Press Officer: Michelle Dunn, +1-313-808-0463 mdunnphoto@mac.com or michelle@michelledunnmedia.com
BROMONT, QC – August 11, 2023 – Canada’s Colleen Loach (Dunham, QC) and FE Golden Eye saved the best for last Friday at the Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park, taking over the lead as the very last to go in the FEI CCI4* division.
Heading into Saturday’s third and final cross-country phase, they sit on their dressage score of 31.7 penalties, as one of only three double-clean show jumping rounds in a very competitive 4* division.
Loach and ‘Goldie’ ousted US Olympian Boyd Martin from the top spot (on not one but two of his top mounts); Loach has the slimmest of margins with which to maintain her lead on what will surely be a decisive day of cross-country action.
“It was a tough course [in the show jumping ring] with lots of tight turns to square oxers,” commented Loach after her show jumping round. “The triple combination caused a lot of trouble. Goldie is an amazing jumper so I just rode it very forward and he jumped really well.”
In the CCI-S or short format, the event will finish with the exciting cross-country phase Saturday, where mistakes are costly as penalty points come in multiples of 20, rather than four as in the show jumping arena.
Having received a fair amount of rain in the area over the past three weeks, riders will be looking to guide their horses with care to find the best path over the softer ground.
Boyd Martin (Cochranville, PA) currently sits in second with his Tokyo Olympics and Lima Pan-Am double-gold-medal mount Tsetserleg; third with On Cue, with whom he won the 4*-S here at June’s MARS Bromont CCI, as well as the 2021 5*-L in Maryland; and sixth with Commando 3 (not to leave out Contessa, sitting second in the 3*.) Historically ‘Cue’ has put in some very good rounds in deep and even muddy going and Saturday will be anyone’s game.
Fellow American Caroline Pamukcu leads the CCI3* with HSH Connor on 29.0, with Martin and Contessa less than a point behind in second on 29.8. Australia’s Ryan Wood and Cooley Gentleman round out the top three on 33.7. Pamukcu also sits in fourth and sixth with HSH Tolan King and HSH Double Sixteen respectively.
Six countries are 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 is 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.
The “Quebec Rules” team of Emma McHugh (Imperial), Juliette Veronneau (Kilkenny), Anne Castaigne (Cashemire) and Lea-Claude Pelletier (Vanquish) are currently the leading EV100 team on a total score of 82 penalties.
In the CCI3* “The Dream Team” of Caroline Pamukcu (HSH Connor), Boyd Martin (Contessa), Ryan Wood (Check Point) and Lea Adams-Blackmore (Frostbite) are well out ahead of “The Riff Raff” on scores of 96.100 and 125.80 respectively.
Full live scoring for all Individual divisions and Teams can be found at www.evententries.com
Saturday’s cross-country action will start at 9:00am with the 4* division, descending in order through 3*, 2*, EV110 and EV100.
Admission and parking are free for spectators who are encouraged to come and get up-close to the exciting cross-country action. Winners will be announced following the completion of each cross-country section.
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.