2/ SEPTEMBER 2019 THE RIDER


Pan Am Games Continued from Page 1.


Lisa Carlsen of Okotoks, AB, Mario Deslauriers of Bromont, QC and Nicole Walker of Aurora, ON reached their goal of Tokyo qualification on a team total of 30.21 after two days and three rounds of competition. Brazil won a decisive gold on a score of 12.39. Mexico made a strong move up from their fourth place standing on day one to take silver with 22.97, while the United States lost their lead- ing foothold to land in the


bronze medal position (23.09). Canada was sitting


third coming into day two, which honoured the nations cup format with horses and riders negotiating the same track in back-to-back rounds. By the end of the first round, they were hold- ing fourth, securing their place among the top 10 teams invited back for the second round. With Tokyo qualifications only handed out to the top three placed teams, not counting the US who were already qualified, the pressure was on.


Round two saw the


four leading teams bounce in and out of the top three spots on the leaderboard, as they waited to see where they landed when all four riders had completed, and the highest score from each team was dropped. Heading into the final rotation of rid- ers, Canada was sitting third once again, and holding their breath to see if Team Mexico anchors, Patricio Pasquel and Babel, would be able to knock off their teammate’s 16 faults. A clutch performance by Pasquel put a zero on the


board for Mexico and sealed Canada’s fate in fourth, less than two rails away from the podium. “It would have been


nice to have a medal, but re- ally our goal and our prior- ity was coming down here to qualify for the Olympics, so I am extremely happy. Mission


accomplished,”


said Canadian Show Jump- ing Team Chef d’Équipe, Mark Laskin. Canada’s top per-


former was Ballard, 38, and her up-and-comer, Fellini S (Vermont x Rash R). They proved to be one of only two horse-rider combinations to achieve back-to-back clear rounds over the exacting 13 obstacles and 16 efforts set by FEI 4* Course Designer, Guilherme Jorge of Brazil. In fact, the duo haven’t touched a single rail in Lima, and finished out the first two days of competi- tion standing in second place individually on a score of 3.26 – sandwiched be- tween Brazilians, Pedro Veniss and Quabri de l’Isle in first (2.06) and Rodrigo Lambre and Chacciama in third (5.26). “That horse jumped


Lisa Carlsen and Parette. Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley - www.tetleyphoto.com


his heart out two rounds in a row today,” Ballard said of the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Ilan Ferder. “And, he’s good on the time, good in the atmosphere, and at the water and the walls. He han-


dled it beautifully. It’s a pretty cool feeling jumping double-clear in a place like this, and jumping double- clear for Mark Laskin – that’s a pretty big deal for me right now.” Walker, 26, finished


out the day in 12th individ- ually on a score of 13.38 penalties aboard her 14- year-old Belgian Warm- blood gelding, Falco van Spieveld (Toulon x Lys De Darmen). After lowering two rails for eight faults in the first round, they returned to add just four faults, bring- ing down an airy, skinny vertical situated as the mid- dle component of a tricky, Machu Picchu-themed line set straight down the middle of the ring that required a compressed five strides, im- mediately followed by a long four. “I fixed the mistakes I


made in the first round, and we just got a little bit care- less at that skinny,” ex- plained Walker. “It’s a light jump and you could breathe on it and it would fall down, so we were a bit unlucky there.” Speaking to the expe-


rience of her first major games to date, she added, “Being here with the team all week and getting the chance to bond with them and doing team things to- gether has been pretty spe- cial. It’s definitely a week to remember.” In the first round,


owned by Wishing Well Farm LLC and Luga LLC. “I think he got a little rattled when he hit that second fence hard in the first round, and I think that really dis- rupted the rest of my course. But he really made a great effort the second round. He just dragged me past that one jump where we had the rail, but other than that, he jumped great.” Reflecting on the


team’s success in punching their ticket to Tokyo, the two-time


Canadian


Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley - www.tetleyphoto.com The pathfinder for


Mario Deslauriers and Amsterdam 27


Canada in both rounds was Carlsen aboard her 13-year- old Brandenburg mare, Parette (Passoa VDL x Barinello). They too faced challenges at the two tricki- est spots on course during their rounds. In their first trip, the ‘b’ and ‘c’ elements of the triple combination came down for eight faults in an otherwise perfect round. In the second round, it was the third jump in the Machu Picchu line that fell, along with the final oxer on


Photo Credit: © Cealy Tetley - www.tetleyphoto.com Nicole Walker and Falco van Spieveld


Deslauriers and Amsterdam 27 were one of many throughout the day to accu- mulate faults at the penulti- mate line - a triple combination at 12abc, set right under the busy VIP pavilion, and leading into a bending line to the final oxer on course. They also had a hard knock at the de- ceivingly difficult triple bar oxer at fence two that had its fair share of victims. How- ever, they returned in round two to complete a textbook round, lowering just one un- lucky rail at a vertical early on course to finish day two of competition in 19th place on a score of 21.57. “The second round


was a lot better, and I think the horse learned a lot from the first round to the sec- ond,” Deslauriers said of the nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Catoki x Acord II),


Olympian and anchor rider in Lima stated, “It’s what we came here for. To win a medal would have been nice, and we were in strik- ing distance. But I think everybody handled the pres- sure well, and everyone counted a score in the two rounds of the nations cup. Now we look forward, and everybody starts on a clean slate for the individual final. So, we’ll put our best foot forward and try to pull it off. We’ll fight another day.” While Deslauriers, 54,


may not have stepped up to the team podium, the family name was well represented there with his 20-year-old daughter, Lucy, helping the United States to bronze. “That was great to see Lucy get a medal. It was so excit- ing and she rode beautifully. She was the only clear round for the US in the sec- ond round.”


course. “Parette is fairly green


for this level, so I’m really proud of her for being here,” said Carlsen, 54, who has a team gold medal from the 1987 Pan Am Games in In- dianapolis, USA. “Every- thing is always a learning experience. There are little things that I’ve learned about her here, and I can just take that on to the next venue and next competition, so she and I can keep grow- ing together.” Due to an unfortunate


elimination during day one of competition on Aug. 6, while Carlsen contributed valuable rides for the team in the final, she was not eli- gible for individual compe- tition.


See page 25 and 27 for more Lima News


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