Lane and Creech Earn WEG Qualifying Scores in Caledon

Canadian athletes earned multiple top-three placings and qualifying scores for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) at the Caledon Salute to Dressage CDI 3*, held July 20-22, 2018, in Caledon, ON.

Megan Lane of Loretto, ON qualified Deer Ridge Equestrian’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Zodiac MW (Rousseau x Amethist), for WEG 2018 with top scores in the CDI 3* division. In the Grand Prix on July 20, the duo placed first with a score of 69.913%. They also captured the win the following day in the Grand Prix Special on a score of 70.170%.

“Zodiac continues to impress me,” said Lane. “I am pinching myself more often these days because he is still fairly new to the big tour. However, he carries himself like a seasoned Grand Prix horse. For example, Sunday’s Grand Prix Special under torrential rains did not inhibit him from an incredibly beautiful and powerful performance.”

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In addition to Zodiac MW, Lane has qualified for WEG 2018 with her 2016 Rio Olympics partner, Caravella (Contango x Riverman), the 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare she co-owns with her mother, Cathy Lane and sister, Kelsey Lane.

Lane commented, “This was the final WEG qualifier and, having campaigned for the past seven months in Florida and Ontario, I am so lucky to have such a supportive, dedicated and hardworking team behind me on the road to WEG 2018. I would sincerely like to thank everyone behind a very busy and very successful season.”

Diane Creech of Caistor Centre, ON also earned WEG-qualifying scores riding Diana C, the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare she owns with Louise Leatherdale. The pair nabbed second place in the CDI 3* Grand Prix with 69.435%, and in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special with 70.149%.

Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON rounded out third place in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special, riding her 15-year-old Westphalian gelding, Tattoo 15 (Tuareg x Ramiro’s Son), to a score of 68.553%.

Also competing at the CDI 3* level was Canadian Olympian Christilot Boylen of Loretto, ON. She rode her 11-year-old Westphalian mare, Rockylane (Rock Forever x Rombach), to first-place finishes in the CDI 3* Intermediate A on July 20 (67.000%) and the CDI 3* Intermediate II on July 21 (67.088%).

In the small tour, Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON added another hat trick to his record aboard Carla Bahr’s nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Cyrus (Contucci x Cor Noir). The pair started out with the CDI 1* Prix St. Georges on July 20, earning 70.471%, and their scores continued to improve from there. They won the CDI 1* Intermediate I on July 21 with a score of 70.588%, and the CDI 1* Intermediate I Freestyle on July 22 with 73.400%. Their Caledon results add to an already impressive Ontario season, having earned a small tour hat trick at the CDI 3* Ottawa Dressage Festival in May, plus top placings at the CDI 3* Cedar Valley in June.

Nancy MacLachlan of Terra Cotta, ON followed Dvorak on the small tour leaderboard, earning second place in the Prix St. Georges (68.912%) and Intermediate I (70.176%) aboard Judith G. Farncomb’s 11-year-old Canadian Warmblood mare, Dreo (Dreitakt x Holberg).

Other top-three finishers in the CDI 1* division included Lori Bell of Beaverton, ON. She and her 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Flirt (Florencio x Donnerhall), took second place in the CDI 1* Intermediate Freestyle with a score of 72.775% and third in the CDI 1*Intermediate I with 69.353%. Loren Hopkins of Guelph, ON placed third in the CDI 1* Prix St. George, piloting Denali (Idocus x Gribaldi), her 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, to a score of 68.559%. In the Intermediate I Freestyle, Maya Markowski of Listowel, ON scored 69.525% to capture third riding Gail Tittley’s 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Daedalus (ES de Laurentis x ES Sam Steele).

The CDI-U25 division saw Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON showcase her successful partnership with 18-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Devon L (De Niro 6 x Wolkenstein II), owned by Creech and Leatherdale. The duo won the Intermediate II on July 20 with a score of 67.471%, and the next day’s Grand Prix with 66.615%.

Allison Youngdale of Aurora, ON rode her 13-year-old Holsteiner mare, RF Cosima 201 (Conello x Sir Shostakovich XX) to win the CDI-Y Team Test on July 20 (66.647%), CDI-Y Individual on July 21 (67.706%), and CDI-Y Freestyle on July 22 (70.975%).

Markowski also competed in the CDI-YH Six-Year-Old division, where she debuted the six-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Fiona McLellan, Something Royal (Sir Wanabi x Longchamp), and earned wins in the Preliminary Test on July 20 (71.600%) and the Final on July 21 (72.000%).

Full results from the Caledon Salute to Dressage CDI 3* can be found here.