Canadian Eventing Team Takes Second in FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ at Great Meadow International
Ottawa, ON, July 10, 2018 – The Canadian Eventing Team pulled off a three-peat, earning second place for the third consecutive year in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™, presented by Adequan®, held at the Brook Ledge Great Meadow International in The Plains, VA from July 6-8, 2018.
Launched in 2016, the CICO 3* FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Great Meadow International brings together top international athletes competing for their country in a team format, and is the only FEI Eventing Nations Cup hosted in North America.
For the 2018 edition, the Canadian Eventing Team was represented by Shelby Brost of Red Deer, AB and Crimson, Lisa Marie Fergusson of Vancouver, BC with Honor Me, Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON aboard Bogue Sound and Waylon Roberts, a Port Perry, ON native currently residing in West Grove, PA, partnered with Kelecyn Cognac.
The Team was in third place on a combined score of 126.9 after day one on July 7, which featured the dressage in the morning and show jumping in the evening. However, after impressive cross-country performances on July 8, they moved up to second place on a total score of 148.7. Great Britain took top honours on a score of 138.5, while the United States was third with 157.5. The individual honours went to American William Coleman aboard Off The Record, who finished on his dressage score of 35.1 penalties.
“As the Chef d’Équipe for the team, I love the Great Meadow International Nations Cup,” said Dr. Rob Stevenson, a Canadian Olympian in eventing, and the current High Performance Advisory Group Chair for the EC Eventing Committee. “It’s a great experience for the horses and the riders, and our team produced a great result again this year. The team’s performance once again highlighted our riders’ abilities to ride clean cross-country rounds. We achieved the target score we had set in advance of the competition, and as a result of this, finished second in a hotly contested competition.”
Fergusson and Honor Me, her 12-year-old Welsh Sport Horse gelding sired by Brynarian Brenin, proved to be the top combination on the team. They began with a score of 37.9 penalties for 36th place in dressage, and moved to 38th after incurring two rails in show jumping later that evening. However, a perfect double-clear in the final cross-country phase the next day shot them up the leaderboard into eighth place on a final score of 45.9.
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Lisa Marie Fergusson of Vancouver, BC led the Canadian Eventing Team to a second place finish in the CICO 3* FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Great Meadow International aboard Honor Me. |
Phoenix wasn’t far behind with her team competition partner, Bogue Sound, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Amara Hoppner and sired by Crafty Shaw. The duo were in 32nd place after a dressage score of 36.9, and moved down to 41st following 12 jumping and two time faults in the show jumping round. However, they moved up an incredible 29 spots to finish in 12th overall after a foot-perfect cross-country performance over the 24 obstacles and 33 jumping efforts set by FEI 3* Course Designer, Michael Etherington-Smith (GBR).
“We have such a great group of people in our riders, owners and support staff,” Phoenix commented about her experience with the Canadian Eventing Team at Great Meadow International. “It is truly an honour to be able to compete for your country alongside these wonderful people.”
Phoenix was also one of numerous athletes to compete with two horses at the Great Meadow International. Riding as an individual, she piloted her veteran partner, Pavarotti (Pavarotti van de Helle x Foxiland), a 16-year-old Westphalian gelding, to an impressive third place finish.
“I was incredibly happy with both Pavarotti and Bogue Sound’s performances,” said Phoenix. “It’s such a joy to ride horses that love the sport as much as I do. Pavarotti felt his absolute best in all three phases.”
Phoenix and Pavarotti first secured third place on the leaderboard on an impressive dressage score of 29.5. They dipped down temporarily to fourth place after adding a single time fault in show jumping. However, a solid cross-country performance with zero jumping and just 5.2 time penalties for going slightly over the optimum time of six minutes and 34 seconds brought them back up to third place overall on a total score of 36.7.
The next placed team member was Roberts riding Kelecyn Cognac, Anthony Connolly and Skye Levely’s 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. The duo took 15th overall with their highlight coming in the cross-country phase, where they incurred no jumping and just 6.4 time penalties for a total of 51.9.
“Competing in a nations cup is a rare opportunity,” said Roberts, who along with Phoenix and Fergusson, was also on Canada’s team in 2017. “It is always nice when we can get a big group of us together. It brings everyone together and we work well as a unit. It’s a really good learning experience for everyone.”
Like Phoenix, Roberts also competed as an individual with a second mount, Lancaster, an 11-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding owned by Michelle and John Koppin. Together, they cracked the top 10, finishing in eighth place on a final score of 44.7.
“I was ecstatic with the performances of both horses,” said Roberts. “Lancaster running clear on cross-country was a highlight. I just felt like he went out with a lot of confidence and came back a much better horse. For Kelecyn Cognac, it was his first time back since Kentucky. It was a good outing for him to be back in the ring and over the show jumps. We didn’t have the greatest results on paper, but we hit the nail on the head with a clear in cross-country.”
Great Meadow marked the senior Canadian Eventing Team debut for Brost, who is just 20 years old. Riding her individual gold medal partner from the 2016 FEI North American Youth Championships, Brost was unfortunately eliminated on cross-country, but contributed stellar dressage and show jumping performances. With a score of 35.5, Brost was the team’s highest finisher in dressage, and the only team member to lay down a clear performance in show jumping, putting her temporarily in 14th place at the end of the two phases.
The Canadian Eventing Team took second place for the third consecutive year at the prestigious CICO 3* FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Great Meadow International.
L to R: Waylon Roberts, Dr. Rob Stevenson, Shelby Brost, Jessica Phoenix, Lisa Marie Fergusson.
Photo Credit: Shannon Brinkman
Phoenix agreed, stating, “Having a nations cup in North America is extremely important for us. It gives us an opportunity to prepare as a team for major championships and perfect our competitiveness. We have such a great group of people in our riders, owners and support staff. It is truly an honour to be able to compete for your country alongside these wonderful people.”
Dr. Stevenson concluded, “We greatly appreciate the support of owners, grooms, families, David O’Connor, Team Vet Dr. Jan Hendriksen, Vet Therapist, Dr. Usha Knabe, EC Eventing Manager Fleur Tipton, and Equestrian Canada for their support. As well, we acknowledge the generous support of clothing sponsor, Noel Asmar Equestrian.”
For more information and complete results from the CICO 3* Great Meadow International, visit www.greatmeadowinternational.com. More information on the FEI Nations’ Cup Eventing series can be found here.
Top 20 Canadian Results – CICO 3* Great Meadow International
*Denotes Canadian Eventing Team combination
Placing / Rider / Horse / Owner / Score
3rd / Jessica Phoenix / Pavarotti / Jessica Phoenix / 36.7
7th / Waylon Roberts / Lancaster / Michelle & John Koppin / 44.7
8th / Lisa Marie Fergusson* / Honor Me / Lisa Marie Fergusson / 45.9
12th / Jessica Phoenix* / Bogue Sound / Amara Hoppner / 50.9
15th / Waylon Roberts* / Kelecyn Cognac / Anthony Connolly & Skye Levely / 51.9
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