Aug. 3, 2019, Lima, PER – Despite a challenging cross-country day that saw just 59.5 per cent of athletes complete the course, all four Canadian Eventing Team athletes, Dana Cooke, Colleen Loach, Jessica Phoenix and Karl Slezak, crossed the finish line to put Canada in third place heading into the final jumping phase for the sport of eventing on Aug. 4 at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games in Peru.
The pressure was high and expectations huge for the penultimate cross-country phase, as just two Tokyo 2020 qualifications are on the table, and 10 teams are vying for them – since none of the Pan Am countries have yet to secure eventing team berths.
The Canadian Eventing Team athletes completed all 26 obstacles spread over 4.5 kilometres of winding track between the start box and the finish line on a combined team total of 183.7 penalties. The United States holds their lead from the initial dressage phase on Aug. 2 on a score of 91.2 while Brazil swapped spots with Canada, taking over second with 117.7.
Canada’s highest-standing individual is Phoenix on a provisional fifth place with a two-phase total of 37.0 penalties aboard Pavarotti. Americans hold the top two spots, and were the only two horse-rider combinations out of 42 to go double-clear on cross-country. Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg are leading on their dressage score of 25.6. Lynn Symansky and RF Cool Play are second on 29.2, and Brazil’s Carlos Parro and Quaikin Qurious sit third with 34.9.
Jessica Phoenix and Pavarotti
Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley – www.tetleyphoto.com
Phoenix, who hails from Cannington, ON, will be going for a third consecutive Pan Am medal performance with Pavarotti (Pavarotti van de Helle x Foxiland), looking to add to her haul of individual silver and team bronze from 2015 in Toronto and individual gold and team silver from Guadalajara, MEX in 2011. She’ll be riding high into the final phase after adding no jumping and just 9.6 time penalties on cross-country to her dressage score of 27.4.
“I am so incredibly proud of that horse,” said Phoenix, who at 35 years old has made two Olympic, four Pan Am (including Lima) and three World Equestrian Games appearances, five of them aboard Pavarotti, a 17-year-old Westphalian gelding. “The course was exceptionally hard today. It was definitely one of the most challenging Pan Am courses I’ve ever had.”
Referring to the many options on course that forced riders to choose between a riskier, yet shorter route, or a longer, safer one, she explained, “My plan was just to go out and make sure we had a clear jumping round, but I got out there and he was just so relaxed and at home that I thought, ‘We’re doing it, we’re going straight everywhere.’”
“It’s hard to imagine that a horse and rider combination can be so competitive through three cycles of Pan American Games,” said Canadian Eventing Team Chef d’Équipe, Rob Stevenson. “To be fifth and in medal contention going into the last day is outstanding.”
The next Canadian on the individual scoreboard is Slezak, who is sitting 13th with Fernhill Wishes (Chacoa x Gildawn Diamond). Despite attending his first-ever major games, the 37-year-old Tottenham, ON native was the pathfinder for Canada, instilling confidence in the whole team after he completed the course that saw 16 athletes face elimination and one retire. In fact, just six of the 10 teams could record a team score, based on the requirement that at least three team members complete each phase.
Karl Slezak and Fernhill Wishes
Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley – www.tetleyphoto.com
Slezak and the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding he co-owns with Kirk Hoppner were working on a foot-perfect jumping performance all the way up to obstacle 23, which was situated on a hill that required an immediate steep descent before forcing a choice between two options for the ‘b’ element – a sharp turn at the foot of the hill or a more time consuming path.
“I committed to making the short turn (for the ‘b’ element), but he almost slipped, and I couldn’t make the turn,” explained Slezak, who picked up 20 jumping penalties for the mishap at 23b, and added 11.2 time penalties for a two-phase total of 58.9. “But, then he was back on it. He felt great at the end and felt like he had lots of run in him still.”
Colleen Loach and FE Golden Eye
Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley – www.tetleyphoto.com
Loach, 36, of Dunham, QC, is next for Canada in 20th place. Riding FE Golden Eye, co-owned with Amanda Bernhard, she received Canada’s best score in the dressage phase (26.2) – but a refusal on cross-country proved costly for both jumping and time penalties, bringing her two-phase total to 87.8 with the Hanoverian gelding (Goldfever x Contendro I), who is among the youngest horses in the competition at seven years old.
“He got a little bit backed off by the crowds and the twisty course and was a little sticky through the first water, then I think that caught up with us at the second water,” said Loach, who originally chose the faster option for the fishing boat-inspired ‘a’ element of the water complex, but re-routed to the less intimidating option after a refusal. “He was very good overall, he just got a little bit green out there.”
Cooke also encountered a few challenges in the middle portion of cross-country aboard Mississippi (Cassini II x Legaat), a nine-year-old Württemberger mare owned by the FE Mississippi Syndicate LLC. The duo incurred jumping penalties at two obstacles, which also led to time penalties, but finished the course strong to head into the jumping phase in 23rd place (110.4).
“There’s a lot to do out there, it rides really tough,” said the 31-year-old from Merritt, BC. “(Overall), she was brave and bold, and jumping great, so we just kept going and got home. That’s the biggest part, you have to get home for the team.”
Dana Cooke and Mississippi
Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley – www.tetleyphoto.com
After a final horse inspection, the Canadian Eventing Team will get back in action for the jumping phase on Aug. 4, where both the team and individual medals will be handed out to those with the lowest cumulative scores across all three phases.
Speaking to Canada’s podium chances, Stevenson stated, “Tomorrow is certainly another day, but the gap currently after day two is more than we would like to have seen. I think, reasonably, we could contest for the silver medal tomorrow, and we could still win a bronze medal. A medal of any colour at a Pan American Games is nothing to ever refute; it’s wonderful, and we’re thankful for that chance.”
“We came here knowing that the American team was very strong and that Brazil was going to be competitive, and they showed their competitiveness here today, even though they lost one of their horse-rider combinations to elimination,” continued Stevenson, speaking to the unfortunate rotational fall by Ruy Fonseca and Ballypatrick SRS. Fonseca’s horse is unhurt, but he suffered a broken humerus and ribs. With just three athletes moving forward to the jumping phase, Brazil will not have the advantage of a drop score.
For more information on equestrian events at the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games, including the full schedule of equestrian competition, entries and results, please visit www.lima2019.pe/en. Live scoring for equestrian can be found here.
To follow the CET’s #RideToLima through results coverage, behind-the-scenes content and breaking news, visit www.equestrian.ca/events-results/games/ridetolima and be sure to check out EC’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for unique content, including a daily photo album.
– 30 –