Team Quebec Dominates CIEC

Three days, three disciplines. Riders from the provinces and territories battled it out for the ultimate in bragging rights during the Canadian Interprovincial Equestrian Championships (CIEC), sponsored by Equinety and hosted by Equine Canada, at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, Ontario, September 25 through 27.

After three days of intense competition across the three different disciplines of reining, dressage and jumping, Team Quebec emerged victorious, claiming the highly coveted CIEC Cup for the second consecutive year. They earned the overall title after capturing gold in reining, silver in dressage and bronze in jumping. Team Ontario earned the overall silver, while Team Nova Scotia took home the bronze.

“I’m very proud of our entire team. Everyone came together really well, everyone worked hard and we’re really happy with our results,” said Caroline Dejordy, Team Quebec’s chef d’équipe. “This event really develops the athlete’s ability to deal with a more stressful situation because your points do count for a team. It really prepares riders for the future and I think it’s a great event.”

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Featuring a mix of junior and senior competitors from across the country, the CIEC provides the rare opportunity for riders to gain valuable team experience. It’s an amazing collaborative effort between the provincial and territorial sports organizations and Equine Canada, giving Canadian riders the chance to compete against, and network with, their peers. Adding to the feeling of comradery was the fact several riders from further afield had the opportunity to compete on borrowed horses, making riding in the championships a reality thanks to the generosity of the local equestrian community.

In addition to recognizing the highest ranked province overall, and in each specific discipline, the CIEC also shone the spotlight on the top juniors and seniors, with an eye on developing Canada’s next great equestrians.

Helping land Quebec in top spot in reining were Karine Bousquet of Saint-Hyacinthe and Kimberley Audet of St-Hermenegilde, who were the leading senior and junior riders. Competitors from both age categories squared off against each other in three separate classes. Bousquet rode her own Offenback’s Real Time, a 13-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, to a fourth, second and 10th over the three classes, which were comprised of Patterns Four, Six and Nine. Audet piloted Sheeza Major Royalty, a six-year-old Quarter Horse mare owned by Denis Caron, to a first, second and fifth. Finishing behind Quebec in the reining competition were Team Alberta with the silver and Team Nova Scotia with the bronze.

“It was a very good experience for me and my horse and I appreciate the opportunity to compete,” said 16-year-old Audet who won the individual silver medal at the CIEC in 2014. “My first class was very exciting, everybody was clapping and it was a good ambience.”

Ontario earned the gold in dressage thanks to the consistency of its riders. While individually none of them ended up on top, they captured three of the top 10 placings.

“It’s really exciting,” said Tom Dvorak, one of Team Ontario’s dressage coaches. “It was my first time coaching here as a dressage team coach and it couldn’t have worked out any better. We had a really good first day and the next two days we came on really strong. I really enjoyed working with all the athletes and personal trainers. I had a super time.”

Earning the individual golds were Bianca Landry of Moncton representing New Brunswick in the seniors, and Marilie Roy of Bellefeuille representing Quebec in the juniors. Landry swept all three First Level tests with her own Monte Carlo, a 10-year-old Clydesdale cross gelding, helping Team New Brunswick earn the discipline bronze, while Roy danced her way to a fifth, fourth and 10th with her horse Sam by Guert, a four-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding.

“I’ve worked really hard since last fall to improve my First Level and winning really shows what I’ve accomplished throughout the season,” said Landry, who has only been competing in dressage with Monte Carlo for the past two seasons. “The CIEC has been such a great experience and to anyone who’s thinking of trying out, I think it’s really worth it.”

“It’s been very special,” said 13-year-old Roy. “My horse has been amazing considering we haven’t been together very long. The team atmosphere was also really great. It really felt like we were a family.”

In jumping, Manitoba just couldn’t be caught, earning the discipline gold medal. Rebecca Adams of Winnipeg and her own Fynydd Ayr, a 14-year-old Welsh-Oldenburg cross gelding, earned a seventh, second and third in the three 1.10 metre classes to win gold in the seniors.

“It’s quite amazing,” said Adams, who is representing Manitoba for the second year in a row. “I came last year and it didn’t go so well, but this year I had my own horse and it went really, really well. Our team was small, only two people, so we did very well. It was a great experience competing against the other provinces.”

Teammate Brennan McCullagh of Stonewall, aboard Debi Ward’s D-Day, a 13-year-old Hanoverian mare, finished sixth, fifth and second to take silver in the juniors. Quebec’s Stephanie Bourassa of Laval and her own Whisper-O, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood, brought home the gold after finishing first in two of the classes and 11th in the third. Team Ontario took home the discipline silver with several riders finishing in the top 10.

“I’m really excited, it’s an honour to be champion,” said Bourassa, who has been partnered with Whisper-O since 2013. “It was so much fun and the team spirit was great. It was amazing getting to meet everyone.”

“Both Rebecca and Brennan worked really hard and were very consistent over the three days, and it’s the consistency that paid off,” said Mac McQuaker, Team Manitoba’s chef d’équipe and jumping coach. “We go to a lot of horse shows and that is much more about the individual riders and horses. This is the one chance for them to come together as a team and it’s really special. You don’t get this type of opportunity very often, so it’s nice to be able to come here as part of a team.”

The overall final CIEC team standings were as follows:

Place/Team/Jumping/Dressage/Reining/Total
1 Quebec/60/65/75/200.000
2 Ontario/63/68/36/167.000
3 Nova Scotia/57/30/45/132.000
4 New Brunswick/17/63/25/105.000
5 Saskatchewan/14/47/36/97.000
6 Alberta/23/13/54/90.000
7 Manitoba/71/0/0/71.000
8 Newfoundland and Labrador/0/13/0 /3.000