34/ APRIL 2020 THE RIDER


Karl Slezak And Fernhill Wishes Show Off Major Games Experience For Top Five Finish At Red Hills International Horse Trials


Ottawa, ON, March 10, 2020 – Karl Slezak of Tottenham, ON, and Fernhill Wishes (Chacoa x Gildawn Dia- mond) cracked the top five in the first CCI 4*-S competi- tion of the 2020 season at The Red Hills International Horse Trials, held March 5-8 in Tal- lahassee, FL. It was the combination’s


first international appearance since helping the Canadian Eventing Team win bronze at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Slezak and the 11- year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, whom he co-owns with Kirk Hoppner, showed off the lessons learned in their major games debut with an incredible run that carried them from an initial placing of 17th all the way to fourth. Slezak and Fernhill


Wishes started off scoring 37.10 penalty points in the dressage phase on March 6. Their climb began in the fol- lowing day’s cross-country phase, where a clear round with 13.60 time penalties moved them up six notches to 11th. To seal the deal, Slezak and Fernhill Wishes executed a beautiful double-clear show jumping round on March 8, ending on a final score of 50.70 penalty points. Slezak was joined by a


familiar face on the CCI 4*-S leaderboard: that of his Pan Am Games teammate and Canadian Olympian, Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON. She put in world class per- formances with two different mounts, starting with her vet- eran


(Pavarotti van de Helle x


Foxiland XX). Phoenix and her 18-year-old Westphalian gelding added 14.40 cross- country time penalties and just one show jumping rail to their dressage score of 33.30 penalties to end on a final score of 51.70 penalty points for sixth. Finishing exactly one


penalty point behind was Phoenix’s second ride, a nine- year-old Trakehner gelding named Watson GS that she co-owns with Kelli Cull. Phoenix and Watson GS, who came from her partnership with Canadian breeders Schickedanz Galten Farms, scored 34.70 penalties in dressage,


incurred 18.00


Karl Slezak of Tottenham, ON, and Fernhill Wishes cracked the top five at The Red Hills International Horse Trials, held March 5-8, 2020, in Tallahassee, FL. Photo Credit: Shannon Brinkman


cross-country time penalty points and jumped double- clear to clinch eighth with a final score of 52.70 penalty points. Rounding out the top 10


partner, Pavarotti


Kyle Carter and Gaillards Lancer placed third in the CCI 3*-S division. Photo Credit: Shannon Brinkman


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Canadian performances was Brandon McMechan of Toronto, ON, and Oscar’s Wild, the nine-year-old Thor- oughbred gelding that he co- owns with his father, Glenn McMechan. They scored a re- spectable 37.20 penalty points in the dressage phase, but the duo’s real area of ex- pertise was on display in the next day’s cross-country. There, McMechan and Oscar’s Wild limited their time penalties to 2.40 to shoot an impressive 17 spots into first. In the show jumping phase, three rails and a time penalty of 2.80 ultimately dropped their final score to 54.50 penalties, placing McMechan and Oscar’s Wild in 10th.


In the CCI 3*-S division, it was Kyle Carter,


a Canadian residing in Sparr, FL, who held the Canadian standard riding Gaillard Lancer (Di- arado x Flemmingh), who is co-owned by Bran- don and Savannah Blackstock. Carter partnered with Gaillard Lancer just over a year ago after the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding proved to be a bit stronger and more opinionated than an- ticipated for the student of Carter’s for whom he was originally intended. But Carter managed that power beautifully,


scoring 28.60 penalty points for second after dres- sage and tearing through the cross-country course clear with just 4.0 time penalties to push into first after the first two phases. An unlucky rail in show jumping brought Carter’s final score to 36.60 penalty points, securing third for the pair. “He’s been getting better and better every


time,” said Carter of Gaillard Lancer. “It always seems like he’s the bridesmaid and never the bride, but he’s so consistent and seems to always show up and compete, which is an incredible value to have in a horse. I know him really well, he knows me and goes really well for me – he’s only started scratching the surface, to be honest. This is a horse that could medal. I want to thank Brandon and Savannah, it’s quite a privilege to ride him and I appreciate their support.” For more information and full results from


The Red Hills International Horse Trials, visit https://www.rhht.org/


Adequan Continued from Page 33


nered now for a little less then three years. Look- ing back to 2017, I remember being barely able to do a full Training level test. At a young age, he sure was very talented but he didn’t have much motivation. It took a very long time before he started to trust me and wanted to work for me and please me. Honestly, if someone would have told me three years ago that I would be scoring over 73% with him, I would have laughed and thought that he was very silly.” Carier Bergeron added, “I was very lucky to


have amazing people behind me who kept believ- ing in us and supporting us in our lows and highs. I sure can say that this horse taught me a very good lesson: with patience, love and determina- tion, everything is possible. Now, we are working on the U25 at home, but I only take what he wants to give me and we do it at his own rhythm. I hope to qualify for NAYC again and hopefully be on the podium. Eventually, I would like to compete with him in some European shows.” Canada’s top placings continued in the Jun-


ior division. Carier Bergeron’s fellow NAYC vet- eran, Ariel Boesener of Canning, NS, scored 66.716% in the CDI-J Individual Competition on Feb. 29 for third place riding Sedona (Silberpfeil x Brass Minister XX), her 14-year-old Holstein/Thoroughbred-cross mare. Scarlett Hansen of Outremont, QC, and Mary Ambrose’s Da Vinci (Di Caprio x Shogun) tied Boesener’s score of 66.716% in their first competition at the Junior level, but were allotted fourth place as Boe- sener had the highest total median score. The next day, Hansen and the 18-year-old Hanoverian geld- ing returned to the ring to take third in the CDI-J Freestyle (68.135%). Hansen also swept the Pony division with


Rêve de Glatigny to be crowned 2020 Florida In- ternational Youth Dressage FEI Pony Champion. She and the homebred 15-year-old pony gelding started in the CDI-P Team Competition on Feb. 28 with 64.524% before moving on to the Indi- vidual Competition on Feb. 29 with 68.288%. Hansen and Rêve de Glatigny closed their win- ning run on March 1 with 66.869%. Competition continues at AGDF until late


March, with the next CDI competition taking place March 10-15. For more information and re- sults, visit https://gdf.coth.com.


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