawals

By on Apr 17, 2024 9:15 am -

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno at Badminton in 2023. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Speak to any rider who’s put in an entry for a five-star, and they’ll all sing you some variation of the same song: “I’m not even worrying about the cross-country right now – all I’m worrying about is getting there.” Keeping a horse at top-level fitness while also avoiding minor strains and injuries is one of the toughest balancing acts a horseperson can manage, and so for every stacked entry list we pore over with excitement, there’s always a handful — sometimes a double handful — of horses on it that’ll disappear from the line-up before we even touch down on the competition grounds.

That’s certainly been the case with the MARS Badminton Horse Trials field of entries so far, which is now sitting pretty at 82 following a spate of withdrawals. That’s good news for some: all three of our initially waitlisted horses and riders have now been accepted to the competition, though one of them, Becky Heappey with DHI Babette K, is also on our withdrawal list. But the addition of Harry Meade‘s Away Cruising means that the British rider will be the first in this modern era to take three horses around Badminton, thanks to a tweak to this year’s rules, and we also have the good fortune of welcoming Gemma Stevens and her 2021 Bicton pop-up five-star winner, Chilli Knight, back to this level.

Aistis Vitkauskas and Commander VG. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Our thoughts are with those who’ll unexpectedly be staying home, though, even if their sad departure is someone else’s golden opportunity. We’ve seen eight withdrawals so far, all but one of which has come from British competitors. The outlier? Lithuania’s Aistis Vitkauskas and his game, tough Commander VG, who contested four five-stars last year and has been a stalwart competitor at championship level. The duo have earned their country an individual berth at this summer’s Olympic Games and so, we’d like to hope, their withdrawal is out of an abundance of caution and favours a safe, steady lead-in to Paris.

Beyond Aistis and Commander, and Becky Heappey and Babette, we’ve seen withdrawals come in from comeback queen Bubby Upton, who has pulled second ride Magic Roundabout from the entries, but remains in situ with Cola; Andrew James, who will not ride the homebred Celtic Morning Star after a tricky final prep run at Burnham Market saw them retire in the CCI4*-S; Alexander Whewall, who has withdrawn Ellfield Voyager after missing all his planned prep runs; and Heidi Coy, who scratched Halenza due to a minor injury.

We’ve also seen two withdrawals from major contenders: Gemma Stevens will not run Jalapeno, who finished sixth in extraordinarily tough conditions in last year’s running of the event, due to a ‘tiny little tweak’.

“She […] needs 6 weeks walking but she is absolutely fine in herself,” writes Gemma in a statement on social media. “She is feeling in the form of her life and is so fit and ready to go which has made this even harder to take this time for us as a whole team. Over the last year we have had our fair share of injuries (all completely different) and we all work so hard every single day — it really does take a village and so much meticulous care, time, work and effort to get event horses to a 5* and we started with that care at the beginning of November with Jala.”

Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Also withdrawn is 2019 winner Piggy March‘s sole ride, Brookfield Inocent, who was tipped as the winner by EquiRatings – but who has struggled to stay consistently sound since the 2021 season, when the pair won team gold and individual silver at the European Championships after withdrawing from the travelling reserve slot for the Tokyo Olympics. He returned at the start of the 2022 season on exceptional form, but after two short-format runs in April of that year, wasn’t seen again until August of 2023, when he once again returned for two short-format runs with top placings, and then bowed back out of the spotlight. This year, the 15-year-old ran a slow HC in the Intermediate at Thoresby rather than undertaking his intended run in the CCI3*-S, but didn’t come forward for his Advanced entry at Burnham Market last week.

We wish speedy, uncomplicated recoveries and fruitful reroutes to all those combinations withdrawn from Badminton so far. You can take a look at the full, revised entry list here, and keep it locked onto EN for a full form guide analysing the results and stories of each and every combination, coming soon. This year’s MARS Badminton Horse Trials will take place from 8–12 May. Until then: Go Eventing.

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is presented by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional support for all types of horses. Click here to learn more about Kentucky Performance Products.

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries] [Live Stream]

Wednesday News & Notes from Ocala Horse Properties

By on Apr 17, 2024 12:01 am -

If you watched the FEI Nations Cup final in Boekelo last season, you’ll remember that water and all the problems it caused, not least for reigning Olympic champion and overnight leader Julia Krajewski, riding Nickel 21, who, like a number of other competitors that day, took an early bath and ducked out of the competition. The footing was checked, of course – over and over – but the trips kept coming. It’s not the first time the main water has been a talking point for the wrong reasons at Boekelo, so it’s great news that the team are already on the case, with an update from course designer Adrian Ditcham detailing the changes being made as well as some exciting new fences to look forward to. Find out more in the video above.

Talking of safety improvements in horse sport, last weekend the British racing calendar threw up a thought-provoking response to the problems seen at the English Grand National in 2023, by making data driven decisions and responding to the ever-presence of social license in a positive, productive way.

Often synonymous (for those who oppose the race, and also many who don’t) with horse falls and fatalities, the English Grand National is the subject of controversy each year, particularly given its enormous, global audience and widespread publicity. This year the broadcasting team placed much emphasis on the fact that objections had been heard – and paid heed to – and that specific changes had been made in response to detailed analysis of previous races. These decisions appear to have paid off, with no horse falls and no fatalities occurring this year, as well as more finishers than I can ever remember crossing the line. It has to be noted that this isn’t actually an anomaly in terms of records – there have been other years, prior to the changes, when horses didn’t die.

But we have to respect the way in which this year’s race was approached by the industry. For the viewing public it perhaps wasn’t so exciting as before the safety measures came into play (you could argue the same for eventing, if you’re of that ilk) – but as this piece suggests, if you’re of that disposition perhaps cage fighting is more up your street. For those of us involved in horse sports for the right reasons, in a world where social license is a real threat, it certainly felt like a stride in the right direction.

Before I sign off, it’s only right to mention that our first 5* of the season is imminent! More on this tomorrow, until then, here are the links you need:

Adelaide Equestrian Festival [Website] [5* Entries] [Schedule] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

In the spirit of International Haiku Poetry Day, I’ll wrap this up with a relevant offering:

Go go go go go
Go go go go go go go
Go-o eventing!

U.S. Weekend Preview

Fair Hill International April H.T. & CCI-S (Elkton, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Masterson Equestrian Trust YEH/NEH Qualifier (Lexington, KY) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Meadowcreek Park – The Spring Social Event (Kosse, TX) [Website] [Entries][Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Ocala International Festival of Eventing (Ocala, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Sporting Days Farm April H.T. III (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]

Major International Events

Adelaide Equestrian Festival [Website] [5* Entries] [Schedule] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

UK International Events

Kelsall Hill International [Website] [Entries] [Scoring]

European International Events

Strzegom Spring Open II [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

Wednesday News and Reading

Call out for volunteer for MARS Bromont CCI. We all know the eventing world’s wheels would fall off if it wasn’t for the awesome volunteers we’re so lucky to have in our midst, and if you’re one of those very cool people, this one’s for you. If you’re able to help out at the event, which runs June 6-9, please sign up here.

Here’s your chance to win at Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event without having to jump the quite frankly terrifying fences. If you’re lucky enough to be heading to the Horse Park next week, make like a scavenger and join in the annual hunt. All you need to do to be in with a shout of some cool prizes is download this app. Happy hunting!

Staying on the topic of Kentucky, Doug Payne’s headed to the 5* with two rides – how does he handle the pressure of competing at the top of the sport? Find out how he manages his nerves, his training philosophies, what his competition routines are, what advice he’d give to his younger self, and more in these 9 Questions with Doug Payne.

What do Boyd Martin, Tim and Jonelle Price, Andrew Hoy, Piggy March, and now Ros Canter have in common? Aside from being top eventers and all around stars of our sport that is? This select bunch are Defender Burghley Horse Trials Ambassadors, helping to spread the word about what a cool event Burghley is. Ros has recently joined the ranks and is particularly excited as Burghley is in her home county. We’ll be seeing much more of the ambassadors in the run up to the event later on in the eventing season.

Did you know…? A horse’s brain is half the weight of a human’s, but is actually one of the biggest of all land mammals. If you’ve got space going spare in your brain, why not fill it with these ten fascinating facts about equine neurology?

Riding on the correct diagonal isn’t something instructors make up to keep you on your toes – it can actually affect the soundness of your horse. No matter what discipline you enjoy, working on the correct diagonal is really important, and making changes of diagonal throughout your ride is vital if you want your horse to be balanced under saddle. Unsure about which diagonal is the right one, or why it matters? Here’s everything you need to know.

Sponsor Corner

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Video Break

When you’re there for the legend’s parade but you really, really wanna be in the race. Two-time winner of the English Grand National Tiger Roll makes his feelings very clear about not being allowed a shot at delivering the hattrick.

Behind the Barn with Sara Kozumplik and Sharon White

By on Apr 16, 2024 3:00 pm -

It’s time for a fresh new episode of Athletux’s Behind the Barn series leading up to the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by MARS Equestrian happening next week (April 25-28) in Lexington, KY.

For this episode, we hear from best friends Sara Kozumplik and Sharon White, both of whom will be competing in the 5* at Kentucky next week. Find out if Sharon is as nice as everyone says she is, what she packs for Kentucky every year, how the two first met, and much more in this entertaining video sponsored by Lifeforce Horse Supplements.

Keep an eye out for more Behind the Barn episodes launching next week on the event’s YouTube channel here.

MARS Bromont Rising U25 Grant Program Returns to MARS Bromont CCI for 2024; Applications Now Open

By on Apr 16, 2024 12:45 pm -

MARS Bromont Rising Grant Recipients with guest coach Bettina Hoy on the cross-country course at Bromont June, 2023

The MARS Bromont Rising U25 scholarship program, administered by the USEA Foundation, is pleased to announce that up to 10 grants of up to $2,500 each will once again be available for talented young riders aged 25 and under aiming to compete in the MARS Bromont (Quebec, Canada) U25 CCI’s in June, 2024. Highlighting this year’s program is the return of three-time German Olympic team member Bettina Hoy, as a guest coach for 2024.

The brainchild of Bromont organizer Sue Ockendon and the late Steve Blauner; the scholarship program was first offered in 2019 for riders competing at Bromont and at the time Ocala, and was expanded to include Galway Downs in 2022 and 2023. Event horse owner Blauner had the vision of supporting young eventers from the US and Canada who were not yet under the radar of national U25 training programs. Ockendon had long had the dream of offering financial support the youth of the sport, who are the future of Eventing in North America.

A complete training program was devised to help the riders prepare themselves and their horses for competition. The grants assist with travel and entry expenses, but the program also includes classroom sessions with course designers, high performance riders and a dressage test analysis by an 5* FEI judge. Coaching and course walks during the events are also available, in conjunction with riders own coaches.

MARS Bromont Rising grant recipient Sara Schulman (USA) topped the 2023 CCIU252*-L
with Cooley Chromatic at June’s MARS Bromont CCI © Michelle Dunn

Program director, Olympian and FEI judge, Peter Gray acts as a clinician at the event, including his “centreline workshop” on how to make the most of your warm-up and exactly what the judges are looking for movement by movement.

“I’m thrilled the MARS Bromont Rising grants will be offered once again at Bromont this year,” he remarked. “Bromont is such a unique destination with its challenging terrain and world-class courses designed by renowned Derek DiGrazia, and having guest coaches like Bettina Hoy back on board is an incredible opportunity for the athletes.”

Three-time German Olympian and former international coach for Holland, Hoy speaks extremely highly of the program.

“Programs like Bromont Rising, the USEF and USEA’s Developing Rider Programs, Australia’s Next GEN squads, and in Germany the Stiftung Deutscher Spitzensport-supported mentorship program are very valuable, particularly if students are willing to take them on in an immersive way,” Hoy remarked. “Education goes way beyond riding instruction. In future workshops, I would like to add seminars on horse management – how to plan your season, how to structure your fitness program, and proper aftercare to really complete the cycle of looking at the big picture. And of course we need to discuss social license and the use of social media today.”

Following last year’s event, Hoy gave her impressions on the week and in particular the strength of the facility as a preparation ground for the next generation of serious young riders.

“I was very, very impressed by Bromont, full stop. Everyone has put a huge effort into fantastic courses. You know where you are fitness wise, as well as in the education of horse and rider. I think it’s very important that this event stays up to height so we can educate riders about that as well as fitness and technicality.”

Maya Clarkson and Maks Mojo C finished second in the CCI3*-L (combined U25)
at the MARS Bromont CCI 2023. © Michelle Dunn Photo

American young rider Maya Clarkson (23, of Middleburg, VA) received a grant in 2023 and benefited tremendously from the experience. Clarkson rides with American veteran Lauren Nicholson, who has also worked with Bettina Hoy in the past. Nicholson was excited for her student to experience both the ‘team’ atmosphere of the program, as well as learning from outside professionals.

One of the highlights of the week for Clarkson was having direct access to, and input from Bromont’s cross-country course designer Derek DiGrazia (USA), who designed at the Tokyo Olympics and designs for two of the most prestigious CCI5*s in the world: Kentucky (USA) and Burghley (United Kingdom.)

“Being able to have access to Derek DiGrazia was incredible,” commented Clarkson. “I really got a lot out of learning about his philosophy and intentions. He talked a lot about reading the footing and in particular the ground itself. The footing is amazing and the ground has rolls and is really varied. You need to be balanced in your galloping. If you don’t take care of that you could easily have a trip that could create a bad jump. I found myself really riding every stride much more, especially while galloping between the jumps. It has really changed how I ride.”

Clarkson, who finished second overall in the combined U25/CCI3*-L division behind US Olympian Boyd Martin, also mentioned that receiving a prestigious grant such as this has helped legitimize her work and goal of riding at the upper levels.

“Because I applied and received a Bromont Rising grant in 2023, I think it’s even helped my parents understand that there are people out there who will support a rider like me — that it’s worth investing in someone like me who has not been a rider since being a toddler. They are incredibly supportive but it showed them others are out there too!”

Canadian and US U25 riders competing in the CCIU252*-L and CCIU253*-L are eligible to apply. Grant applications are open now and the following deadlines have been updated for 2024:

MARS Bromont CCI June 5-9, 2024

CCIU252*-L and CCIU253*-L

https://bromontcci.com

APPLICATION DEADLINE MAY 6, 2024

One More Opportunity for Paris Olympics Tickets Coming Tomorrow

By on Apr 16, 2024 9:30 am -

Joanna Pawlak and Fantastic Freida compete at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

More than 250,000 new tickets for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will go on sale on on Wednesday, April 17 at 10 a.m. Central European time, which is 6 hours ahead of Eastern time (4:00 a.m. EST). If you’ve had trouble securing tickets for the equestrian events (or any sport of your choosing), this could be your window!

The organizing committee has stated that many of the tickets being released will cost less than €100, and that tickets from previously “sold out” events (which also includes equestrian sports) will be opened up to the public.

This will be the final ticket sales ahead of the Games, which kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26 (also the day eventing gets underway with the First Horse Inspection!). You can view the full Paris schedule here and a specific equestrian schedule here.

You can visit the ticketing hub for Paris by clicking here, where you can also sign up for email reminders regarding ticket sales/updates.