United States Eventing Association

Bromont, Quebec, Canada—June 7—It was Australian rider Ema Klugman’s day to shine at the MARS Bromont CCI, taking over the top two spots on the podium following cross-country in the CCI4*-L.

Klugman, who is coming off successful runs at the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*S in April with both RF Redfern (owned by Team Fern) and Chiraz (owned by the Chiraz Syndicate), secured quick, efficient clear rounds today on Derek di Grazia’s course to move up in the standings after overnight leader Lauren Nicholson and Larcot Z collected a few too many time penalties to retain their position.

“‘Fern’ was great. I’m super proud of her," Klugman commented after her rides. RF Redfern, a 12-year-old Westphalian mare by Any Given Sunday, is the division leader, carrying a two-day score of 31.8. “This is her first four-star long, and I’ve always believed in her and thought she was an incredible little horse. But oftentimes horses have to develop their own self-belief, and she was just absolutely incredible. She totally rose to the occasion, and she loves to go fast. So, you know, if she’s going, she’s going to be fast.”

Chiraz (below), a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Cayado 3 who was campaigned to the three-star level with Boyd Martin, will take second place into show jumping on Sunday on a score of 34.4.

“He did Kentucky and was awesome there, so I felt like we were really prepared coming here,” Klugman said of Chiraz, who was her first ride of the day. “I’ve had the ride on him for just about a year and a half. To be honest, it wasn’t totally smooth sailing in the beginning. He’s a little tricky to ride sometimes—he’s got a bit of personality—so we had to figure out where to meet in the middle. But he gave me an amazing ride today. I actually made a couple of mistakes on him—dumb mistakes—and I’m really, really impressed with him because even despite my mistakes, he totally stepped up. He kind of took the reins and just went for it.”

Klugman opted to come to Bromont for her horses’ first CCI4*-L competitions because she feels it’s a good test of their viability for future five-stasr competitions, and she loves riding di Grazia’s courses.

“I think if you want a horse to become a five-star horse, you’ve got to put them in situations like this and kind of see if you’ve done all the training, and if they’re ready to dig deep for you,” she said. “I also think there aren’t that many opportunities to ride Derek di Grazia courses. He does Kentucky, Burghley—so it’s not like he’s designing events every month. I think he’s one of the best designers out there. These horses, I’d like them to be Kentucky five-star horses, and so it just makes sense.”

Three-time Canadian Olympian Jessica Phoenix claimed the top spot of the leaderboard in the CCI4*-S with Charlotte Schickedanz’s Freedom GS, a 13-year-old Oldenburg/Trakehner mare with whom she partnered at the Paris Olympics in 2024. In July, Phoenix will travel to Germany with support from a high performance grant from Equestrian Canada to compete at the prestigious CHIO Aachen CCI4*-S. For Phoenix, today was the perfect prep tour ahead of the trip. She will move forward to show jumping on a score of 44.7.

“I think as a preparation for Aachen, you couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Phoenix said. “She had some really good questions out there, had a super fitness run, and she just loves this job so much. It’s so fun to take her around the course—she was so keen. It’s such a beautifully presented course, and the jumps are just really put in interesting places, so it’s a great day to train the horses. The terrain adds such a level of complexity.”

Just one combination remains after cross-country in the U25 CCI3*-L division: dressage leader Ivie Cullen-Dean and Fernhill Cardavega, who will take their lead into Sunday’s finale. Cullen-Dean sits on a current score of 61.4 with just time penalties accumulated in today’s competition.

For Cullen-Dean, who has produced Fernhill Cardavega from his first events to this point, today was full of rewards. “He was fantastic. It’s his first three-long. I think Sara [Kozumplik] was the announcer, and she said it best, that I was wishing I had one less gallop for conditioning! He was very keen and ready to go, but he jumped around clear and super, and I couldn’t have asked him to be any better. He’s so bold, and what more could you ask for from an 8-year-old?”

The 2024 MARS Bromont Rising participant was full of pride as her day concluded; this weekend marks her return back to the level for the first time in about six years. “The last time I was doing a three-star long [competition] was back in 2019, so to come here now with a horse that I’ve produced since the beginning, and for him to run clear, very fit, and very confident—it just feels like I’ve done the right steps along the way, which I’m very proud of. Because it’s not an easy thing to do.”

Canadian Olympian Colleen Loach is now in charge of the CCI2*-L division, riding Peter Barry’s Chiaro Z Excalibur, a 7-year-old Zanghersheide gelding, to a fast clear to sit on a 30.6 penalty score.

“We’re kind of a new partnership still,” Loach said. I got him in December from Sabrina Glaser, a fellow Canadian in B.C., who produced him in a lovely way. I feel like we’ve gelled a little bit from the beginning. He was really super out there today. Very straightforward on it. There were a few times where I took a half halt—and maybe, in hindsight, didn’t need to—but just not knowing him that well yet, I chose to take the safe way.”

Loach also commented on her preference to bring developing horses here to Bromont to make the most of di Grazia’s designs and the terrain on the property. “The horses come out more educated than they go in. And I think for me, having him do a long-format at this level was important—especially on this terrain—to give him that base and find out how he handles it right from the beginning. I think that’s a very valuable tool.”

MARS Bromont Rising participant Mandolin Whitten moved up from third to claim the lead in the U25 CCI2*-L aboard Roland Millican's Cooley Easy Trip on a score of 31.1. This trip represents Whitten's first CCI2*-L ever, and to find herself atop the leader board is icing on the cake of a great experience on cross-country.

"He was just such a beast," she said. "He’s so full of heart and had run in him the whole way around. It’s definitely a lot of work out there, but he really does make it feel easy—he’s just a really good horse. The name suits him! I thought [going into the lead] might be a possibility, but the goal was just to get around with a positive, confident ride. My trainer, Gabby Dickerson, actually made this our big goal when we first started working with him and his owner, Roland. As the spring went on, it just felt like the right move—and it’s been great."

Spectators were treated to a second performance by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride unit on Saturday evening, and Sunday brings the grand finale as the competitors will tackle Brody Robertson’s show jumping tracks to determine placings, beginning at 9:30 am with the CCI2*-L. Prior to that, the long format horses will be inspected by the Ground Jury at 8 a.m. to ensure fitness to conclude the competition.

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