Classic Eventing Nation

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.

MARS Bromont CCI (Quebec, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Dressage Times] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

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]

Shannon Lilly and Eindhoven Garette. Photo by Cealy Tetley Photography.

With half of the headlining CCI4*-L division completing their dressage tests on Thursday at MARS Bromont CCI, the early leader has emerged in Shannon Lilley and her own Eindhoven Garrette (Iowa 960 – Rose Rouge Garette, by Manillon Rouge), who earned a mark of 33.8 from judges Peter Gray (CAN), Bea di Grazia (USA), Christian Steiner (AUT).

The 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding earned his most competitive score at the CCI4* level today, topping a previous best score at the Lexington CCI4*-S in April (34.9) and validating the effort Shannon, who is well-respected for her prowess at producing horses, has put in throughout her partnership as the horse matured and “bought in” to the partnership with his trust.

“He took a little while to develop in the beginning, the first couple of years,” Shannon remarked. She originally sourced Eindhoven Garette from JP Sheffield and Dirk Schrade in Europe and purchased him on the recommendation of longtime coach Buck Davidson. “Since then he’s sort of clicked in and he’s been amazing. He’s come a very long way in the last six, seven months, since Morven Park. He went around Morven Four-long really well, and he’s now come so far in the dressage, it’s really incredible.”

Shannon prepped for MARS Bromont, which has always been her goal for this spring season with this horse, with a trip to the Lexington CCI4*-S, which is run alongside the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*. Her plan was to just practice dressage in Kentucky, taking advantage of the atmospheric Rolex Stadium.

“He was super in that atmosphere and that was sort of the plan: to go and to get him in that ring and feel good about it, and he was great. Today I thought he was even better; the parts that were good were better and then there were a couple parts that need improvement, but we always need that.”

Olivia Dutton and Sea of Clouds. Photo by Cealy Tetley Photography.

Shannon looks ahead to Derek di Grazia’s cross country track, which she’ll be tackling on Saturday, feeling positively. “He looks like an overgrown pony and he’s not; he’s so athletic, he’s like riding a little sports car,” she said of her horse. “He’s quite sharp. And he’s settled a lot in his brain and in his body over the last six months, but he is sharp and very quick. He’s got a huge amount of jump and gallop, and so to be able to get him to relax and move through his back in [the dressage] has been challenging. But he’s really brave, and he’s fast and he’s quite accurate. I’m excited to do the cross country on him.”

Olivia Dutton is making her CCI4*-L debut this weekend aboard The Sea of Clouds Partnership’s Sea of Clouds, a former racehorse previously campaigned to the CCI5* level by her father and seven-time Olympian Phillip Dutton, who is here coaching her. As the first to go in the division Thursday afternoon, Dutton impressed the ground jury for a score of 34.5 to hold the lead for the majority of the day before being overtaken by Shannon.

Alexa Thompson and Just To Be Clear. Photo by Cealy Tetley Photography.

Alexa Thompson is also making her first CCI4*-L start at MARS Bromont, piloting her own Dutch Warmblood gelding, Just To Be Clear, to third place overnight on a score of 36.0 with a test that featured some lovely, relaxed movements and strong harmony.

There are still eight pairs remaining to see in this division, and those combinations will ride their dressage tests on Friday afternoon following the CCI4*-S dressage.

Several riders who received grants from the MARS Bromont Rising program, administered by the USEA Foundation, have been taking advantage of coaching from Bettina Hoy as well as educational seminars hosted by Peter Gray and Derek di Grazia. This program is a wonderful, well-rounded effort that aims to provide young riders with tools they need to succeed not just in the ring, but within the industry as a whole.

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.

We’ll be back tomorrow evening with much more from the conclusion of dressage, as well as a preview of what Derek has in store for the competitors on cross country, so stay tuned!

And before I go, a little humor for you in celebration of Lauren Nicholson’s birthday:

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Division Leaders after Thursday

Sara Schulman and Cooley Chromatic. Photo by Cealy Tetley Photography.

CCI3*-L: Sara Schulman and Cooley Chromatic (26.4)
U25 CCI3*-L: Katie Lichten and HTS Jensen R (29.1)
CCI2*-L: Boyd Martin and Kolbeinn (21.7)
U25 CCI2*-L: Claire Strehlow and Seabanks Theygo (30.5)

MARS Bromont CCI (Quebec, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Dressage Times] [Scoring] [Live Stream]