Cooke and FE Mississippi set to compete for Team Canada after Colleen Loach and Vermont withdraw from Pratoni 2022

Ottawa, ON, August 30, 2022 – Colleen Loach of Dunham, QC, and Equestrian Canada (EC) have made the difficult decision to withdraw Vermont (Van Helsing x Heraldik XX) from the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Championships for Eventing being hosted in Pratoni, ITA from September 15 – 25, 2022.

The 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding, owned by Peter Barry, sustained a minor injury during his preparation. With the best interest of Vermont’s health, Loach and her team decided at this time to step down and not travel to Italy to prepare and compete at the championships.

“It’s always sad to see a team member withdraw from representing Canada, but we always have to take horse welfare into account, and this is in the best interest of Vermont” said EC’s High Performance Director James Hood. He added “we would like to thank Colleen and Peter for their ongoing support of our national team programs, and we wish Vermont a speedy recovery.”

Following the withdrawal of Vermont and Colleen, the Eventing selection panel convened to review which of the non-traveling reserves would be added to the team. Being added to Team Canada will be Dana Cooke, originally from Merritt, BC, and now residing in Mooresville, NC, and FE Mississippi (Cassini II x Legaat) a German Sport Horse mare known as “Miss Perfect”. Dana rides out of the Kingfisher Park in Mooresville, NC as part of Team Hele.

“We are excited to be able to add Dana and FE Mississippi as they are great combination to include in the squad both for this Worlds, but also as they build their skills and experience as part of our road to the Paris Olympic Games in 2024” added Hood. The team members start to assemble in Italy over the next week in final preparation for Pratoni.

For media inquiries contact EC Director, Marketing and Communications, Melanie McLearon, mmclearon@equestrian.ca.