Volvo Bromont Three Day Event Attracts Olympic Contenders

The Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, held June 7 to 10 in Bromont, Quebec, will be the final North American outing for athletes hoping to earn a spot at the 2012 Olympic Games this summer.

The 26th edition of the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, will be used as a final preparatory event for U.S. and Canadian Olympic Team hopefuls. Both U.S. and Canadian Team selectors will be in attendance, watching the competition closely before making their final selections for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Having won Team Silver medals at both the 2010 World Equestrian Games and the 2011 Pan American Games, Canadian Eventing Team selectors will be looking for the best candidates to carry Canada’s medal hopes into London.

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Appropriately, the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event is held at the picturesque Bromont Olympic Horse Park, site of equestrian events for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and candidate for the 2018 World Equestrian Games. Course designer Derek Di Grazia of the United States, who has been the resident course designer since 2009, will design the challenging cross-country tracks while Canada’s own Jay Hambly will build the obstacles.

At the request of the Canadian and U.S. Olympic Team selectors, a CIC*** division has been added and a brand new course has been designed and built. A total of five divisions recognized by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) will be offered at this year’s event, including CCI***, CIC***, CCI**, CCI*, and CCIYJ*. Considered the triathlon of equestrian sport, eventing competition is comprised of three phases – dressage, cross-country and show jumping, held on consecutive days.

Canadian Eventing Team veterans Hawley Bennett-Awad, Selena O’Hanlon and Jessica Phoenix are among those competing, and will face stiff competition from U.S. Olympic veteran Phillip Dutton, who has three horses entered in the CIC*** division.

While the CCI*** and CIC*** divisions will showcase Olympic potential, younger competitors in the CCI**, CCI* and CCIYJ* divisions will be striving to secure a spot at the annual North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championship in July in Lexington, Kentucky. In order to also accommodate the grassroots of the sport, the organizing committee will host the ‘Little Bromont’ national competition featuring preliminary, training, pre-training and entry divisions on June 16 and 17.

Organizers are expecting over 150 horses to contest the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, widely considered one of the most prestigious three day events in North America. Offering the highest level of eventing competition in Canada, more than 150 athletes are expected to vie for $25,000 in prize money and awards offered by the generous sponsors of the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, including Volvo and Beaulieu Canada.

For the second year, the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event will be included in the PRO Tour Series. The Professional Riders Organization (PRO) is a non-profit organization comprised of accomplished event riders who are dedicated to promoting the sport and to advocating safety for horses and riders.

The Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, is made possible in part through a contribution from the Government of Canada. The organizing committee also wishes to thank the Gouvernement du Québec, Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, for their support of this year’s event.

For more information about the Bromont Three Day Event please visit the bilingual website, http://www.bromontcci.com/. Live scoring will be available throughout the duration of the event.