Greetings from cross country day at Bromont, where the sun is shining and there is nary a cloud to be found in the sky. The forecast is for warm but not hot weather today, which is good news for the 145 or so horses and riders that will exert themselves more in ten minutes than most of us do in a week.
Not only is Bromont a gorgeous, heavenly place to hang out and watch horse sport, but the vibe here is just unbeatable. I saw Jacquie Brooks yesterday, who is here because she’s been lending some dressage expertise to the Canadian eventing team. I also saw Craig Collins, who is here to get a bit more intimate with the discipline in his preparations for hosting the Pan Am Games. Both of them agreed that the energy of this event is like nothing you find at a show jumping or dressage show. I might make a few new enemies by saying this but that’s never stopped me before. Being here makes me never want to attend another dressage show. I’ve been smiled at and said hello to by more strangers than Pamela Anderson wearing a bikini in the centre of Rome. And there is a perfect balance of estrogen and testosterone here. I have been known to gush about eventers being the most fun people in the equestrian world, but Bromont has pushed the bar even a little higher for me.
I didn’t get to watch too much of the dressage yesterday, but the live results pretty much tell the story. The calibre was impressively high, particularly in the CIC3*, where most of American and Canadian Olympic hopefuls are competing. A few of the Americans seem to have come to Bromont just to show the selectors their dressage is better than it was at Rolex. Several of them are not running the cross country at all. The Canucks didn’t blaze a path to the top of the leaderboard yesterday, but most disappointed is probably Rebecca Howard, who dealt with a rather spooky Rupert in her test. I’m sure she is very keen to get on course today.
Volvo is the title sponsor at Bromont this year, so their cute little cross overs are everywhere, including the dressage arenas, where they have been used as judges’ booths.
I must head out on course to watch the action soon, and you may not hear from me again later today but I’ll be back tomorrow! If you crave more on the action at Bromont, check out the extensive coverage, including videos and interviews, on Horse Junkies United and Eventing Nation.
David O'C chats with Linda Zang, who has been giving some dressage coaching to several Americans, including David's wife Karen
Danica Moore (BC native) gets a post-dressage debriefing from the DOC
