Team Canada rounded out a strong showing at the 2018 Adequan/FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) presented by Gotham North with multiple medals on the final day of competition, held Aug. 5 in North Salem, NY.
Chase Robertson Hits Her Stride with Freestyle Gold Medal
Hot on the heels of her bronze medal performance on Aug. 4, Chase Robertson of Calgary, AB left it all on the centre line to bring home the gold in the Dressage Junior Rider Freestyle. She directed Teresa van Lambalgen’s 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Winsome (Obelisk x Wolfgang) through an uplifting routine, scoring 73.775% for the win. She was joined on the Freestyle podium by fellow Individual Competition medalists, US Region 4’s Bianca Schmidt, who took silver with Lou Heart on a score of 71.905%, and Caroline Garren of US Region 3, who earned bronze riding Bell Angelo to a score of 71.490%.
“I really came here just to get experience with my horse because I’ve only had him for a little over a year, and I wanted to make it a positive experience,” said Robertson. “I wasn’t expecting to walk away with a bronze or even a gold medal; I just wanted to grow and strengthen our relationship. I worked so hard and it’s so emotional – never in my wildest dreams did I expect a gold medal.”
Speaking of her winning performance, Robertson said, “I’ve only actually shown my Freestyle once before. We’ve been making several small changes and this is one of the first times I’ve run through the whole entire thing with all the new changes, so I was blown away with how well it went. For Winsome to step up to the plate and perform the way he did blows my mind. He’s my heart horse; I couldn’t ask for a better partner or a best friend. This show has really increased our bond and made it so much stronger because we trusted each other in a new environment and a new country, and I couldn’t be more proud of him and our partnership.”
Molly Gunyon of Hudson, QC was the next Canadian to make her mark on the Freestyle leaderboard, scoring 68.400% for fifth place aboard her 17-year-old Hanoverian mare, Weltwunder (Waikiki x Wittinger). In eighth place was Anna Swackhammer of Rockwood, ON and Melissa Sinclair’s 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Wrazzmatazz (Jazz x Darwin), who danced their way to a score of 67.940%. Jade Buchanan of Newmarket, ON scored 67.510% – just a scant 0.43% behind Swackhammer – for ninth place riding Cassandra Jessop’s nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Qaro GS (Quaterback x Florestan I).
Beatrice Boucher Earns Distinction of Most Decorated NAYC 2018 Dressage Athlete
With two medals already under her belt, Beatrice Boucher of Saint-Dominique, QC continued her remarkable run at NAYC 2018 with a silver medal in the Dressage Young Riders Freestyle. She and Gilles Bergeron’s 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Delfiano (sired by Del Piero), captured the judges’ attention with a striking performance, earning a score of 72.800%.
Anna Weniger and Don Derrick of US Region 1 took home the gold medal (74.225%), while Callie Jones and Don Philippo of US region 2 were awarded bronze (72.775%).
“My mother is my coach, and I have to thank her and my best friend, Camille, for everything that’s happened,” said Boucher. “I’m also forever grateful to Naima Moreira Laliberté, who gave me the music to compete with. Just being here and being able to do the Freestyle is already a big step, so I was like, ‘Let’s just do our best and we’ll see what happens – be a team, and do that together,’ and it worked really well!”
Interestingly, Boucher’s fellow riders from Team Quebec/Alberta – Rakeya Moussa of Edmonton, AB with Davidoff v.h. Trichelhof (Lord Leatherdale x Wall Street), a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Susan & Mohammed Moussa, and Camille Carier Bergeron of Mascouche, QC with Baldacci (Havidoff x Rubiquil), the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding she co-owns with Gilles Bergeron – both danced to the tune of 69.600% to tie for seventh place.
Olivia Stephenson Wins Gold; Charlotte McLaughlin Takes Silver
Coming off a gold-medal finish in the Team Competition on Aug. 3, the Canadian Children’s jumping athletes proved their mettle one last time in the Individual Final. Olivia Stephenson of Calgary, AB maintained her composure to earn the individual gold medal, with Charlotte McLaughlin of Ottawa, ON following close behind in the silver medal position.
In her NAYC debut, Stephenson carried a perfect score of zero from the first two individual qualifiers into the Final, which featured an additional two rounds and a jump-off to determine the medalists. Riding Chaccana (Chacco Blue x Kannan), an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Tomboy Farms, Stephenson maintained her faultless record with three clear rides in the Final. Her jump-off time of 37.31 seconds secured the individual gold medal with a perfect score of zero.
“Chaccana is 12 years old, like me,” said Stephenson. “She’s more quick when you gallop and not as much on the inside turns, which is where I put all my focus on today in the jump-off, and I think that’s what got us to the top. I just tried to stay focused on what I knew I could do, and I feel really honoured to represent Canada. The support from all the parents, teammates and supporters was a huge thing for us.”
Neck-in-neck with Stephenson, McLaughlin also carried a score of zero from the first two qualifiers and had three faultless rounds in the Final with her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Bronan. She stopped the jump-off clock at 38.91 seconds to ultimately clinch the individual silver medal.
“Representing Canada has always been a dream of mine,” said McLaughlin. “Being able to have gold earlier this week and silver today was something that I never thought could happen.”
Guatemala’s Valentina Arenas Saravia and her partner, Belia, earned the individual bronze medal after eight faults in the Final jump-off.
Stella Chernoff of DeWinton, AB finished just shy of the podium with the 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, Filia van den Bisschop (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Lys de Darmen), owned by Peeters Paul & Alfons. Despite clean rounds in the Individual Final, a score of four from the first qualifier landed in her fourth place overall.
Next on the leaderboard for Canada was Ava Wong of Calgary, AB, who claimed sixth place in the individual final standings. She rode her 12-year-old Westphalian gelding, Concelo (Con Cento x Cantus), to a final score of seven faults.
Eric Krawitt of Okotoks, AB followed Wong in a four-way tie for seventh place. He and Wellington, a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by A.E.S. Equestrian, Inc., ended on a final score of eight after incurring four faults in the Final.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with our riders today,” said Beth Underhill of Schomberg, ON, Jumping Chef d’Équipe. “They showed so much class and poise and were such great teammates; it has been a pleasure to be here to support them throughout the week. The consistency of their riding, just racking up the clean rounds, was fantastic. For Olivia and Charlotte to be gold and silver was just a dream come true for them. It’s been great sport all week and a fantastic welcome for our Canadians from the United States, so we’re really pleased to have been here.”
Junior Riders Crack Top 10 in Jumping Individual Final
Hard work paid off for the Junior jumpers, who closed their NAYC 2018 experience with several top 10 finishes in the Individual Final. Madison Hildermann of Calgary, AB entered the Final on a score of 10.09. She added just four faults in the second round with her 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, Charly (sired by Ikoon), to end on a total score of 14.09 for sixth place.
Sam Walker of Nobleton, ON and MarBill Hill Farm’s eight-year-old Holsteiner mare, Coralissa (Com Air x Corrado I), mimicked Hildermann and Charly’s results. They came into the Final with 10.68 points, and also had four faults in the second round to place seventh overall on total score of 14.68.
Anya Bereznicki of Calgary, AB and her 10-year-old Holsteiner mare, Diazella (Diamant de Semilly x Candillo) added four faults during the Final to fall just short of the top 10 in the individual standings, accumulating 17.77 points for 11th place.
For full results from Day 5, click here. More information on NAYC 2018 can be found at www.youngriders.org.
Top 30 Canadian Results – NAYC 2018
Dressage Junior Riders Freestyle – Individual Results
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Chase Robertson / Winsome / Teresa van Lambalgen / 73.775%
5th / Molly Gunyon / Weltwunder / Molly Gunyon / 68.400%
8th / Anna Swackhammer / Wrazzmatazz / Melissa Sinclair / 67.940%
9th / Jade Buchanan / Qaro GS / Cassandra Jessop / 67.510%
15th / Ariel Boesener / Winniepuuh / Ariel Boesener / 65.655%
16th / Brooke Mancusi / Wellknown / Brooke Mancusi / 65.590%
Dressage Young Riders Freestyle – Individual Results
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
2nd / Beatrice Boucher / Delfiano / Gilles Bergeron / 72.800 %
7th / Rakeya Moussa / Davidoff v.h. Trichelhof / Susan & Mohammed Moussa / 69.600%
7th / Camille Carier Bergeron / Baldacci / Camille Carier Bergeron & Gilles Bergeron / 69.600%
12th / Allison Youngdale / RF Cosima 201 / Allison Youngdale / 66.575%
15th / Vanessa Creech-Terauds / Harley L / Diane Creech & Louise Leatherdale / 66.275 %
16th / Julie Barrett / Rosamunde / Julie Barrett / 61.150%
Jumping Children’s Final – Individual Standings (after 5 rounds)
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Olivia Stephenson / Chaccana / Tomboy Farms / 0
2nd / Charlotte McLaughlin / Bronan / Charlotte McLaughlin / 0
4th / Stella Chernoff / Filia van den Bisschop / Peeters Paul & Alfons / 4
6th / Ava Wong / Concelo / Ava Wong / 7
7th / Eric Krawitt / Wellington / A.E.S. Equestrian, Inc. / 8
Jumping Junior Riders Final – Individual Standings (after 5 rounds)
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
6th / Madison Hildermann / Charly / Madison Hildermann / 14.09
7th / Sam Walker / Coralissa / MarBill Hill Farm / 14.68
11th / Anya Bereznicki / Diazella / Anya Bereznicki / 17.77
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