Lindsay Traisnel and Bacyrouge. Photo by Cealy Tetley.
The August Bromont Horse Trials continued on Saturday with both dressage and show jumping phases taking place at the Bromont Equestrian Park ahead of Sunday’s cross-country action. A multi-national field is on feature this weekend, with five nations (Canada, USA, France, Australia, New Zealand) represented across divisions.
Canada came out in front early, with Lindsay Traisnel currently leading the Kingsleigh Equine CCI4*-S, sitting on a 37.2 going into cross-country with Bacyrouge, a 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Patricia Pearce.
Traisnel says “Dreamy” is feeling primed for the fall season and is feeling great. With October’s MARS Maryland 5 Star in mind, she plans on piloting Bacyrouge, an experienced horse who loves to be on the move, to a competitive run tomorrow.
“Definitely the focus is preparing for Maryland,” Traisnel commented. “He’s my only horse at this level – or even he’s my only horse, really – so I need to practice going a little quickly to make sure I’m ready for that as part of our prep.”
Boasting that Bromont is perhaps her favorite event in the whole word, Traisnel speaks on the courses designed by Derek di Grazia, assisted by Canada’s Jay Hambly, and prep. “I mean we all come for the cross-country,” she said. “It’s beautiful, it’s big and bold and galloping, and I think it really helps prep the horses for their long formats in the fall or depending on the time of year.”
Hannah Sue Hollberg and Christa Schmidt’s Carsonstown jumped a clear round Saturday afternoon to move into second in the Kingsleigh Equine CCI4*-S, and we have a tie for third, with Buck Davidson jumping from sixth to third on the wings of a double clear jumping round on Sorocaima, accompanied by Canada’s Kendal Lehari and Mitchell, also jumping from sixth to keep the tie intact.
Boyd Martin and Luke 140. Photo by Cealy Tetley.
FEI World #4 Boyd Martin enjoyed a strong day at the office Saturday and currently holds first through third place in the CCI3*-S. Leading the pack is the Luke 140 Syndicate’s Luke 140, who added nothing to his dressage score of 25.4 to hold firm on the lead. Luke 140 is followed by Shanroe Cooley (25.9) and Miks Master C (27.0), both owned by Ocala Horse Properties.
“I’ve come here with some mega horses that are four-star and five-star horses, so I just wanted to give them a nice confident run around an inviting course,” Martin said. “That’s why I bring them up here to Bromont! It’s sort of their first proper run as they prepare towards Maryland [5 Star], [Morven Park CCI4*-L], and Pau [CCI5*]. We’re off to a good start.”
Will Coleman and Honest Man. Photo by Cealy Tetley.
Will Coleman is the overnight leader for the CCI2*-S division, riding the Honest Man Group’s Honest Man to a two-phase score of 25.0, adding no penalties in the show jumping late this afternoon. The 7-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding earned a personal best FEI dressage score Saturday morning and will look to build on his growing experience on cross-country Sunday.
Maddie Hale and Shanbeg Legacy. Photo by Cealy Tetley.
Young rider Maddie Hale is the U25 CCI2*-S leader overnight, riding a newer-to-her horse in the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Shanbeg Legacy. This weekend marks the first CCI2* for this pair, though the horse has competed through the three-star level with former rider Jason Hobbs of Great Britain.
“I think just giving him a forward ride and not really thinking about the placing [made a difference],” Hale stated. “I just want to get him around confidently and give him a good feel for the fall with bigger courses. Everything [at Bromont] sets the horses up better for the future, because even to do the two-star here, it can feel like a three- or a four-star.”
Bradley Champagne and Excel Star Bravo 2. Photo by Cealy Tetley.
Leading the final FEI division, the CCI1*-S, is another Canadian rider in Bradley Champagne, who rode Excel Star Bravo 2 to a dressage score of 29.2 and then moved up to the lead with a double clear jumping round to end the day. Champagne, who works full-time starting young horses for Boyd Martin, brought the 6-year-old gelding over from Ireland when he was three years old. He’s done all of the production on the horse, and expressed his ongoing desire to keep taking things slow and properly developing him for the future. The one-star level, he says, is the perfect ticket for this.
“I think it’s just been about keeping him confident,” Champagne said. “I think about the last six months, he’s really figured out his body. But he is still only six. I’ve gotten more confident to where I felt doing some Modifieds [and one-stars] would be the right thing for him to bring him up the levels. He’s definitely a horse for the future.”
Cross-country kicks off at 8 am on Sunday and will begin with the CCI3*-S division. Boyd Martin will be the first rider out of the start box aboard Fetiche des Rouges, who is currently eighth in the CCI3*-S.
Admission and parking are free to the public on Sunday, and all are invited to come out and take part in some spectacular cross-country action. Patrons can also stop by the VIP tent to check out a free sample of Kingsleigh Equine’s environmentally-friendly cleaning products. You can learn more about Kingsleigh Equine here.
Bromont CCI-S H.T. (Canada): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
