Olympic Sidelines

Bromont, Quebec – The Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, held June 7 to 10 in Bromont, Quebec, will be the final North American outing for athletes hoping to earn a spot at the 2012 Olympic Games this summer.

Clark Montgomery of the United States riding Loughan Glen is the defending champion of the CCI*** division of the VOLVO Bromont CCI*** Three Day Event to be held June 7 to 10, 2012, in Bromont, Quebec. (Photo by Cealy Tetley)

The 26th edition of the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, will be used as a final preparatory event forU.S.and Canadian Olympic Team hopefuls.  BothU.S.and Canadian Team selectors will be in attendance, watching the competition closely before making their final selections for the 2012 Olympic Games inLondon.

Having won Team Silver medals at both the 2010 World Equestrian Games and the 2011 Pan American Games, Canadian Eventing Team selectors will be looking for the best candidates to carryCanada’s medal hopes intoLondon.

Appropriately, the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event is held at the picturesque Bromont Olympic Horse Park, site of equestrian events for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and candidate for the 2018 World Equestrian Games.  Course designer Derek Di Grazia of the United States, who has been the resident course designer since 2009, will design the challenging cross-country tracks while Canada’s own Jay Hambly will build the obstacles.

At the request of the Canadian and U.S. Olympic Team selectors, a CIC*** division has been added and a brand new course has been designed and built.  A total of five divisions recognized by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) will be offered at this year’s event, including CCI***, CIC***, CCI**, CCI*, and CCIYJ*.  Considered the triathlon of equestrian sport, eventing competition is comprised of three phases – dressage, cross-country and show jumping, held on consecutive days.

Canadian Eventing Team veterans Hawley Bennett-Awad, Selena O’Hanlon and Jessica Phoenix are among those competing, and will face stiff competition from U.S. Olympic veteran Phillip Dutton, who has three horses entered in the CIC*** division.

While the CCI*** and CIC*** divisions will showcase Olympic potential, younger competitors in the CCI**, CCI* and CCIYJ* divisions will be striving to secure a spot at the annual North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championship in July in Lexington, Kentucky.  In order to also accommodate the grassroots of the sport, the organizing committee will host the ‘Little Bromont’ national competition featuring preliminary, training, pre-training and entry divisions on June 16 and 17.

Organizers are expecting over 150 horses to contest the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, widely considered one of the most prestigious three day events in North America.  Offering the highest level of eventing competition in Canada, more than 150 athletes are expected to vie for $25,000 in prize money and awards offered by the generous sponsors of the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, including Volvo and Beaulieu Canada.

For the second year, the Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event will be included in the PRO Tour Series.  The Professional Riders Organization (PRO) is a non-profit organization comprised of accomplished event riders who are dedicated to promoting the sport and to advocating safety for horses and riders.

The Volvo CCI*** Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, is made possible in part through a contribution from the Government of Canada.  The organizing committee also wishes to thank the Gouvernement du Québec, Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, for their support of this year’s event.

For more information about the Bromont Three Day Event please visit the bilingual website, www.bromontcci.com.  Live scoring will be available throughout the duration of the event.

COMPETITORS, PLEASE NOTE: There have been changes to the event specifications since the 2012 Canadian Eventing Omnibus was published.  Please check the website for the most up-to-date information.

Beezie Madden
By Halie Greening

Beezie Madden

Proudly a part of the 2004 gold medal Olympic team in Athens, and taking home both team gold and individual bronze in 2008 from Beijing, Elizabeth (“Beezie”) Madden will no doubt have spectators on the edge of their seats as she completes one of the last legs of her journey that hopefully leads to three-peat at the 2012 Olympics in London. Madden and her Coral Reef Via Volo, a thirteen year-old Belgian Warmblood mare will be making a long awaited return to the Grand Prix of Devon and the Open Jumper Stake, both Observation Events for the U.S. Show Jumping Team.

Coral Reef Via Volo is owned by Coral Reef Ranch. Madden refers to the 15.3 hand mare as “Shrimp” back home at the barn.  She may be small in stature but Via and Madden have been amassing high, noteworthy placings in the U.S. and throughout North America.  Their list of accomplishments begins with their first big win together; the $75,000 Equine Couture/Tuffrider Grand Prix, CSI 2* WEF in March. Via is currently ranked #1 on the Rolex/USEF Show Jumpers Ranking List, horse and rider combination are currently ranked #4 on the USEF Long List for the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team. The pair successfully claimed individual silver and were part of the gold winning team at the Pan Am Games this past fall, putting them in strong contention for the 2012 Olympics.  Madden has also entered and is expected to ride Cortes ‘C’, a 10 year old bay gelding and Simon, a 13 year old bay gelding.

Madden has had a tremendously successful go with Coral Reef Via Volo and expectations are high as she vies for a third trip to the Olympics.

McLain Ward

McClain Ward (Photo by Brenda Carpenter)

Fellow 2004 and 2008 teammate, McLain Ward will also be vying for a place on the team and hat trick of Olympic gold on Sapphire, the 16 year old Belgian Warmblood owned by Ward and Blue Chip Blood Stock.  In January, during the first week of WEF, Sapphire showed she was back in form competing at the 1.40M level after sustaining an injury in March of 2011.  Ward, showing on another mount that week, broke his knee.  Ward was given a bye for the Selection Trials and will compete in the Observation Trials at Devon and at Spruce Meadows in mid-June.  Ward began riding again the first week of April and is showing for the first time at Old Salem this weekend.

Ward is a long time Devon favorite, he began showing here as child and has been competing in the Grand Prix of Devon since his late teens, winning six times.  Ward will compete on Sapphire, who’s long list of accomplishments includes not only Olympic gold, but silver in the 2006 World Equestrian Games, second in 2009 World Cup Finals and winning the CN International $1M Grand Prix in 2009 and the HITS Pfeizer $1M Grand Prix in 2010.   Ward will also compete on Antares F, an 11 year old Baden-Wurtemburger gelding owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC.  Antares is a relatively new mount for Ward, who began their partnership in mid-2010.  They have none the less racked up some impressive wins: the Longines Grand Prix in Dublin and the Credit Suisse Grand Prix in Geneva in 2010, and the WEF Challenge Cup in 2011.

The Devon crowd will be pulling for Ward as he comes back from injury in his old stomping ground, the Dixon Oval.

Behind the Scenes…

Souvenirs is a Year Round Effort

The Souvenir booth is one of The Devon Horse Show an Country Fair’s busiest booths for a very good reason; the volunteer committee works all year long to make sure that the items they carry offer a balance of merchandise from Devon classics to on-trend clothing and accessories.  No detail is left to chance as the committee begins meeting weekly, almost as soon as the show is over, to discuss offerings and design with remarkable attention to detail. 

Souvenir Straw Bags

This year men will be thrilled to see custom offerings from Cutter and Buck and Brand 47 including tech polos, wind vests, jackets and ultra soft quarter zips. Young equestrians and fashionistas will find new designs including vintage appliqued tees and tanks and fully coordinated ensembles for young riders including breeches, saddlepads, boot bags and socks. Ladies looking forward to summer will be tickled to see new custom Devon woven basket handbags featuring enamel emblems and golden Devon Horse Show coins. Brand new sterling silver and custom enamel bracelets, rings and necklaces will be the perfect gift item for girls of all ages who love Devon!

Please remember to visit on line at: www.devonhorseshow.org Look for the convenient shopping tab to buy classic Devon apparel, exclusive silver jewelry and Vineyard Vines silk vines ties and tote bags.

That’s a Lot of Shavings!

Irv Hollingsworth has been a fixture at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair for 27 years. As the feed and bedding manager, he can offer up some pretty impressive statistics on what it takes to care for 1800 animals over 11 days.  For starters, 6000 pounds of feed and supplements are ingested.  Add to that another 1200 bales of hay.  Shavings…seven tractor trailer loads, that’s 8000 bales.

Irv Hollingsworth

When asked how he became part of the Devon family, Hollingsworth turns nostalgic. His was introduced to the show by his father’s cousin, “Uncle” Joe Pierce.  Pierce, a blacksmith in the Blacksmith Hall of Fame, had been the farrier at Devon since the early 1950′s. Hollingsworth had worked for a company that sold feed, lumber and building supplies and when the time came in 1985 to hire a new feed and bedding manager, he was a natural fit.  It was at about this time that Uncle Joe retired and in his honor, the trophy for the Pony Pairs Driving Championship is named the Joseph M. Pierce Challenge Trophy.

Irv has continued the family tradition of craftsmanship and has spent the spring finishing the interior of feed and bedding office.  Stop by and say hello, he’s got some great stories to tell!   

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