The Canadian Olympic Team for Dressage is set to begin competition at the 2012 London Olympics following the mandatory horse inspection held Tuesday, July 31, at the Olympic equestrian venue of Greenwich Park.
The Canadian Olympic Team for Dressage is comprised of Jacqueline Brooks of Cedar Valley, ON, riding D Niro, owned by Brookhaven Dressage, Inc.; Ashley Holzer of Toronto, ON, riding Breaking Dawn, owned by Ashley Holzer and P.J. Rizvi; and David Marcus of Campbellville, ON, riding Capital, owned by Deborah Miculinic.
All three members of the Canadian Olympic Team for Dressage presented their horses to the FEI ground jury and were accepted without incident.
“The team looks strong going in,” said Gina Smith, Chef d’Equipe of the Canadian Olympic Team for Dressage. “We have two former Olympians with Ashley and Jacquie, although they are on their younger or ‘greener’ horses. We are looking for personal best scores from everybody. If we can all do that, we will all be very, very happy.”
2008 Beijing Olympian Brooks will be the lead-off rider for Canada, followed by Marcus in his Olympic debut. Holzer, who was a member of Canada’s 1988 Olympic bronze medal team, will ride in the anchor position.
Alternate Diane Creech of Caistor Centre, ON, also presented her mount, Devon L owned by Douglas and Louise Leatherdale, at the horse inspection as substitutions are allowed until one hour prior to the start of official competition.
“We have our reserve horse and rider here as well, Diane Creech with an up and coming super young horse,” added Smith. “It is great to have her here as well, so that she can also get a feel for what it’s like to be at the Olympic Games.”
The first of two phases of team competition, the Grand Prix, will take place on Thursday, August 2, and Friday, August 3. The second phase of team competition, the Grand Prix Special, will see the top seven teams from the Grand Prix move forward to compete for team medals on Tuesday, August 7. The top 11 individuals not already included in the top seven teams will also advance to the Grand Prix Special, which acts as an individual qualifier in addition to determining the team medals.
Following the Grand Prix Special, the top 18 individual competitors will contest the individual medals in the Grand Prix Freestyle on Thursday, August 9. The individual medals in Dressage will be the final equestrian sport medals to be awarded at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Canadian Olympic Team for Dressage is supported by Chef d’Equipe Gina Smith; Veterinarian Dr. Geoff Vernon; Technical Leader Markus Gribbe; and Team Manager Christine Peters. Grooms include Lindsay Kellock (Holzer); Eleanor Anne McFee (Brooks); Alexandra Reid (Marcus); and Christine Bacher (Creech). Kerri McGregor is the Team Leader for the Canadian Olympic Team for Equestrian and Tina Collins is Assistant Team Leader.
For more information, including live scoring and results, please visit the equestrian sport section of the official 2012 London Olympic Games website at www.london2012.com/equestrian.
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