48/ THE RIDER AUGUST 2010 Belinda Trussell and Ashley Holzer Lead Canadians CDI 4* Aachen
Ottawa, Ontario—Canadian Olympians Ashley Holzer and Belinda Trussell are the top Canadian riders at CDIO 5* Aachen, in Aachen GER, held July 13 – 18, 2010, 2010.
On the fourth and final stop of the Dressage Canada European Tour, Holzer of Toronto, ON and her 2008 Olympic partner Pop Art (Amsterdam x Cabochon), earned a score of 69.027% in the Grand Prix test to finish in 13th place out of 37 entries.
Warmblood gelding is owned by Rusty Holzer and Moreen Nicoll.
The 13-year-old Dutch
the executive branch of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and the national authority for equestrian competition; the national voice for recreational riders; and the national association for equine welfare, breeding, and industry. Equine Canada is recognised by the Government of Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national organisation representing equestrian sport and equine interests. For more information about Equine Canada, please visit
www.equinecanada.ca.
“Canadian Olympians Belinda Trussell (left) Ashley Holzer (right) are the top Canadian riders at CDIO 5* Aachen, in Aachen GER, held July 13 – 18, 2010, 2010.” Photo Credit—LewisHarding Ltd.Karen Sparks Named CAVALOR ‘Athlete of the Month’ for June
THE RIDER AUGUST 2010 / 49 Ontario Rider Conquers the Old Dominion Trail in Virginia
On June 12, 2010 Diana Macdonald and her mount Bask N Coins+/ joined an elite group of Ontario riders who have success- fully tackled the daunting Old Dominion trail in Virginia. Encountering high heat and high humidity plus 2 long, steep mountain climbs, one of 1.5 miles and the second of 2.5 miles, the pair from Arthur ON finished the 55 mile Endurance Ride in 11 hours and 1 minute of riding time. In order to complete the ride rid- ers had to complete the trail in the 13-_ hrs allowed, which included the three mandatory stops to vet and rest the horses along the trail. Riding for a completion only and the coveted belt buckle award, Diana and Bask N Coins+/ (aka Loosi) did not try racing for a Top 10 finish, and they rode a cautious but forward ride leaving 44 min- utes on the clock at the end of the ride to come in 38th place out of 69 starters.
The Old Dominion Trail is known to be one of the toughest rides in the eastern part of North America. Formerly run at Fort Royal, Virginia many of the lands were taken over by urban devel- opment. The new trails starting from Orkney Springs, Virginia takes
you through the George Washington mountain range and have you on some of the highest peaks between Virginia and West Virginia. Added to the technical terrain of hills, rocks, wooded trail and some roadwork the ride is usually plagued with high heat and humidity, which was in evidence this year. At 2pm in the valley where base camp is located the combined heat and humidity was 102 degrees Fahrenheit, at this same time many riders including Diana were climbing the 2.5 mile steep incline up a mountain face on a narrow trail.
Since 1985 (electronic records available) there have been many Ontario riders attempt the 55 miles ride, Diana and Loosi are the 8th pair to successfully complete the 55 mile trail. At the same time as the 55-mile ride is a 100-mile ride and only 7 Ontario riders have successfully completed that distance in under the 24 hours allowed. Being held in conjunction with the 2010 Old Dominion Ride
was the Arabian Horse Association Region 15 Endurance Championships. Bask N Coins+/ was named Champion Half- Arabian and also won the coveted Best Conditioned Award for the
Half-Arabian division. Loosi finished the race looking strong, sound, fit and able to continue. Head veterinarian Nick Kohut, stated that Loosi looked better at the end of the ride than she had at the first vet check. Diana attributes this to the 13 miles of traveling gravel roads between the 2nd vet check and the 3rd vet check and then the final 6 miles home. The pair are no strangers to road work as that is their nor- mal conditioning terrain on the sideroads of Mapleton Township, so the final 2 legs of the ride allowed Loosi to stretch all her muscles and get a good score at the final vetting.
Trussell of Newmarket, ON and Anton (Antaeus x Melit), a 10-year-old German-bred gelding owned by Robyn Eames, scored 68.024% to finish in 15th place in the Grand Prix test.
Nations’ Cup Team competition and is currently sitting in sixth place following the Grand Prix results. The other two Canadian entries in the team competition are Canadian Olympian Bonny Bonnello of Calgary, AB, riding Pikardi (Point Maker x Daimont), a 13-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding co-owned by Bonnello and Jean Bell, and Wendy Christoff and her 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding Pfalstaff, sired by Palladium. “The Grand Prix went very well. The weather cooled off considerably and the wind was really blowing so the atmos- phere was very busy for the Grand Prix test,” said Chef d’équipe Gina Smith. “Our team is currently in sixth by .001 points behind Spain, so we are able to compete again in the Grand Prix Special for the final team results. The Special will be held on Saturday.”
Canada is also entered in the
The international judging panel for the CDIO 5* Grand Prix test included 5* judges Leif Toernblad (DEN), Jean- Michel Roudier (FRA), Dr. Dieter Schuele (GER), Wim Ernes (NED) and Gary Rockwell (USA), and 4* judges Andrew Gardner (GBR) and Gustav Svalling (SWE). The European Tour has been made possible through the Own the Podium pro- gram, a national sport technical initiative designed to help Canada’s summer and winter athletes achieve podium success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Canadian World Equestrian Games declared riders remaining in North America may attend Edmonton Gold Rush CDI3*, July 15 - 19, 2010, in Edmonton, AB, in order to earn WEG qualifying scores.
About Dressage Canada
Dressage Canada, as a committee of Equine Canada, is the National governing body for Dressage in Canada. Dressage Canada’s objective is to foster the growth of Dressage and the pursuit of excellence in the sport at the local, national and inter- national levels. Dressage Canada provides support and guidance to both amateur and professional through the following pro- grams: coaching education and programs, officials’ education and programs, rules & qualifying criteria, sport development, publications & awards. For more informa- tion about Dressage Canada, please visit the Dressage section of the Equine Canada site or connect with us on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/dressagecanada or Facebook at
http://tinyurl.com/lp8cnd.
About Equine Canada
Equine Canada is Canada’s national governing body for equestrianism. member-driven, charitable institution, it is
A
Loosi and Diana are no strangers to Endurance Riding; they have completed over 850 miles together in endurance com- petitions since 2006 accumulating in the Appaloosa breed a Reserve National Championship (2009 – Ohio) and two Top 5s (4th in 2006 - Wisconsin, 3rd in 2007 – Tennessee), a Register of Merit (250 miles lifetime) and a Bronze Medallion (350 miles in one season). Double registered as a Half-Arabian, Loosi has garnered a National Championship in Competitive Trail (2005 – Illinois) and a Top 10 (2005 – Ohio) plus a Top 10 in 50 mile Endurance (2008 – Indiana) as well as her Legion of Supreme Honor (the +/ after her name). Under the American Endurance Riding Conference the pair picked up 4 Top 10 finishes in 2009. In addition to their Endurance miles, the pair has over 700 miles in Competitive Trail (set pace rides) competition and many, many more in con- ditioning miles. Diana’s mother, Vivianne Macdonald of Arthur ON, has been Loosi’s main rider in Competitive Trail competi- tions and pit crews for the pair in Endurance.
Virginia, Loosi was part of the Agriculture in the Classroom display at the Arthur Fairgrounds an annual event where Loosi is a hit with the Grade 2 & 3 students from area schools.
Top left: Bask N Coins+/ and Diana Macdonald tackling the hills in Indiana at the 2008 AERC National Championships. (Genie Stewart-Speirs photo)
Above: Bask N Coins+/ and Diana Macdonald showing off their ground-cov- ering trot at the 2004 AHA National Championship Competitive Trail Ride. (Bob Tarr Photo)
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