Canada takes individual silver and team bronze in eventing

July 24, 2015 · 0 Comments

Canadian Jessica Phoenix celebrated Sunday after turning in a faultless round of show jumping in the eventing competition. She took the individual silver medal in the class.
Photo by Bill Rea

Canadians were able to pick up some more equestrian medals Sunday at the Pan Am Games at the OLG Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave, but not the colour they were hoping for.
The team took the bronze medal, and defending Pan Am champion Jessica Phoenix, 31, of Cannington, Ontario collected silver in the individual competition. The United States took both gold medals.
Caledon Mayor Allan Thompson was on hand to present the medals for both competitions, along with Town of Mono Mayor Laura Ryan.
Eventing consists of three phases: Dressage, cross-country and show jumping. The Canadian team included Phoenix, Colleen Loach of Dunham, Quebec, Waylon Roberts of Port Perry and Kathryn Robinson of Kettering, in England (her mother maintains a home in Bracebridge).
All four athletes presented their mounts at the horse inspection last Thursday. Team alternate Selena O’Hanlon, 34, of Kingston also presented her mount, Foxwood High, a 12-year-old bay Canadian Sport Horse gelding sired by Rio Bronco W and owned by John and Judy Rumble, in the event that she was called upon. All of the Canadian horses were accepted.
“The main goal is to win a team gold medal and, absolutely, if we can defend that individual gold, I would be ready for it!” said Phoenix prior to the competition. “The team members that we have with us on this trip are phenomenal riders on excellent horses. I hope our whole team has their best performances.”
“I have never been so proud to call myself a Canadian,” she added. “From the athlete village in downtown Toronto to the opening ceremonies to the competition grounds at Caledon to the cross-country course, everything is absolutely top-notch. It’s by far the best Pan Am Games that I have ever been to as far as venue and how they are treating the horses and the athletes. I am extremely proud to be Canadian!”
The team was in second place after the dressage phase Friday, close behind the Americans. Brazil was in third, followed by Guatemala, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Robinson was leading the way for Canada, sitting in second position behind Ruy Fonseca of Brazil and Marilyn Little of the U.S.
The team completed three clear rounds Saturday in the cross-country component, as they held onto third place.
Held at the Pan Am Cross-Country Center at Will O’Wind Farm in Mono, The U.S. remained at the top of the leaderboard, with Brazil moving into second. Canada went to third after losing the score of Robinson, who was second following dressage.
Individually, Phoenix was poised to defend her gold medal from the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, as she was sitting third, separated by one show jumping rail from the leaders, Fonseca and Little.
As the last rider to compete cross-country for Canada, Phoenix had a sea of fans cheering her around the course, designed by Wayne Copping of Australia. Many rushed to the final fence to help bring her home; a loud cheer went up as she crossed the finish line with no penalties riding Pavarotti, a 13-year-old bay Westphalian gelding owned by Don J. Good of New Hamburg.
“Canadians are the most amazing fans in the world!” said Phoenix. “To have the Pan Am Games in our own backyard is incredible, and to have everyone here supporting us has just been overwhelming.”
The third and final phase of eventing competition saw the Canadian team maintain its overnight position to claim the team bronze. Brazil took the silver.
Phoenix, who was sitting in third position individually coming into the final phase of competition, produced a clear show jumping round with Pavarotti to put the pressure on the two riders ahead of her. Marilyn Little of the U.S. produced a clear round with RF Scandalous, but when a rail fell at the final fence for leader Ruy Fonseca of Brazil riding Tom Bombadill Too, it catapulted Little to the individual gold, while Phoenix moved up to claim the individual silver.
“I felt extremely thankful to be sitting on Pavarotti today,” said Phoenix. “He was absolutely amazing and I just loved every single moment!”
“It was so awesome to be able to do that in front of the home crowd,” said Phoenix. “To be able to do this in our backyard, with all of our family and friends around, and to have all of the Canadians cheering has just been amazing! It was one of the most amazing feelings in my life.”
“I am so thankful to be here with our teammates, our coaches and our support staff that is here with us,” she added. “My groom, Sandra Andresen, did an amazing job with Pavarotti this whole weekend. We’ve had such a good, strong team. I will certainly take away a lot of memories from this experience.”
Loach also delivered a clear show jumping round for Canada riding Qorry Blue d’Argouges, an 11-year-old grey selle francais gelding sired by Mr. Blue. In her major games debut, Loach finished eighth individually.
“My horse was amazing, he tried his heart out for me,” said Loach, 32, of the horse owned by 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games competitor Peter Barry. “He is super generous, and a very careful jumper. I’m a lucky girl to ride him.”
“It means a lot. It’s a dream come true,” Loach said, of winning a medal in her first major games appearance. “The team is great, we get along really well, and it’s been a super atmosphere. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
As the youngest member of the team, Roberts moved up from 34th position following dressage to 17th with a clear performance over Saturday’s cross-country phase. Sunday, Roberts made it all the way to the end of the course before dropping a rail at the final fence with Bill Owen, an 11-year-old bay Canadian Sport Horse gelding sired by Money Talks and owned in partnership with Kelly Plitz. Roberts finished 17th individually in his second Pan American Games appearance.
“To be able to come home for the Pan American Games and represent Canada on the team has been wonderful,” said Roberts, 26. “I’ve been coming to the Caledon Equestrian Park for 15 years, and it’s great to see all the familiar faces and everybody rooting for the Canadians.”
Given his background in jumping, Roberts has been a frequent visitor to the Park over the years, and was impressed by its expansive renovation for the Pan Am Games, saying, “It is going to leave a really great legacy here in Caledon and it’s going to bring a lot more young people into the sport. With the indoor arena, we are going to be able to have horse shows all year round!”
The fourth member of the Canadian team, Robinson, 29, was eliminated during Saturday’s cross-country competition and therefore not eligible to compete in the final phase of show jumping with Let It Bee, her 14-year-old dark bay German-bred gelding. As the three best scores from the four-member team are counted toward the final score, Robinson’s teammates rallied to claim the bronze medal.
The Canadian Eventing Team was supported at the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games by Technical Advisor and chef d’equipe Clayton Fredericks, Team Manager Fleur Tipton, Team Veterinarian Dr. Christiana Ober, Stable Manager Max Corcoran, Team Farrier Andy Vergut and Therapist Usha Knabe.