Press Officer: Michelle Dunn, +1-313-808-0463 mdunnphoto@mac.com or michelle@michelledunnmedia.com
BROMONT, QC – August 12, 2023 – American Olympian Boyd Martin (Cochranville, PA), came to Bromont to prepare his very best horses for the biggest event in the world. He should leave feeling fairly confident, having taken the win in the CCI4* Saturday afternoon with his Tokyo Olympic mount Tsetserleg on a final score of 52 points. He also took third with On Cue (56.1), and fifth with Commando 3 (59.3), as well as third in the 3* with Contessa (44.6).
With the event running as a ‘short format’, the dressage and show jumping phases were completed Friday, leaving the exciting cross-country as the final and deciding factor.
Given the rain of the past three weeks, it was expected that galloping times would be conservative, and riders would tread carefully. Thankfully the ground held up well, and the organizers were generous with stone chips and gravel as needed on takeoff and landings to ensure safety across all levels. Time was the deciding factor Saturday, with every FEI rider save one (Canada’s Jessica Phoenix, winner of the 2* with Tugce) adding time to their overall score.
“The footing ended up being fantastic,” remarked Martin following his third and final round in the 4* division. “I think the whole field just looked after their horses, when the ground got quite boggy and soft. 80% of the course was very good — it was just small sections where everyone balanced their horses and looked after them a bit. Thomas (Tsetserleg) hasn’t jumped a cross-country jump since June so he was a little rusty at the beginning, but it’s a good fitness run for him. This was a perfect run over a big course and now we’ll wrap Thomas and On Cue up in cotton wool and be in England in a couple of weeks!”
The overnight leaders, Canadian Olympian Colleen Loach (Dunham, QC), added a total of 22.8 time faults (compared to the 18 of Martin and Tsetserleg) to finish on a final score of 54.5 and settle for second place.
In the CCI3* division, it was Caroline Pamukcu (nee Martin, Riegelsville, PA) who took the top two spots, leading wire-to-wire with HSH Connor and moving HSH Double Sixteen from sixth overnight into second. Both added time, but Double Sixteen held it to a very respectable 7.6 faults, finishing on scores of 42.2 and 43.8 penalties respectively.
“For us, it’s important to schedule our horses for competitions where they will learn from, and I always find Bromont has a hard cross-country track,” explained Pamukcu. “It’s important for me to educate these horses for the future and for Teams, not just go to local shows and win.
“[Connor] found the course easy and it’s good for him to practice in the mud. But he’s used to it — he spent six months in England last year — this wasn’t that muddy for us!
“I didn’t have to push to make the time, as I was late to go. I knew I could still win and had a few time faults to play with so we played it smart. What I love about Bromont is it’s super education for the horses. It really gets them ready for future team competition. If they go around here, I know they are ready for the world stage at whatever level they’re at.”
Lea Adams-Blackmore (Summit Point, WV) and Frostbite took the win in the CCIU253* section, leading from start to finish. They added no jumping faults over cross-country and just 9.2 time penalties, to finish on a final score of 47.1.
Canadian Olympian Jessica Phoenix (Cannington, ON) took the top honours in the CCI2* with Tugce, another wire-to-wire win and the only FEI rider on the property to finish on their dressage score (29.9) and come in under the time allowed on cross-country. Americans Ariel Grald with Adagio’s Nobility and Jennie Saville with Kismet finished second and third on 36.9 and 38.3. Canada’s Kelly Belanger was the highest placed U252* rider, completing on a final score of 65.1 with Murphy’s Got Charm.
“THE DREAM TEAM” of Caroline Pamukcu (HSH Connor), Boyd Martin (Contessa), Lea Adams-Blackmore (Frostbite) and Ryan Wood (Check Point) took the win in the CCI3* Teams competition, as well as finishing with the lowest team score overall of 133.90.
Susana Tezanos Moreno (CAN) and French Kiss took the win in the Open EV110 division, finishing on a final score of 43.2, and Shanon Baker (USA) topped the Open EV100 with Creevagh City HSH on 30.4.
Complete scoring for all Individual sections and Teams can be found at www.evententries.com
Six countries were represented across the seven levels of competiton: CCI4*-S, CCI3*-S, CCIU253*-S, CCI2*-S, CCIU252*-S, EV110 and EV100 as well a Team Challenge modelled after the incredibly successful and popular MidSouth Team Challenge. The fun Team Challenge was designed to give riders an introduction to the experience of riding on and strategizing as a team, with the end goal of finishing a full team with the lowest combined score possible.
About Bromont Eventing
Bromont, which has featured top competitions for four decades, welcome some of the best horse-and-rider combinations across three competitions this summer: the MARS Bromont CCI4*, ‘Little Bromont’ and the August Bromont CCI4*. Located in the beautiful village of Bromont, Quebec, the spectator-friendly venue is within easy driving distance of Montreal, Quebec and Burlington Vermont.
With a venue among the best in the world and cross-country courses designed by Derek DiGrazia (USA) and Jay Hambly (CAN), the MARS Bromont CCI4*, ‘Little Bromont’ and August Bromont CCI4* offer a true test for horse and rider in the perfect ‘summer resort’ setting.
For more information please visit www.bromonthorsetrials.com.
The Bromont Horse Trials are made possible in part through a contribution from Sport Canada. The Bromont organizing committee also wishes to thank the Government of Quebec, and the City of Bromont for their support.