Welcome to the Lima Lowdown! To introduce myself, I’m Jessie Christie, the Media Attaché for the Canadian Equestrian Team in Lima. I’m proud and honoured to be part of the ‘team behind the team’ – and each day of the Games, I’ll be bringing you exclusive stories and photos from our Canadian athletes, grooms, owners, and team personnel here in Lima.
Well, the equestrian portion of Lima 2019 is in the history books. So, for the final Lima Lowdown, I thought it would be fitting put a bow on this amazing two weeks of sport by looking back at some of the most memorable moments.
Athletes, grooms, owners, support staff (both onsite and at the EC office), Chefs d’Équipe, coaches, Canadian Olympic Committee, Sport Canada, Own The Podium and FEI staff, sponsors, supporters, friends, family, fans…. The list goes on. And when all of these various groups and people come together in a common goal, amazing things happen.
And let’s not forget the incredible Lima 2019 staff – every single person, from the sport and media office staff to the ring crew was eternally friendly and willing to bend over backwards to help anyone with anything, any time. I also have to say that the equestrian venue was one of the most spotless I’ve ever seen. Not a single leaf went unraked or speck of dirt unswept the entire time I was there!
Under these circumstances and within this atmosphere, it’s no wonder the CET had such impressive results across the board. So, to wrap things up, let’s took a look back through some of the highlights through the beautiful work of CET photographer, Cealy Tetley.
Golden Girls
Canadian Dressage Team members, Jill Irving, Tina Irwin, Lindsay Kellock, and Naima Moreira Laliberté brought home gold for Canada for the first time in 28 years!
Tina Irwin returned to the podium for more hardware after a beautiful Freestyle performance with Laurencio.
The Canadian Eventing Team (Karl Slezak, Colleen Loach, Jessica Phoenix and Dana Cooke), went up against what many called the toughest cross-country course in Pan Am history to take the bronze medal!
Jessica Phoenix competed in her third consecutive Pan Am Games with Pavarotti – with a 3 for 3 medal record, no less.
The Canadian Show Jumping Team reached their goal of earning Canada’s qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Here they celebrate the occasion. (L to R Erynn Ballard, Mario Deslauriers, Nicole Walker, Mark Laskin, Lisa Carlsen, Beth Underhill, Karen Hendry-Ouellette.
Nicole Walker – the youngest teammate at 26 – was masterful in the challenging show jumping individual final – taking on a four-way jump-off for bronze that included American legend, Beezie Madden and coming *this close* to the podium with a hard-fought fourth.
And with that, the Lima Lowdown is officially closed out. Stay tuned for the #RideToToyko!