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:
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]
