2/ NOVEMBER 2020 THE RIDER


competition, we managed to achieve a personal best score and win third place.” In the following day’s


marathon, a score of to 88.43 points for a fifth-place finish boosted Houtappels-Bruder and Flip into second place in the pro- visional standings with a com- bined dressage and marathon score of 134.32 points. “The marathon course was


Houtappels-Bruder and Flip started off strong in the dressage phase on Oct. 21. Photo Credit: ©S. Bailly/Centaure Production


Kelly Houtappels-Bruder Continued from Page 1.


berg, NED. Houtappels-Bruder also made an appearance at the 2014 Izsák World Championship driving Zidaan. Armed with experience from


Championships past and sup- ported by a stellar team (groom and navigator, Meike Paridaans; coach, Corine Dorrepaal; veteri- narian, Maud Smedts; and a crowd of Canadian cheerleaders watching


via livestream), Spanish Horses


Canada Continued from Page 1.


to be enjoyed more, particularly here in North America. Today’s market dictates that our horses fit a certain model for style, ele- gance, rideability and tempera- ment. Et voila! The P.R.E. checks all the boxes! It is for this reason that the


partnership of Muriel Chestnut and Cassandra Robson formed “Spanish Horses Canada”! Muriel’s background of import- ing Spanish horses from Spain began in 2005 with the importa- tion of the impeccably bred breeding stallion Soberbio XII. As the best bred PRE in Canada of his time, this sought after son of Ebanisto, Champion of Spain, sired many offspring who went on to excel in Dressage and eventing. Most notably, the grey prodigal son, Faisan AT. This young super


star became


Canada’s poster child for the P.R.E. in Canada, winning count- less accolades and gracing the covers of many Canadian equine publications. Faisan AT earned the title of the “most pho- tographed horse” one year! Soberbio XII stood for 12 years and is most remembered for his performances in the theatrical equestrian show “Hippike” at the CNE in Toronto in 2008. Muriel and Soberbio also performed in traditional Spanish attire at Can Am and were crowd pleasers for their lively Classical Dressage displays in Uxbridge, including opening for the RCMP Musical Ride.


Muriel and Cassandra met


in person in January 2020 when Cassandra opened Cedar Rails Equestrian stables just north of Barrie, ON. In her new and beau- tifully appointed facility, she quickly attracted the attention of Muriel, who was looking for a good facility to board her 2 P.R.E.s, Soberbio XII and Re- suelto MZ, as well as the oppor- tunity to be an asset as an instructor/trainer.


Houtappels-Bruder and Flip took to the dressage ring early on Oct. 21. A precise test featuring smooth transitions set the pair up for success with a score of 45.89 points for a provisional standing of third. “Flip has come a long way in


the last four years and that was certainly reflected in our dres- sage,” said Houtappels-Bruder. “Normally, the judging at a championship is much tougher and you expect a five-point dip in your score. But even with our early start time on the first day of


tough – almost 20km long, in- cluding transitions with eight challenging obstacles – but Flip handled it with ease and clocked some of our best times,” com- mented Houtappels-Bruder. “The ground was really greasy, which made things tricky, but all in all he was a beast and we managed to drive a clear course with no steering corrections or knock- downs.” The intensity of the battle for


medals had increased dramati- cally by the conclusion of the marathon phase: France’s Marion Vignaud and First Quality sat a scant 0.24 points ahead of Houtappels-Bruder in first in the provisional standings, while the Netherland’s Saskia Siebers and Axel were just 0.80 points behind in third. On Oct. 24, Houtappels-Bur- der held on to her hard-won po-


S p a n i s h


Horses Canada is excited to an- nounce that the first shipment of 2 outstanding geld- ings, one black and one chestnut, both 6 yr olds, each 16.1 hh, both training advanced


Cassandra’s broad back-


ground in many areas of the equestrian world, and her excel- lent resourcefulness were assets that formed the foundation for the business. Their enthusiasm for the breed matched perfectly! Together, they are committed to selecting and importing hand- picked, high quality P.R.E.’s to Canada for the North American amateur and professional mar- kets.


Horses are selected based


on a stringent list of criteria for age, height, rideability, sport type movement, colour, soundness and price range. Horses can also be sourced for clients with partic- ular tastes and dreams! Anything from amateur friendly, specialty colours like palomino or buck- skin, rare colours like black or chestnut … all the way up to sea- soned competition Grand Prix Schoolmasters. We encourage clients to dream big … its a big adventure (and investment) so why not get exactly what you’ve been dreaming of ever since you were a little girl playing with Barbie or Breyer horses?!! “We want to be known as the Equine Dream Coaches!” … muses Muriel … remember “Life is short … buy the damn horse!!” Clients are reassured that


the importation process will be taken care of with professional- ism, transparency and communi- cation. The importation of horses from Spain can be particularly complicated so its imperative that the client feels confident and re- assured throughout the process, which can take weeks from the initial search to the unloading of the horse on Canadian soil at the airport as well as the quarantine process. This is a full service business.


movements, has now arrived and will be ready to be presented to the public as soon as the quaran-


sition in the final cones phase, limiting her points with Flip to 4.68. The performance brought their final combined score to 139.00 points and secured silver for the Canadian combination out of the field of nearly 50 entries. The gold medal was awarded to Siebers and Axel (136.18 points), while bronze went to Poland’s Bartlomiej Kwiatek and Sonet (139.52 points). “Cones on Sunday was one


of the toughest courses I’ve ever seen and it was reflected in the big shift in results on the last day,” said Houtappels-Bruder. “The optimum time was ex- tremely difficult to make, espe- cially with such a technical course. Flip was extremely fresh, so I had my hands full, but we managed to keep all of the balls standing and with only a few time penalties held onto the silver medal.” Speaking to the fantastic


level of competition she faced, Houtappels-Bruder commented, “Singles driving is evolving and it’s really exciting to be a part of the momentum. The challenge and the training involved is start- ing to produce some really great sport, which made it so compli- mentary [for the Championship] to be held in conjunction with the


tine is finished within a few days. Prospective buyers will be


pampered upon arriving at the farm with an offering of some de- lightful Tapas and select Spanish wines. The horses will be pre- sented loose, in hand and of course under saddle, all while Flamenco and Spanish guitar music entice the viewer to be- come enraptured with the Span- ish vibes. Spanish Horses Canada believes when you own a Spanish horse, it changes who you are.


captured the silver medal with Flip at the 2020 FEI Driving World Championship for Singles, held Oct. 21-26 in Pau, FRA. Photo Credit: ©S. Bailly/Centaure Production


[Les 5 Étoiles de Pau CCI-L 5*].”


Equestrian Canada High


Performance Director, James Hood, added, “A huge congratu- lations goes out to Kelly and her team based in the Netherlands, which helped her get to the silver medal at the FEI Driving World Championship for Singles. In the tough-fought battle across all three phases, she was able to


They really do change your life! For more information about


Spanish Horses Canada or to book a viewing, please contact us at 705-970-1088, follow us on


build the scores and perform- ances needed to earn the silver.” For full information and re-


sults from the 2020 FEI Driving World Championship for Singles, v


i s i t


https://inside.fei.org/fei/disc/dri- ving/main-events/world-singles- 2020. For more information about EC driving programs and services, visit https://www.eques- trian.ca/sport/driving


Facebook at Spanish Horses Canada and instagram @spanish- horsescanada


Canadian Kelly Houtappels-Bruder, a resident of Steensel, NED,


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