Burgeoning Canadian Talent Showcased at Ottawa Dressage Festival

Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Saint Bruno, QC led the Canadians on the big tour leaderboard at the CDI 3* Ottawa Dressage Festival, winning the Grand Prix Special and taking second in the Grand Prix aboard All In.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley

Megan Lane of Loretto, ON showed great promise in her new partnership with Deer Ridge Equestrian’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Zodiac MW (Rousseau x Amethist). The pair took the top spot in the CDI 3* Grand Prix on May 18 with a score of 70.696%, and tacked on a third-place finish in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special on May 20 with a score of 69.872%.

“I am very proud of Deer Ridge’s Zodiac,” said Lane. “I’m so thrilled with him – especially for having a second consecutive win within his first six months of competing at this level. My favourite part about him is that he loves to work and compete, so I couldn’t ask for a better trait in a competition horse.”

In the CDI 3* Grand Prix Freestyle on May 19, it was Jill Irving of Moncton, NB who emerged victorious. Riding Windhaven Farm’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Arthur (Jazz x Contango), she scored 70.450% for the win. Tina Irwin of Stouffville, ON followed in second place with a score of 67.700% on Laurencio (Laurentio x Donnerhall), the 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding she owns with her husband, Jaimey Irwin.

Other top-three finishers in the big tour included Diane Creech of Caistor Centre, ON, who placed second in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special on May 20 with 70.723% riding Diana C (Damsey x Brentano II), the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare she owns with Louise Leatherdale. Jaimey Irwin of Stouffville, ON nabbed third (70.543%) in the CDI 3* Grand Prix on May 18 riding Donegal V (Johnson x Gribaldi), a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Team Irwin Supporters Group.

In the small tour, Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON dominated the leaderboard, earning a hat trick on Carla Bahr’s up-and-coming nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Cyrus (Contucci x Cor Noir). The talented pair saw a steady improvement in their scores, starting with the CDI 1* Prix St. Georges on May 18 (71.078%), followed by the CDI 1* Intermediate on May 19 (73.039%), and ending on a high note with a score of 75.875% in the CDI 1* Intermediate I Freestyle on May 20.

Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON swept the small tour, earning wins in all three classes aboard Cyrus, and two second place finishes with Ribot.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley

Dvorak rode another Oldenburg gelding owned by Carla Bahr, 16-year-old Ribot (Reno x Cor Noir), to follow in second place in both the CDI 1* Prix St. Georges (71.029%) and the CDI 1* Intermediate I (71.863%).

“I’m so proud of both the boys,” said Dvorak of his one-two punch. “Ribot did really well, and to top that with Cyrus was amazing. To be neck-and-neck (with two of your horses), those days don’t come around often, so I’m really enjoying it.”

Lori Bell of Beaverton, ON followed Dvorak in the CDI 1* Intermediate I Freestyle, taking second with Flirt (Florencio x Donnerhall), her 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding. The duo’s score of 74.042% was a personal best, as was their third-place score of 71.618% in the CDI 1* Intermediate I.

In addition to her big tour success, Fraser-Beaulieu rode strongly in the small tour, where she finished third in the CDI 1* Intermediate I Freestyle with a score of 73.083%, this time aboard Soccer City (Sir Donnerhall x Weltmeyer), an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Jill Irving and Windhaven Farm.

Jaimey Irwin also secured solid results at both the big and small tour level. In the CDI 1* Prix St. Georges, he earned third place on a score of 70.196% aboard Ute Busse and Patricia Scherrer’s 10-year-old Oldenburg mare, Stiletto (San Amour I x Rosenkavalier).

Canadian Olympian Christilot Boylen of Loretto, ON also saw success at the Ottawa Dressage Festival. Riding her up-and-coming partner, Rockylane (Rock Forever x Rombach), an 11-year-old Westphalian mare, her highlight came in the CDI 1* Intermediate B, where she won on a score of 67.083%.

Representing the maple leaf in the Under 25 (U25) division, Tanya Strasser-Shostak of Sainte-Adèle, QC took first place in the CDI-U25 Grand Prix Freestyle on May 20. Aboard Renaissance Tyme (Royal Diamond x Dream of Heidelberg I), a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Evi Strasser, she was awarded a score of 66.917% for the win.

In the Young Rider division, Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON stole the show in her first CDI appearance with new mount, Harley L (His Highness 2 x Expri), a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Diane Creech and Louise Leatherdale. The fledgling partnership banked two wins – the CDI-Y Team Test on May 18 (69.314%) and the CDI-Y Freestyle on May 20 (73.292%).

“We’re still getting to know each other in the ring, so I’m proud of how he handled it,” said Creech-Terauds of Harley L’s performance. “It’s a lot more pressure going into a CDI ring, and the judging is a little bit harder, too, so I’m extremely happy with how we went. We haven’t been together that long, so I’m happy with the progress that we’ve made – we’re really growing up together.”

Allison Youngdale of Aurora, ON won the CDI-Y Individual, riding her 11-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, Ramiro (Blue Hors Don Romantic x Rambo), to a score of 67.598%. They also placed third in the CDI-Y Freestyle with 68.750%.

Ava MacCoubrey of Cobourg, ON and Ritter Benno (Rolls Royce x Weinberg), Nicholas Hansen’s 17-year-old Westphalian gelding, swept second place in all three CDI-Y classes, scoring 67.304% and 71.833%, respectively in the Team and Individual classes before finishing on a score of 71.833% in the Freestyle. They were joined on the leaderboard by Yanina Woywitka of Merrickville, ON, who placed third in the Team (66.275%) and Individual (66.814%) riding R’Myattack (Rheirattack x Wanderbursh II), an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Susanne Dutt-Roth.

Junior Rider, Molly Gunyon of Hudson, QC wrapped up the festival on May 20 with a win in the CDI-J Freestyle. She scored 66.500% on Weltwunder (Waikiki x Wittinger), her 17-year-old Hanoverian mare.

The Ottawa Dressage Festival was supported by Sport Canada. For more information on the competition, visit www.nationalcapitaldressage.ca. For full results, click here.

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Top 10 Canadian Results – CDI Ottawa

FEI CDI 3* Grand Prix
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Megan Lane / Zodiac MW / Deer Ridge Equestrian / 70.696%
2nd / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu / All In / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, Craig Fraser & Marc-Andre Beaulieu / 70.652%
3rd / Jaimey Irwin / Donegal V / Team Irwin Supporters Group / 70.543%
4th / Megan Lane / Caravella / Megan, Cathy & Kelsey Lane / 70.087%
5th / Belinda Trussell / Tattoo 15 / Belinda Trussell / 69.609%
6th / Jill Irving / Degas 12 / Jill Irving & Windhaven Farm / 68.261%
7th / Elizabeth Steacie / Callahan / Elizabeth Steacie & Deborah Dudgeon / 67.022%
8th / Jacqueline Brooks / D Niro / Mary Brooks & Brookhaven Dressage Inc. / 66.348%
9th / Evi Strasser / Disney Tyme / Evi Strasser / 66.217%
10th / Diane Creech / Diana C / Diane Creech & Louise Leatherdale / 65.870%

FEI CDI 3* Grand Prix Special
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu / All In / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, Craig Fraser & Marc-Andre Beaulieu / 72.319%
2nd / Diane Creech / Diana C / Diane Creech & Louise Leatherdale / 70.723%
3rd / Megan Lane / Zodiac MW / Deer Ridge Equestrian / 69.872%
4th / Jaimey Irwin / Donegal V / Team Irwin Supporters Group / 69.383%
5th / Elizabeth Steacie / Callahan / Elizabeth Steacie & Deborah Dudgeon / 67.128%
6th / Belinda Trussell / Tattoo 15 / Belinda Trussell / 66.319%
7th / Evi Strasser / Disney Tyme / Evi Strasser / 65.426%
8th / Melanie Thomson / Donnegan / Karen Thomson / 62.766%

FEI CDI 3* Grand Prix Freestyle
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Jill Irving / Arthur / Windhaven Farm / 70.450%
2nd / Tina Irwin / Laurencio / Tina & Jaimey Irwin / 67.700%
4th / Simone Williams / Farley / Simone, Margaret & Bob Williams / 65.650%

FEI CDI 1* Prix St. Georges
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Tom Dvorak / Cyrus / Carla Bahr / 71.078%
2nd / Tom Dvorak / Ribot / Carla Bahr / 71.029%
3rd / Jaimey Irwin / Stiletto / Ute Busse & Patricia Scherrer / 70.196%
4th / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu / Soccer City / Jill Irving & Windhaven Farm / 68.775%
5th / Lori Bell / Flirt / Lori Bell / 67.353%
7th / Chris Sanders / Lyric / Chris Sanders / 65.931%
8th / Maya Markowski / Daedalus / Gail Tittley / 63.382%

FEI CDI 1* Intermediate I
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Tom Dvorak / Cyrus / Carla Bahr / 73.039%
2nd / Tom Dvorak / Ribot / Carla Bahr / 71.863%
3rd / Lori Bell / Flirt / Lori Bell / 71.618%
4th / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu / Soccer City / Jill Irving & Windhaven Farm / 69.608%
5th / Chris Sanders / Lyric / Chris Sanders / 68.235%
6th / Jaimey Irwin / Stiletto / Ute Busse & Patricia Scherrer / 67.843%
7th / Maya Markowski / Daedalus / Gail Tittley / 66.127%

FEI CDI 1* Intermediate I Freestyle
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Tom Dvorak / Cyrus / Carla Bahr / 75.875%
2nd / Lori Bell / Flirt / Lori Bell / 74.042%
3rd / Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu / Soccer City / Jill Irving & Windhaven Farm / 73.083%
4th / Jaimey Irwin / Stiletto / Ute Busse & Patricia Scherrer / 71.833%
5th / Maya Markowski / Daedalus / Gail Tittley / 69.417%
8th / Chris Sanders / Lyric / Chris Sanders / 66.542%
10th / Caroline George / Tundra / Caroline George / 60.750%

FEI CDI 1* Intermediate A
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Christilot Boylen / Rockylane / Christilot Boylen / 65.490%

FEI CDI 1* Intermediate B
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Christilot Boylen / Rockylane / Christilot Boylen / 67.083%

FEI CDI-U25 Grand Prix
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Tanya Strasser-Shostak / Renaissance Tyme / Evi Strasser / 64.060%

FEI CDI-U25 Grand Prix Freestyle
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Tanya Strasser-Shostak / Renaissance Tyme / Evi Strasser / 66.917%

FEI CDI-U25 Intermediate I
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Tanya Strasser-Shostak / Renaissance Tyme / Evi Strasser / 64.559%

FEI CDI-Y Young Rider Team
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Vanessa Creech-Terauds / Harley L / Diane Creech & Louise Leatherdale / 69.314%
2nd / Ava MacCoubrey / Ritter Benno / Nicholas Hansen / 67.304%
3rd / Yanina Woywitka / R’Myattack / Susanne Dutt-Roth / 66.275%
4th / Allison Youngdale/ Ramiro / Allison Youngdale / 65.098%
5th / Allison Youngdale / RF Cosima 201 / Allison Youngdale / 63.529%

FEI CDI-Y Young Rider Individual
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Allison Youngdale / Ramiro / Allison Youngdale / 67.598%
2nd / Ava MacCoubrey / Ritter Benno / Nicholas Hansen / 67.206%
3rd / Yanina Woywitka / R’Myattack / Susanne Dutt-Roth / 66.814%
4th / Allison Youngdale / RF Cosima 201 / Allison Youngdale / 64.657%
5th / Vanessa Creech-Terauds / Harley L / Diane Creech & Louise Leatherdale / 63.186%

FEI CDI-Y Young Rider Freestyle
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Vanessa Creech-Terauds / Harley L / Diane Creech & Louise Leatherdale / 73.292%
2nd / Ava MacCoubrey / Ritter Benno / Nicholas Hansen / 71.833%
3rd / Allison Youngdale / Ramiro / Allison Youngdale / 68.750%
4th / Yanina Woywitka / R’Myattack / Susanne Dutt-Roth / 67.417%

FEI CDI-J Junior Rider Team
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Gabrielle Bouchard / Dalanda / Gabrielle Bouchard / 63.788%
2nd / Molly Gunyon / Weltwunder / Molly Gunyon / 63.081%
3rd / Katherine Bell / Perpetual Motion / Elisabeth Preston / 61.364 %
4th / Devlin Abergel-Preston / Wake Up / Elisabeth Preston / 56.111%

FEI CDI-J Junior Rider Individual
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Molly Gunyon / Weltwunder / Molly Gunyon / 64.657%
2nd / Devlin Abergel-Preston / Wake Up / Elisabeth Preston / 62.157%
3rd / Gabrielle Bouchard / Dalanda / Gabrielle Bouchard / 61.078%

FEI CDI-J Junior Rider Freestyle
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
1st / Molly Gunyon / Weltwunder / Molly Gunyon / 66.500%
2nd / Gabrielle Bouchard / Dalanda / Gabrielle Bouchard / 63.583%
3rd / Devlin Abergel-Preston / Wake Up / Elisabeth Preston / 56.708%