The Canadian Dressage Team earned the silver medal at the Nations Cup CDIO 3*, held March 11-12, 2020, during the 10th week of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL.
L to R: Christine Peters, Lindsay Kellock, Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, Naima Moreira Laliberté, Megan Lane
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
The Canadian Dressage Team for the Nations Cup CDIO 3*, presented by Stillpoint Farm, was comprised of Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Saint-Bruno, QC; Lindsay Kellock of Wellington, FL; Megan Lane of Loretto, ON; and Naima Moreira Laliberté of Outremont, QC.
Fraser-Beaulieu and All In (Tango x Damiro) set Canada’s competitive tone with back-to-back third place finishes. The pair, who have been the highest placed Canadian combination on the annual FEI Dressage World Ranking for the past three years, scored 72.435% in March 11’s Grand Prix before returning the next day for the Grand Prix Special. There, Fraser-Beaulieu and the 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that she co-owns with her father, Craig Fraser, and husband, Marc-Andre Beaulieu, impressed the judges to the tune of 73.489%.
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Saint-Bruno, QC, and All In.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
“We all wanted to just ride a clean test,” said Fraser-Beaulieu of the Canadian Dressage Team’s efforts. “We thought that to beat America we needed to have a little bit more power than normal, which we all tried to do. I think it was a very special Nations Cup team; a lot of us are very good friends and we really tried hard.”
Kellock, whose Nations Cup debut in 2019 resulted in a team silver medal, partnered with Sebastien (Sandro Hit x Fidermark) for the 2020 edition. She and 14-year-old Rheinlander gelding that she co-owns with Enterprise Farm, LLC, lived up to expectations, first scoring 70.500% in the Grand Prix and then following up with 69.915% in the Grand Prix Special to place fourth and sixth, respectively.
Kellock’s Lima 2019 Pan American Games teammate, Moreira Laliberté, also contributed high scores to Canada’s total. Her expressive rides on Statesman (Sandro Hit x Brentano II), a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by KML Inc., were recognized by the judges with two sixth place finishes after scoring 69.283% in the Grand Prix and 71.021% in the Grand Prix Special.
Lane put in notable performances aboard Deer Ridge Equestrian’s Zodiac MW (Rousseau x Amethist), the 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding with whom she attended the Tryon 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. With three team medals previously to her name (2018 silver; 2017 silver; 2016 bronze), Lane is no stranger to the Nations Cup format and brought her experience to bear for fifth place in the Grand Prix (69.674%) and ninth in the Grand Prix Special (69.425%).
“I could not be more proud of this young team of dedicated athletes,” said Chef d’Équipe Christine Peters, Equestrian Canada’s Senior Manager Dressage, Olympic/Paralympic Program. “The commitment they showed to the team and the sport is very inspirational. I am very excited to see what the future holds after the strong performance here in Wellington.”
Team Canada’s total came to 436.034 to earn the third consecutive team silver medal for the maple leaf in Nations Cup CDIO 3* competition. The gold medal went to Team USA, who sat within striking distance on a final score of 439.992. Team Denmark collected the bronze on a total of 424.501.
Canada’s Under 25 (U25) athletes also earned a spot on the podium at the Nations Cup CDIO-U25, presented by Diamante Farms, on March 11. Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON, Camille Carier Bergeron of Mascouche, QC, and Laurence Blais Tétreault of Montreal, QC, took on the CDIO-U25 Intermediate II test to land one after another on the leaderboard and bring home the bronze medal for Canada.
Team Canada earned the bronze medal in the Nations Cup CDIO-U25 at AGDF 10.
L to R: Camille Carier Bergeron of Mascouche, QC; Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON; Laurence Blais Tétreault of Montreal, QC
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
Creech-Terauds was first in the ring riding Hallmark 3 (His Highness x Lancier), who is co-owned by Diane Creech and Louise Leatherdale. She and the16-year-old Hanoverian gelding posted a score of 67.147% to capture seventh place.
“It was a really great, fun team experience,” said Creech-Terauds, who also won the U25 team bronze medal in 2019. “We’re all really good friends and everybody came out, watched each other ride and supported each other. It’s really nice to be able to have the pressure of a Nations Cup but also know that you have the support of your friends behind you cheering you on.”
Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON, and Hallmark 3.
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
Carier Bergeron came right behind Creech-Terauds in eighth place. She and Acoeur (Acordelli x Ricardo), Gilles Bergeron’s 13-year-old Baden-Württemberg gelding, gave it their all to earn 66.853% from the judges. In ninth place was Carier Bergeron’s 2019 silver medal teammate, Blais Tétreault. She scored 66.000% riding Utah (Jazz x Landwind II B), Mathilde Blais Tétreault’s 19-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding.
Team Canada’s final score was 134.000 for the bronze medal. Gold went to Team USA Stars and Stripes with a final score of 139.559, while Team USA Star Spangled ended on a score of 137.911 for the silver medal.
“I thought the riders did an excellent job,” said Wendy Christoff of Delta, BC, who acted as Chef d’Équipe for Canada’s youth athletes. “They were very workmanlike, went in there and rode their tests and if things went wrong, they fixed it, kept on going and worked for the team.”
With the team medals now decided, athletes have moved forward to challenge the Freestyles for individual honours on March 13.
For more information on the Nations Cup and full results, visit http://gdf.coth.com.
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