Canadian Worldwide Roundup

Michael Winter and El Mundo 15th at Bramham International Horse Trials

In Great Britain, Canadian Eventing Team member Michael Winter, who resides in the English Cotswolds, challenged the CCI 4*-L division at the Bramham International Horse Trials in Wetherby, UK from June 6-11. Contesting a field of 46 athlete-and-horse combinations from seven nations, Winter and El Mundo (Numero Uno x Calvaro F.C.), the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding he co-owns with Emma Winter and Jonathan Nelson, started the weekend on a dressage score of 33.3. With just 25 seconds over the time on cross-country, they added 10 to their score, then jumped clear to finish on a score of 43.3 pp, securing 15th place.

For full results of the Bramham International Horse Trials, click here.

Kelly Houtappels-Bruder and Flip. (Brigitte Gfeller photo)

Kelly Houtappels-Bruder Drives to 2nd Place in Germany

The maple leaf was flying high once again at the FEI CAI Bühl driving competition held from June 7-11 in the southern region of Germany. Canadian Kelly Houtappels-Bruder of Ariss, ON, now a resident of Steensel, NED, drove her way to second place in a field of 27 competitors representing nine nations in the CAI3* Horse Single Division.

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Equestrian Canada’s 2022 Equestrian of the Year, Houtappels-Bruder and her partner Flip (Fidertanz x Carprilli), a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding she co-owns with Frank Houtappels, opened the combined driving competition with the best dressage score of the event. The pair then contested the marathon round and added 74.06. After the two events, the Canadians sat in first place with a combined total of 119.73. Concluding with 9.00 penalty points in the cones, the duo finished in second place with an overall combined score of 128.73, just 1.56 behind Germany’s Anne Unzeitig and De Niro 29 (127.17).

“Home from a great week of sport in Germany! Many thanks to Henning and Laura for all of the extra work they put in to make the competition really enjoyable for everyone,” said Houtappels-Bruder on her Instagram account. She added, “Flip was in good form all week – a bit of tension in dressage led to some mistakes but we made up for it by driving a bloody good marathon Saturday. On Sunday our only goal was to up our ground tempo and make the time…we managed to come through with minimal damage!”

Results here.

Naïma Moreira Laliberté patting Statesman.

Naïma Moreira Laliberté and Statesman. (Cealy Tetley photo)

Naïma Moreira Laliberté and Statesman 2nd in the Netherlands

Canadian Naïma Moreira Laliberté continued her European circuit with an appearance at the 47th edition of CSI Twente, a world-class equestrian event held in the town of Geesteren, 160 km east of Amsterdam, NED. Long an international show jumping event, a 3* level Dressage competition was added in 2019 on request from the Dutch federation. The presenting sponsor Interfloor has continued to support the dressage program, and offered CDI1*, CDIU25 and CDI3* competitions at 2023 CDI Geesteren from June 8-10 at the Equestrian Park Erve Maathuis.

Aboard her 2022 World Championships mount Statesman (Sandro Hit x Brentano II), a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by KML Inc., Moreira Laliberté recorded a 69.261% for sixth place in the Grand Prix out of 17 pairs from eight countries. She then finished in second place with an impressive season-best score of 74.345% in the Grand Prix Freestyle to Music.

For full results, please click here.

Here in Canada

At the Kelowna Dressage Festival in Kelowna, BC, Pan Am Games-declared athlete Eiren Crawford and Hendrix (Don Romantic x Rosario) the 11-year-old Oldenburger gelding owned by Madeleine Rodgers scored 68.382 in the FEI Prix St Georges, gaining valuable feedback as they continue building together in Hendrix’s first year competing at this level. The annual show in the Okanagan saw top judging from worldclass, international and EC Senior Dressage judge Brenda Minor.

Isabella Erlick of Burlington, ON had a successful Champions tournament at Angelstone in Erin, ON, from June 8-11. Erlick won the CET Medal on June 9 paired with Kilroy, the grey eight-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Kannan x Casall) owned by Isabella Erlick Holdings. The winning combination then followed that up on June 11 with a 1st place finish in the Jump Canada Medal class. Madison Cadieux-Moran of Clarence Creek, ON and her 12-year-old grey Belgian Warmblood Lewis Van de Kampel took the second-place ribbon in the CET Medal class. Rachael Reynolds of Manotick, ON, rode to a second-place finish in the JC Medal on Sunday aboard her own nine-year-old grey Zangersheide gelding Imagination Z (Levisto Alpha Z x Denver). Keep watching weekend highlights throughout the season for the national rankings leaderboard in the CET and JC Medal classes on the road to the Royal and the National Championships in November.

‘Captain Derby King’ Kristjan Good of Campbellville, ON, did what he does best and took the win in the $16,000 CHD Hunter Derby 3’6”/3’0” sponsored by Pommies Cider Co on June 9 at Angelstone’s Champions Tournament. In a field of 22 entries, Good came out on top with a score of 112 riding Nitecap, a 10-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding owned by Knightwood Stables. The pair also topped the 3’6 Derby and then struck again in the 3′ Canadian Hunter Derby aboard Kensington owned by Stephanie Mackie. The EC-licenced coach also proudly celebrated as many combinations from Kristjan Good Show Stables were in the ribbons across derbies and classes at week two of Angelstone’s summer series. For more information on results from 2023 The Champions, click here.