Erynn Ballard
To close out the final week of competition at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, Erynn Ballard of Tottenham, ON, claimed victory in the CSI 5* $1,000 Bainbridge 1.40m on March 27. She and Ilan Ferder’s nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Fellini S (Vermont x Rash R), stopped the jump-off clock clear in 26.57 seconds, edging out second-place finisher, American Adrienne Sternlicht’s time of 26.99 seconds.
Scarlett Hansen
Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle
Scarlett Hansen of Outremont, QC, triumphantly closed out her 2019 Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) experience by once again winning all of her CDI-P classes during the last week of the festival in Wellington, FL. Riding her 14-year-old gelding, Reve de Glatigny, she first topped the Team Competition with a score of 68.095% on March 29. Then, Hansen went on to win the Individual Competition on March 30 with 67.081%, and the following day’s Freestyle with 66.840% to build on an already stellar record.
Hansen then traveled to Tryon Spring Dressage I, presented by Adequan, in Mill Spring, NC. There, she and Reve de Glatigny added more wins to their resume with a score of 67.800% in the CDI-P Team Competition on April 19, followed by 69.027% in the CDI-P Individual Competition the next day. On April 21, Hansen changed things up a bit by winning the CDI-P Freestyle with a different horse, her 11-year-old Selle Français Pony gelding, Umour de Glatigny (Doppelspiel x Viersen K), on a score of 67.300%.
Jill Irving
Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle
Jill Irving of Moncton, NB, and Windhaven Farm’s 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Degas 12 (De Niro 6 x Regazzoni), returned to the AGDF 12 ring on March 28 to top the CDI 4* Grand Prix on a score of 69.935%. In the CDI 4* Grand Prix Special two days later, they nabbed first again with a score of 70.511%.
Ava MacCoubrey
Ava MacCoubrey of Coburg, ON, took top honours in March 29’s CDI-Y Team Competition during AGDF 12. She and Belissimo (Bernstein x Solos Carex), owned by Chris and Lisa von Martels, danced their way to a high score of 70.931% for the first win of the 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding’s FEI career.
Katherine Kana
Katherine Kana of Calgary, AB, leapt to victory in the CSI-Am competition in Balvanera, MEX, on March 31. Kana was the fastest of only five clear rounds from over 30 entries with the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding she co-owns with Jacobo Saaib, Armani G (Vancouver x Habsburg).
Eiren Crawford
Eiren Crawford of Rock View County, AB, sought out the sun at the Golden State Dressage CDI 3* in Sacramento, CA. There, she and her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Godot SSF (UB40 x Sir Sinclair) scored 73.435% for first place in the CDI 3* Intermediate I Freestyle on April 7.
Colleen Loach
Canadian Olympian Colleen Loach of Dunham, QC, scored her first FEI win with Peter Barry’s Vermont (Van Helsing x Heraldik XX) after the seven-year-old Hanoverian gelding debuted at the international level in 2018. The burgeoning partnership clinched the Fair Hill International Horse Trials CCI 2*-S, held April 19-21 in Elkton, MD, by finishing on their dressage score of 28.3 penalty points.
Naima Moreira Laliberté
Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle
Canada’s youth athletes continued to shine at Tryon Spring Dressage I with Naima Moreira Laliberté of Outremont, QC, earning a hat trick in the CDI-U25 division. Riding I Do Kiss (French Kiss x Donnerfly), a 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion owned by KML Sàrl, Laliberté kick-started the weekend on April 19 by winning the Intermediate II test with a score of 68.412%. Her scores rose from there, with a 71.205% in the Grand Prix 16-25 on April 20 and 72.810% in the Grand Prix Freestyle 16-25 on April 21.
Vanessa Creech-Terauds
Photo Credit: Lily Forado
Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON, earned an equally impressive set of wins in the Tryon Spring Dressage I CDI-Y division. She and Fleur de Lis L (First Dance x De Niro), a 10-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Diane Creech and Louise Leatherdale, earned a 71.147% in April 19’s Team Competition, a 72.029% in April 20’s Individual Competition, and rounded out the weekend with an impressive score of 73.825% in the Freestyle on April 21.