Canadian Eventing riders Selena O’Hanlon, Lesley Grant-Law and Kyle Carter were the highest placed of the Canadian contingent competing at the CIC Red Hills International Horse Trials in Tallahassee, FL, held March 7-10, 2013.
Selena O’Hanlon of Kingston, ON, took the top three Canadian spots in the CIC 3* division. With Foxwood High, John Rumble’s 10-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding and her team silver mount from the 2011 Pan American Games, O’Hanlon lead-off with a dressage score of 51.60, which had the pair sitting in 20th place. They added only four jumping penalties to their score to finish with a three day total of 55.60 for fifth place overall.
Riding Bellaney Rock, Morag O’Hanlon’s 14-year-old Irish-bred gelding, O’Hanlon finished in 10th place. The pair was in 24th place, with 54.50, following dressage. One rail for four jumping penalties and 3.20 cross country time penalties, gave O’Hanlon and Bellaney Rock a final score of 61.70.
O’Hanlon also placed 12th riding A First Romance, Morag O’Hanlon’s 11-year-old Canadian Thoroughbred gelding. They added four jumping penalties to their dressage score of 59.40 to finish with 63.40.
“I was very pleased with Foxwood High’s dressage, because he was steady obedient and tried very hard,” said O’Hanlon. Bellaney Rock is such a steady horse in the dressage that I let him slip behind the leg at a few moments but that’s not his fault nor is it a bad fault in an event horse. A First Romance’s dressage has been getting so much better this year thanks to the help of Gerd Zuther and Bruce Davidson. Red Hills is electric so it wasn’t bobble free, but I was very pleased with his behaviour.”
“Show jumping was frustrating on all three horses for me. They all jumped fantastic but a small mistake in each horses rounds cost me 4 faults,” she continued. “I knew the only way to climb the leader board was to make time on cross country. I knew there were plenty of good galloping stretches with galloping fences on course. The horses answered me beautifully by still being very smooth but a lot faster. Was a rush and to have three opportunities to do it at the 3* level was brilliant! I’m a lucky girl to have three unbelievably good jumpers.”
Rounding out the top fifteen in the CIC 3* division was 2012 Canadian Olympian Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON, and Erodium, Kirk Hoppner’s 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding. They recorded a 14th place finish with a score of 65.10.
In the CIC 2* division, Lesley Grant-Law rode her own What Law, an eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, to a sixth place finish by adding 12 cross country time penalties to their dressage score of 54.80. Phoenix had four faults in the jumping round and added six cross country time penalties to their dressage score of 57.90 to finish in eighth with A Little Romance, Don Leschied’s eight-year-old Thoroughbred cross gelding, to finish with a score of 67.90.
Riding Esprit De La Danse, Arianna Hustler’s nine-year-old Canadian Sport horse mare, Waylon Roberts of Port Perry, ON, added only 4.8 cross country time penalties and five jump penalties to his dressage score of 58.40 to finish with 68.20 for ninth place in the CIC 2* division.
With a fantastic dressage score of 39.80, Kyle Carter of Calgary, AB, added four jumping penalties to finish with a score 43.80 for second place overall in the CIC 1* division riding FR’s Trust Fund, the rider’s seven year old Dutch Warmblood gelding. Riding his own Qorry Blue D’Argouges, a nine-year-old Selle Francaise gelding, Peter Barry of Dunham, QC, finished in 11th place adding only four cross country time penalties to his dressage score of 53.50, scoring 57.50. In 16th place was Frankie Simpson of Mono, ON, and Rusko with a score of 59.40.
Full results of CIC Red Hills International Horse Trials may be found here.
The next stop for Canadian eventers will be Poplar Place Farm March Horse Trials in Hamilton, GA and CICO 3* Fontainebleau, FRA, both to be held March 21-24, 2013.
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