For the first time since 2019, three-day eventers will storm the grounds at the Bromont Olympic Equestrian Center in Quebec, Canada for the MARS Bromont CCI Three-Day Event. Offering a CCI2*-L, CCI3*-L, CCI4*-S, and CCI4*-L, there are more than 130 horse and rider pairs set to compete on the grounds that once hosted the 1976 Montreal Olympics equestrian events.
The CCI4*-L Field:
Of the 131 horse field 19 are entered in the CCI4*-L, 18 in the CCI4*-S, 34 in the CCI3*-S, 41 in the CCI2*-L, and 17 in the CCI2*-L U25.
There will be three countries represented in the CCI4*-L: the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.
There are three USEA Young Event Horse Graduates on the roster: Nina Gardner's 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Twilightslastgleam (National Anthem x Royal Child) ridden by Jennie Brannigan, Christine Aharoni’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Dutch Times (Good Times x Alino Queen) ridden by Ariel Aharoni, and Donna Bigg's 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Let it Be Lee (Bernstein x Sugaree) ridden by Elisa Wallace
Thoroughbred breeding runs strong in the four-star long lineup with five Thoroughbreds set to compete. The Holsteiner and Irish Sport Horse breeds run a close second each with four entries in the field.
There are seven horses giving the four-star long format a try for the first time: Saskia Goedhart’s Warmblood gelding Mighty Mouse (Contenda x Jubilee Jadore) ridden by Jessica Phoenix, Charlotte Schickedanz’s Trakehner stallion Humble GS (Ferrari GS x Haiti GS) also ridden by Jessica Phoenix, Rebecca Brown’s Thoroughbred gelding Harbin (Verglas x Rainbow City) ridden by Joe Meyer, Nancy Hathaway’s Irish Sport Horse gelding Fernhill Prezley (Aldatus Z x Killerish Diamond), Club Contessa’s Holsteiner mare Contessa (Contender x Veritas) ridden by Boyd Martin, The Monster Partnerships Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Moonshine (Cobra x Kilpatrick Duchess) ridden by Liz Halliday-Sharp, and Annie Eldridge’s Hanoverian gelding Forrest Gump 124 (Furst Nymphenburg x Amaterasu) ridden by Ariel Grald.
Jessica Phoenix gets the unofficial title of Busiest Rider award with three horses in the CCI4*-L, one in the CCI2*-L, one in the CCI3*-L, and one in the CCI4*-S.
Speaking of Jessica Phoenix - one of her mounts, Humble GS, is the oldest horse competing in the CCI4*-L at 16-years-old and is the only stallion in the field. The youngest horse is a tie between Lillian Heard’s mount Dassett Olympus (Lancelot x Cushmalochree) the Irish Sport Horse gelding who Heard co-owns with Debby Greenspan, and the Bronte Beach Syndicate’s Zangersheide mare Bronte Beach Z (Verdi x Dalphine) ridden by Ema Klugman. Both horses are 9-years-old.
Phillip Dutton has the ride on Caroline Moran’s 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding Quasi Cool and the pair are just coming off of a second-place finish in the CCI4*-S at the 2022 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April.
Jane Stephenson’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Summer Bay and rider Jamie Kellock are coming into Bromont fresh off of a second-place finish in the CCI4*-S at Tryon last month.
This is the second year of the Mars Bromont Rising Program which provides $3,000 CAN to 10 riders under the age of 25 to compete at Bromont. While none of this year’s CCI4*-L riders were Bromont Rising recipients in 2022, there are two returning scholarship recipients in the four-star long lineup. Ariel Aharoni and Dutch Times were recipients of the scholarship in its inaugural year in 2019, as well as Ema Klugman who received the scholarship with long-time partner Bendigo. Klugman is competing in the CCI4*-L this year with Bronte Beach Z.
The Facts:
Andy Griffiths (GBR) is the Technical Delegate (TD).
Serving on the ground jury are Marilyn Payne (USA), Sue Baxter (GBR), Peter Gray (CAN), Bea di Grazia (USA), and Cara Whitham (CAN).
Derek di Grazia (USA) is the cross-country course designer with Jay Hambly (CAN) assisting.
The final day of competition at the the Yanmar America Tryon International Spring Three-Day Event presented by Tow & Collect crowned five new champions, featuring show jumping competition in Tryon Stadium and the final rounds of cross-country competition on the White Oak cross-country course at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (Tryon International). Read more below.
At last fall's Full Moon Farm Horse Trials, 16-year-old Miriam Keefer guided her horse, Micky, over the final cross-country jump with quiet determination and a flash of joy. It was her first recognized event at the Novice level, and she placed second out of 16 competitors—qualifying her for both the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds and a long-format three-day event.
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo were pure class in the final, tense moments of the MARS Badminton Horse Trials, jumping faultlessly to regain the title they won two years ago by just 1 penalty.
Day 3 of competition at the Yanmar America Tryon International Spring Three-Day Event presented by Tow & Collect showcased Clayton Frederick’s course design at the picturesque White Oak Cross-country course at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (Tryon International). The leaderboard of the CCI4*-L division saw a shakeup after two phases of competition.
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