Eric Lamaze
Photo Credit: Starting Gate Communications
Seemingly against all odds, Eric Lamaze of Wellington, FL, won not just one, but two CSI 5* classes riding Chacco Kid at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ tournament in Calgary, AB. Hot off their victory in the $133,700 1.60m CANA Cup on Sept. 5, Lamaze and the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Chacco-Blue x Come On), owned by the Chacco Kid Group, returned to the international ring on Sept. 7, to repeat their winning ways.
The $133,700 Suncor Energy Winning Round is held in a format that sees the top 10 ranked riders following the opening round return for an all-deciding second round where the fastest clear wins. Lamaze had the advantage of going last in the order and knew exactly what he had to do to win. The 2008 Olympic Champion left nothing to chance and, in a breath-taking display of world-class show jumping skill, tackled the testing 1.50m track set by two-time Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela. As Lamaze sailed over the final fence and through the timers, the clock flashed 44.73 seconds, eclipsing the time of 46.62 seconds that had been set by Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca riding Limestone Grey. For the second time, victory belonged to Lamaze, who has been battling a brain tumor, and Chacco Kid at the CSIO 5* Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ tournament.
Lee Garrod
Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle
Canadian Lee Garrod of Kensington, NH, piloted her 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Question (Quaterback x Le Figaro), to their first-ever hat trick at the Tryon Fall Dressage 2 CPEDI 3* in Mill Spring, NC. The pair, who made their FEI debut in March 2019, started things off with 69.225% in the Grade V Team Test on Sept. 13, and continued their success with 69.420% in the Grade V Individual Test the next day. They sealed the deal on their winning run with a final victory in the Grade V Freestyle on Sept. 15 (69.542%).
Sharon Buffitt
In the Grade II division at the Tryon Fall Dressage 2 CPEDI 3*, Sharon Buffitt of Pointe-Claire, QC, piloted her 14-year-old Canadian Warmblood mare, Elektra II (Radjah Z x Rastar), to win the day with 69.667% in Sept. 15’s Freestyle.
Colleen Loach
Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
Canadian Olympian Colleen Loach of Dunham, QC, won the Plantation Field International Horse Trials CCI 2*-S with FE Golden Eye (Goldfever x Contendro I), the seven-year-old Hanoverian gelding she co-owns with Amanda Bernhard and Peter Barry, in the duo’s first appearance since tackling the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. From Sept. 18-22, Loach and FE Golden Eye’s major games experience was on display in Unionville, PA, and the combination finished on their dressage score of 25.1 penalty points to lock down the win.
Allison Youngdale
Photo Credit: Purple Horse Designs
Allison Youngdale of Aurora, ON, earned a hat trick at the New England Dressage Association (NEDA) Fall Festival in Saugerties, NY, with her new partner for 2019, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Brookhaven Dressage and Mary Brooks, named Emmett Top (Negro x Kelvin). On Sept. 19, they began the weekend with a score of 62.892% in the CDI-Y Team Competition. Youngdale and Emmett Top then scored 64.461% in the CDI-Y Individual the next day, and closed the competition with 65.458% in the CDI-Y Freestyle on Sept. 21.
Jacqueline Brooks
Photo Credit: Purple Horse Designs
Joining her student, Alison Youngdale, in the winner’s circle at the NEDA Fall Festival was EC certified High Performance 1 Dressage Coach and Canadian Olympian, Jaqueline Brooks of Cedar Valley, ON. Riding Westwood 5 (Wolkenstein II x Lauries Crusador xx), a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Stone Hill Equestrian Ltd., Brooks won the CDI-W Grand Prix on Sept. 19 (65.957%), as well as the CDI-W Grand Prix Special on Sept. 21 (65.766%).
Brooks then traveled to the Dressage at Devon CDI-W, held Sept. 24-29 in Devon, PA. There, she and Westwood 5 earned back-to-back wins in Sept. 27’s CDI 3* Grand Prix with a score of 68.239%, followed by 68.426% in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special on Sept. 28.
Lindsay Kellock
Photo Credit: Purple Horse Designs
The third CDI-W class at the NEDA Fall Festival went to Lindsay Kellock of Wellington, FL, who piloted Sebastien (Sandro Hit x Fidermark), Enterprise Farm LLC’s 13-year-old Rheinlander gelding whom she debuted earlier in 2019, to a score of 71.600% in the Grand Prix Freestyle on Sept. 20.
Kellock and Sebastien weren’t content with just the one win, however, so they also turned their focus to Dressage at Devon. There, they produced back-to-back wins starting with the CDI-W Grand Prix on Sept. 27. Kellock and Sebastien’s score of 71.587% was impressive, but the daring duo was back at it the next day to post an even higher score of 75.870% in the World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle. In addition to securing first place, the score represented an all-time personal best for Kellock, who has been campaigning at the FEI level since 2012.
James Atkinson
From Sept. 20-22, James Atkinson, who resides in San Marcos, CA, returned to the international stage at the Twin Rivers International Fall Horse Trials in Paso Robles, CA, for his first FEI competition since 2015. The Canadian Pan Am medalist rode Fleur de Lis (Heartbreaker x Hattrick), a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that he co-owns with Jim Seilsopour, to add just four cross-country time penalties to his dressage score of 33.3 to win the CCI 3*-S division on a final score of 37.3.
Sam Walker
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi Photography
Sam Walker of Nobleton, ON, has enjoyed yet another impressive string of victories over the past month. The 17-year-old won the $36,000 Open Welcome on Aug. 22 during the CSI 2* The International at Angelstone Tournaments in Erin, ON. 13 of the 36 entries advanced to the jump-off over the course set by Manuel Esparza, with Walker ultimately emerging victorious aboard Coralissa, a nine-year-old Holsteiner mare (Com Air x Corrado I) owned by MarBill Hill Farm. Two days later, the pair topped the $72,000 CSI 2* GroupBy Grand Prix. Walker was one of six entries from the 27-horse field to advance to the jump-off, where he and Coralissa jumped clear in 38.10 seconds to take the win over Olympic silver medalist Jill Henselwood, who posted a time of 38.25 seconds riding Eblesse.
Keeping his winning streak alive, Walker next topped the $36,500 Caledon Cup – Phase One, presented by RAM Equestrian, on Sept. 19 during the CSI 2* Canadian Show Jumping Tournament also held at the Caledon Equestrian Park. Walker and Coralissa claimed the speed class after a clear round in a time of 58.81 seconds to edge out Ireland’s Daniel Coyle, who stopped the clock at 59.21 seconds riding CHS Krooze.
Amy Millar
Photo Credit: Ben Radvanyi Photography
Canadian Olympian Amy Millar of Perth, ON, won the $40,000 CSI 2* Caledon Cup – Phase 3, presented by HEP, Aviva Insurance, and Edge Mutual Insurance, and topped the overall Caledon Cup standings on Sept. 22 at the CSI 2* Canadian Show Jumping Tournament held at the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave, ON. The Caledon Cup is awarded to the horse-rider combination with the most points earned over three phases – an outdoor speed round on Thursday, an indoor jump-off class on Friday evening, and a grand prix on Sunday. Millar’s consistency with Truman over all three phases put her at the top of the overall standings to win her first Caledon Cup, as well as the inaugural $10,000 Caledon Cup rider bonus, presented by RAM Equestrian.
On Sunday, Millar and Truman, a 10-year-old Selle Français gelding (Mylord Carthago x Kolibri) owned by Millar Brooke Farm Ltd. and Overlund, were one of six pairs to successfully negotiate the first-round track set by Mexican course designer Catsy Cruz and had the advantage of being last to return for the tie-breaking jump-off. The pair executed a clear round in 40.72 seconds to take the win over second-place finisher Henselwood, who stopped the clock in 42.13 seconds aboard Eblesse.
Mathilde Dumas
Back in Pennsylvanian for Dressage at Devon, Mathilde Dumas of Saint-Lambert, QC, led the way for a Canadian sweep of the Dressage at Devon Under 25 (U25) leaderboard in Sept. 27’s Intermediate II class. She rode Johanne Dube’s 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, Patronus (Heslegard’s Platin x Heslegards Louis) to a score of 64.736%.
Vanessa Creech-Terauds
Next, it was time for Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON, to have her moment atop the Dressage at Devon U25 leaderboard. She scored 66.744% with Hallmark (His Highness x Lancier), a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding co-owned by Diane Creech and Louise Leatherdale, to capture first in the Grand Prix on Sept. 28.
Tanya Strasser-Shostak
The final Canadian Dressage at Devon U25 win went to Tanya Strasser-Shostak of Sainte-Adèle, QC, and Evi Strasser’s 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Renaissance Tyme (Royal Diamond x Dream of Heidelberg I), who scored 66.805 in the Grand Prix Freestyle on Sept. 29.
Sophie Dean-Potter
Photo Credit: Purple Horse Designs
Also at Dressage at Devon, Sophie Dean-Potter of Kleinburg, ON, piloted Carla Bahr’s 17-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Ribot (Reno x Cor Noir), to victory on a score of 68.529% in the CDI-Y Individual on Sept. 28.
Tom Dvorak
The final Canadian to have a strong showing in Devon was Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON. Partnered with Cyrus (Contucci x Cor Noir), a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Carla Bahr, he won the CDI 3* Intermediate A on Sept. 28 (68.235%), followed by the CDI 3* Intermediate B on Sept. 29 (65.500%).
Ali Ramsay
Ali Ramsay of Victoria, BC, topped a strong field of competitors at the Columbus International CSI 2* in Columbus-Johnstown, OH, winning the $50,000 Grand Prix on Sept. 29. She navigated Ramsay Equestrian Inc.’s 10-year-old Westphalian gelding, Lutz (Lordanos x Pilot) clear through the jump-off in 34.01 seconds, topping Ali Wolff and Quirie 2 of the United States and their time of 34.26 seconds for the win.
Kara Chad
Across the ocean on Sept. 29, Kara Chad of Millarville, AB, won the CSI 5* competition at the 2019 Waregem Horse Week in Waregem, BEL. She lay down the time to beat, jumping clear in 59.78 seconds with Viva (Now or Never M x Carbid), a 10-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Torrey Pines Stable Inc.