Canadian Roundup at Palm Beach Dressage Derby

Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Saint-Bruno, QC, continued her successful winter season in Florida with a win at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby held from March 2-6, 2022, in Wellington, FL.

On Thursday, March 3, Fraser-Beaulieu won the CDI-W FEI World Cup Dressage Short Grand Prix with a score of 71.447% riding All In, a 16-year-old liver chestnut Dutch Warmblood gelding (Tango x Damiro).

“I had a great show,” said Fraser-Beaulieu, 33, who was contesting the Short Grand Prix test for the second time in competition. “Last week was a big week for my horse with the five-star and competing back-to-back was not ideal for him as an older horse, but we know each other so well. We kept our warm-ups short, and he was really fresh and ready to work.”

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In Friday night’s Freestyle competition held under the lights, Fraser-Beaulieu and All In scored 79.145% to finish a close second to Anna Buffini of the United States who won with 79.265% riding FRH Davinia La Douche.

“My freestyle was beautiful,” Fraser-Beaulieu said of the program compiled by Dutch freestyle designer, Joost Peters, that received artistic marks over 80% from all five judges. “I had one small error in my two-tempi changes but his piaffe was more rhythmical, on the spot, and he doesn’t get nervous anymore. I really want to get 80% and I’m so close! That’s something I really want to achieve before I retire him.”

While the pair represented Canada at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, last year, Fraser-Beaulieu revealed that she will not be seeking a spot on the Canadian squad for this summer’s World Championships in Herning, Denmark, as she is expecting her second child on September 1. She is, however, hoping for an invitation to the upcoming World Cup Final, scheduled to be held in Leipzig, Germany, from April 6 to 10, 2022. One World Cup qualifying event remains on the European calendar before starting positions are finalized.

“His character is so goofy, he loves to work, he loves his job, and I think he loves me,” summed up Fraser-Beaulieu of the horse she owns in partnership with her father, Craig Fraser, and her husband, Marc-Andre Beaulieu. “We work so well together as a team. He has a heart of gold. He has competed so much in his life, showing since he was five, and he still goes into the ring with such a huge presence and wanting to do his job for me.”

Camille Carier Bergeron and Sound of Silence 4 competed in the CDI-U25 Division for the first time. (Cealy Tetley photo)

While All In is nearing the end of his competitive career, Fraser-Beaulieu has several young horses in the pipeline including Downing Street, a seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Don Noblesse x Rubinstein 46). Purchased in Germany at the PSI Auction in 2019 by her student, Nadia Moretto of Mount Royal, QC, Downing Street stayed in Europe for an additional year before coming to North America in 2021.

“He’s very trainable and his character is top-notch,” said Fraser-Beaulieu, who won the CDIYH preliminary test for seven-year-olds with Downing Street, scoring 73.022% in the horse’s first CDI competition. “I’ve shown him four or five times now, and every time he goes into the competition ring, he goes right to work. I love that about him. The seven-year-old test is very difficult. He’s very big but in the ring, he finds the movements easy; they come naturally to him. His canter pirouettes are a strong point, as is his ability to collect in general. He also has a very good walk. His owner is an adult amateur who loves her horses and loves to see them do well.”

Ariana Chia and Fiderflame showcasing upbeat movements during one of the classes in Wellington, FL (Cealy Tetley photo)

Fraser-Beaulieu’s successful weekend also included coaching Camille Carier Bergeron, 21, of Laval, QC, riding Sound of Silence 4, a 14-year-old Westphalian gelding (San Amour I x Limes), to victory in the CDI-U25 Intermediate II test with a score of 71.000%. Open to athletes aged 16 to 25, Bergeron also contested the division’s Grand Prix test on Saturday, earning 66.821% before scoring 70.695% to win the U25 Freestyle on Sunday. As it was Bergeron’s first time showing Sound of Silence 4 in the Under 25 Freestyle competition, she used to a program that was originally compiled by Canadian freestyle designer, Karen Robinson of Applause Dressage, for her other international-level horse, Acoeur.

“It was the first time that Camille and Sound of Silence 4 competed in the CDI-U25 division and it’s quite a big jump from the Young Rider division to Under 25,” explained Fraser-Beaulieu. “Sound of Silence, or ‘SOS’ as we call him, learned the grand prix movements later in life which can be difficult, but they went in the ring this weekend and showed beautiful movements. He can be a hot horse, but Camille and I were both thrilled that he did his job for her. We’re not putting any pressure on him, just giving him a nice experience in the ring, and this weekend was beautiful and so well-ridden by Camille. I was thrilled for them!”

Other top results posted by Canadian athletes included Ariana Chia, 30, of Winnipeg, MB, who placed third in the CDI4* Grand Prix for Freestyle with a score of 69.565% riding Fiderflame, her 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Fidertanz 2 x Abanos). On Friday night under the lights, the pair placed fifth in the CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle where they interpreted required movements to current, upbeat music to score 72.305%. Follow Canadian Evi Strasser, 58, of Ste-Adele, QC, took ninth place in the Freestyle by riding Disney Tyme, her 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Diamond Hit x Weltmeyer) to a score of 68.730%.

Naima Moreira Laliberté and Statesman in competition during the eighth week of the AGDF
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley

In the CDI4* Grand Prix for Special, Naima Moreira Laliberté, 25, of Outremont, QC, took third in the 14-horse starting field with 69.587% and again placed third in Saturday’s Grand Prix Special with 70.851%. Her partner is Statesman, a 15-year-old bay Hanoverian gelding (Sandro Hit x Brentano II) owned by KML Inc.

Originally from Langley, BC, and now based in Loxahatchee, FL, Shannon Dueck, topped 18 other entries to win the CDI1* Prix St. Georges test on Friday with a score of 69.588%. Her winning mount was Angelika MW, a U.S.-bred Oldenburg mare (Franziskus x Welt Hit II) that Dueck owns in partnership with Elizabeth Ferber, Kathy Putnam, and Julie Skinner. Dueck has a special relationship with ‘Angel’ as she owned and competed the horse’s dam, Ayscha, at the international grand prix level for four seasons. Susanne Dutt-Roth of Merrickville, ON, was the next highest Canadian in the placings, earning seventh place with 68.971% riding Londoncrown, a nine-year-old Hanoverian mare (Londontime x San Amour I) owned by Daniel Gauthier.

For more information on the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, held during week eight of the Adequan®
Global Dressage Festival, visit gdf.coth.com.