It’s raining for real too, but I don’t want to whine about the weather any more so I’ll talk about the men instead. I know I’ve said this before, but every time I go to an event the first thing that strikes me in great contrast to dressage is the extraordinary number of men hanging about – nice fit, smiling specimens too, most of them. Another thing that never fails to surprise me every time I attend a big three day is that the horses not only jump this stuff, they make it look like fun. When I walked the three star CCI course yesterday, I thought it looked bigger and tougher than last year’s, and my impression was confirmed by Will Coleman ( currently in the lead after xc), who said he thought this is more of a three and a half star course.
Considering how much rain it’s endured, the footing has held up remarkably well, a credit to the ongoing work the crew here at Bromont do year after year, and all the extra effort made before the event each time around. By far the strongest results overall today have been in the toughest division, the CCI3*. I won’t rehash those because you can look at the results for yourself. Busiest of all in that division was Selena O’H, who rode three horses. The turnaround was so fast she had only half an hour between crossing the finish line with one and leaving the start box with the next. I was very impressed with her last horse, a big blazed chestnut called Bellaney Rock who looked like he would and could jump anything she pointed him at. I took some video of her over the last two fences. Selena is very vocally appreciative of her horses, which I find adorable. Here is the video – it’s not stellar because I took it with my little Canon still camera and because it was raining (but I’m not complaining!).
Another heart warming Canuck performance came from Kyle and Parker, who grabbed just a few time penalties and are sitting third in the CCI3*. Here’s a snap of them jumping into the second water, Parker as always with that ‘where’s the next one?’ look on his face.
Jessica Phoenix and Pavarotti looked like rock stars on the CIC3* course. I saw them at just a couple of fences but ‘confident’ is definitely how I would describe the horse’s expression and style. They picked up some time penalties, but this was Pavarotti’s three star debut, and I expect it was always the plan to just have a great go and not worry too much about the time. Here they are getting a bridle adjustment from Canada’s new Eventing HP TA Clayton Fredericks. Note the lack of a noseband, for a truly unique look out there on course.
