United States Eventing Association

Canada Names Their WEG Team

The Canadian Eventing High Performance Committee is pleased to announce the members of the Canadian Eventing Team who will compete in the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, September 30–October 3, 2010. Selected according to the qualification thresholds and selection procedure, six rider/ horse combinations have been named to the Team.

Named to the team are: (listed in alphabetical order)

• Hawley Bennett-Awad, of Langley, BC, with her and Linda Paine's 10-year-old American Thoroughbred mare Gin N' Juice
• Kyle Carter, of Calgary, AB with his and Jennifer Carter's 12-year-old American Thoroughbred gelding Madison Park
• Rebecca Howard, of Salmon Arm, BC with Caroline Bazley's nine-year-old Canadian Sporthorse gelding Riddle Master
• Selena O'Hanlon, of Elgin, ON with Elaine and Michael Davies 16-year-old Swedish warmblood gelding Colombo
• Jessica Phoenix, of Uxbridge, ON with her 12-year-old Canadian Thoroughbred gelding Exponential
• Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch, of Summerland, BC with her and Patricia Bosch's 12-year-old Canadian-bred Selle Francais gelding Port Authority

In addition to selecting the Canadian Eventing Team members, at the discretion of the selectors, the committee announced an accompanying list of horse/rider combinations to serve as alternates/substitutes for the World Equestrian Games Eventing Team. If for any reason one of selected horse/rider combinations is unable to compete at the WEG, then it may be possible, although subject to strict regulations, to replace them with a named substitute to the team.

Named as alternates (in alphabetical order) are:

• Diana Burnett, of Blackstock, ON with her and Eventing Canada's 10-year-old Canadian Thoroughbred cross gelding Manny
• Ian Roberts, of Port Perry, ON with his, Kelly Plitz, and Tracey Newman's 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Napalm

Michelle Mueller of Port Perry, ON and Julie-Anna Pring’s Amistad, who were named to the WEG Squad in June, unfortunately withdrew from the selection process due to an injury to the horse, which prevented the pair sufficient time to prepare for the Games.

“It was an extremely difficult decision to select the top six,” said High Performance Chair, Grit High. “All of the squad members have shown through their performances that they deserved the opportunity to represent Canada at the Games.”

The team and alternates will participate in a final training camp in Ocala, FL from September 14 – 23 prior to their departure for Lexington.

The team trains under the leadership of David O’Connor, International Technical Advisor. Eventing Chef d’équipe, Graeme Thom; stable manager, Debbie Furnas; team veterinarian, Dr. Christiana Ober; and team farrier, Randy Pawlak, will accompany and provide support to the team throughout the Games.

The Canadian Eventing Committee is grateful to Sport Canada, Podium Canada and all of its sponsors, supporters, suppliers and friends for their continued support of the Canadian Eventing Team in its quest for excellence at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

The Olympic sport of eventing encompasses three separate tests: dressage, cross-country and show jumping held consecutively. Each test ridden by the rider and horse in combination is scored individually but added together for the final results. The rider/horse combination with the fewest number of penalty points over the three days wins the competition.

At the 2010 World Equestrian Games, the team and individual competitions will run concurrently. Each eligible nation may compete three or four rider/horse combinations in the team competition (with the best three scores to count towards the final classification) plus one or two combinations in the individual competition. Nations which are unable to field a team may send one or two rider/horse combinations to compete in the individual competition.