Canadian athletes earned multiple top-three placings and qualifying scores for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) at the Caledon Salute to Dressage CDI 3*, held July 20-22, 2018, in Caledon, ON.
Megan Lane of Loretto, ON qualified Deer Ridge Equestrian’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Zodiac MW (Rousseau x Amethist), for WEG 2018 with top scores in the CDI 3* division. In the Grand Prix on July 20, the duo placed first with a score of 69.913%. They also captured the win the following day in the Grand Prix Special on a score of 70.170%.
“Zodiac continues to impress me,” said Lane. “I am pinching myself more often these days because he is still fairly new to the big tour. However, he carries himself like a seasoned Grand Prix horse. For example, Sunday’s Grand Prix Special under torrential rains did not inhibit him from an incredibly beautiful and powerful performance.”
In addition to Zodiac MW, Lane has qualified for WEG 2018 with her 2016 Rio Olympics partner, Caravella (Contango x Riverman), the 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare she co-owns with her mother, Cathy Lane and sister, Kelsey Lane.
Lane commented, “This was the final WEG qualifier and, having campaigned for the past seven months in Florida and Ontario, I am so lucky to have such a supportive, dedicated and hardworking team behind me on the road to WEG 2018. I would sincerely like to thank everyone behind a very busy and very successful season.”
Diane Creech of Caistor Centre, ON also earned WEG-qualifying scores riding Diana C, the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare she owns with Louise Leatherdale. The pair nabbed second place in the CDI 3* Grand Prix with 69.435%, and in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special with 70.149%.
Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON rounded out third place in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special, riding her 15-year-old Westphalian gelding, Tattoo 15 (Tuareg x Ramiro’s Son), to a score of 68.553%.
Also competing at the CDI 3* level was Canadian Olympian Christilot Boylen of Loretto, ON. She rode her 11-year-old Westphalian mare, Rockylane (Rock Forever x Rombach), to first-place finishes in the CDI 3* Intermediate A on July 20 (67.000%) and the CDI 3* Intermediate II on July 21 (67.088%).
In the small tour, Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON added another hat trick to his record aboard Carla Bahr’s nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Cyrus (Contucci x Cor Noir). The pair started out with the CDI 1* Prix St. Georges on July 20, earning 70.471%, and their scores continued to improve from there. They won the CDI 1* Intermediate I on July 21 with a score of 70.588%, and the CDI 1* Intermediate I Freestyle on July 22 with 73.400%. Their Caledon results add to an already impressive Ontario season, having earned a small tour hat trick at the CDI 3* Ottawa Dressage Festival in May, plus top placings at the CDI 3* Cedar Valley in June.
Nancy MacLachlan of Terra Cotta, ON followed Dvorak on the small tour leaderboard, earning second place in the Prix St. Georges (68.912%) and Intermediate I (70.176%) aboard Judith G. Farncomb’s 11-year-old Canadian Warmblood mare, Dreo (Dreitakt x Holberg).
Other top-three finishers in the CDI 1* division included Lori Bell of Beaverton, ON. She and her 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Flirt (Florencio x Donnerhall), took second place in the CDI 1* Intermediate Freestyle with a score of 72.775% and third in the CDI 1*Intermediate I with 69.353%. Loren Hopkins of Guelph, ON placed third in the CDI 1* Prix St. George, piloting Denali (Idocus x Gribaldi), her 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, to a score of 68.559%. In the Intermediate I Freestyle, Maya Markowski of Listowel, ON scored 69.525% to capture third riding Gail Tittley’s 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Daedalus (ES de Laurentis x ES Sam Steele).
The CDI-U25 division saw Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON showcase her successful partnership with 18-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Devon L (De Niro 6 x Wolkenstein II), owned by Creech and Leatherdale. The duo won the Intermediate II on July 20 with a score of 67.471%, and the next day’s Grand Prix with 66.615%.
Allison Youngdale of Aurora, ON rode her 13-year-old Holsteiner mare, RF Cosima 201 (Conello x Sir Shostakovich XX) to win the CDI-Y Team Test on July 20 (66.647%), CDI-Y Individual on July 21 (67.706%), and CDI-Y Freestyle on July 22 (70.975%).
Markowski also competed in the CDI-YH Six-Year-Old division, where she debuted the six-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Fiona McLellan, Something Royal (Sir Wanabi x Longchamp), and earned wins in the Preliminary Test on July 20 (71.600%) and the Final on July 21 (72.000%).
Full results from the Caledon Salute to Dressage CDI 3* can be found here.
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