United States Eventing Association

Much excitement surrounds this week’s FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ held in conjunction with the 2022 Bromont CCI-S Horse Trials after the Nations Cup was canceled in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the Nations Cup CCIO4*-S, Bromont is also offering CCI3*-S, CCI3*-S U25, CCI2*-S, CCI2*-S U25, Preliminary, and Training level divisions.

The Field:

• Three countries are battling it out in the North American leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup: the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
• Of the 25 entries in the CCI4*-S, the four entries representing the U.S. in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup are Liz Halliday-Sharp riding Deborah Palmer and Ocala Horse Properties LLC’s 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding Miks Master C (Mighty Magic x Qui Luma CBF), Andrew McConnon and Caroline Martin and Jeanne Shigo’s 10-year-old Warmblood gelding Ferrie’s Cello (Chello III VDL x Karelza), Colleen Rutledge and her own homebred 16-year-old Thoroughbred cross gelding Covert Rights (Incognito x Let’s Get it Right), and Lillian Heard with the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Dasset Olympus (Lancelot x Cushlamochree) who Heard co-owns with Debora Greenspan.

• Three of the four U.S. team horses are graduates of the USEA Young Event Horse program (YEH): Miks Master C, Ferrie’s Cello, and Covert Rights.
• Halliday-Sharp and Miks Master C might be a fairly new partnership together, having made their debut together at Bromont in June of this year, but their success as a partnership has been undeniable so far. Of their three outings so far, the partnership has won all three including the Bromont CCI2*-L in June, the Intermediate at Chattahoochee Hills in July, and the CCI4*-S at Rebecca Farm just a few weeks after their win at Chatt. Also interesting to note, Halliday-Sharp and Miks Master C won their divisions at Bromont and Chatt on their dressage score. At Rebecca Farm, they just added one rail and 0.4-time penalties in show jumping to their dressage score to finish in the lead.
• There are two four-star first-time horses in the field: Heard’s own Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Gentleman (Acord 3 x HHS Crystal Clear) and Jessica Phoenix’s own German Sport Horse mare Tugce (Domherr x Tortola).

• Cooley Gentleman is also the youngest horse in the field as the only 8-year-old contesting the CCI4*-S track at Bromont. Rutledge’s Covert Rights and Heard’s third mount in the division, the Irish Sport Horse gelding LCC Barnaby, are the most senior horses in the field at 16 years old.
• Cooley HHS Calmaria (Cyrano 145 x Chester Lass) ridden by Halliday-Sharp and owned by the Calmaria Partnership recently placed 5th at Rebecca Farm in their first four-star outing. Previously, the pair placed 2nd in Bromont in June in the CCI3*-L and won the VHT International CCI3*-S in May.
• The busiest rider award for the weekend goes to Jessica Phoenix who has five horses entered in various divisions: FE Blackjack, Mighty Mouse, Tugce, and Wabbit in the CCI4*-S and Mike in the CCI3*-S.

• The Irish Sport Horse is definitely the horse of choice in this weekend’s CCI4*-S competition, with nine of the horses in the field being of Irish breeding.
• Canadian rider Kendal Lehari and her own 9-year-old Oldenburg mare Audacious are coming into this weekend off of a third-place finish in the CCI4*-S at Bromont earlier this summer.

The Facts:

• Andrew Griffiths (GBR) is the Technical Delegate (TD).
• Serving on the ground jury are Christian Steiner (AUS), Peter Gray (CAN), and Christian Landholt (SWI).
• Derek di Grazia (USA) is the course designer.

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