Coach/student pair, Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Saint-Bruno, QC, and Camille Carier Bergeron of Mascouche, QC, had cause for celebration after earning individual medals during the CDIO 3* and CDIO-U25 Nations Cup, held March 11-15, 2020, during the 10th week of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL.
After helping Canada secure the silver medal in team competition on March 12, Fraser-Beaulieu and All In (Tango x Damiro), the 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that she co-owns with her father, Craig Fraser, and husband, Marc-Andre Beaulieu, switched their focus to the next day’s individual podium.
In the 2018 Wellington Nations Cup, Fraser-Beaulieu has posted a personal best of 76.990% in the CDIO 3* Grand Prix Freestyle; for the 2020 edition, she shattered that record with a score of 78.720% to capture the bronze medal.
“I had a personal goal tonight, I really wanted to be on the podium,” said Fraser-Beaulieu. “I’m really ecstatic that happened for me. All In had so much energy after two mega days of competitions, I thought he would be a little more tired but he wasn’t. This whole show season for me has been one of the best. I’m extremely thankful for that and excited to see what the future holds for us.”
Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper of the United States scored 81.535% for the gold medal. Silver went to Yvonne Losos De Muñiz and Aquamarijn of the Dominican Republic, who were just a hair’s breadth ahead of Fraser-Beaulieu with a score of 78.910%.
Canada’s Under 25 (25) athletes also had their chance for individual medals after collecting the team bronze on March 11. Fraser-Beaulieu’s student, Camille Carier Bergeron of Mascouche, QC, seized the opportunity not once, but twice in an impressive Nations Cup debut.
Carier Bergeron and Gilles Bergeron’s Acoeur (Acordelli x Ricardo), a 13-year-old Baden-Württemberg gelding, began by beautifully executing the CDIO-U25 Grand Prix on March 12. A personal best of 69.692%, with their highest mark of 72.436% coming from the judge at M, pushed the combination into the bronze medal position.
“When the [first judge’s] score came out I was like, ‘Oh my god, I think it’s a mistake, it must be only one judge that gave me that score,’” said Carier Bergeron, who has been steadily climbing the FEI Dressage World Youth Ranking – U25 with Acoeur. “Then the second one came out and I was like, ‘Wow, maybe it’s true,’ and when third score came out I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is really true!’”
Benjamin Ebeling and Illuster Van De Kampert of the United States clinched the individual gold medal for the Grand Prix with 71.179%, while fellow Americans Emma Asher and Elegance N wore the silver with 70.051%.
Carier Bergeron and Acoeur returned to the ring on March 13 for the CDIO-U25 Grand Prix Freestyle, where they danced to a sweeping instrumental reminiscent of an epic movie trailer composed by Karen Robinson of Applause Dresage. Amazingly, Carier Bergeron had commissioned the music a scant two weeks prior and did not have an opportunity to practice to the track with Acoeur before their Nations Cup performance. But despite the challenge, they pulled off another personal best score of 73.035% for a second individual medal – this time, the silver.
“I’m just over the moon right now, I can’t believe it still. Even though I never did it to music at home, I learned my music, went in there, rode it and hoped for the best,” said Carier Bergeron.
“Acoeur was not a schoolmaster when I got him, so for me to get to know him, for him to trust me and improve our tests, there’s a lot of work behind that and I’m so happy with what we did today. Last year was our very first year together; I got him in January and one and a half months later we were showing U25, so it was a quick transition for us. This year, I feel like we’re just one step higher in the level and it’s really nice to see the improvement.”
Ebeling and Illuster Van De Kampter once again sat in the gold medal position (75.130%), while their countrymen Natalie Pai and Utopie Douilly were awarded the bronze (72.150%).
Speaking to the experience of competing in the Nations Cup alongside Fraser-Beaulieu, Carier Bergeron added, “It’s not Brittany’s first Nations Cup, so she has so much experience, advice and good support. It’s been very inspiring because it really feels like the whole of Canada is a team: it’s not only the U25, it’s U25 and Grand Prix together all the time. And having my coach as part of it, I’m always hanging out with the big tour riders. It’s been very inspiring, having their support. It’s a wonderful experience for my first Nations Cup.”
For more information on the Nations Cup and full results, visit here.
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