Canada’s First Selection Phase Completed for Critical Pan American Games Team to Get Tokyo Olympic Start
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, April 3, 2019–Canada has completed the first phase winter selection for the team to go to the Pan American Games in July seeking a start at the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Tina Irwin and Laurencio, Lindsay Kellock and Floratina and Belinda Trussel on Carlucci lead the Small Tour standings as of the end of March, while Jill Irving on Degas is the leader for Grand Prix if Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, on All In remains out of the competition arena as she expects to give birth to her first child, a boy, in mid-June. The Pan Ams are scheduled for Lima, Peru at the end of July.
All riders and horses looking to qualify for the team of mixed Small and Big Tour combinations have to have at least once score after April 1–with plenty of opportunities before the end of June with four CDI3* competitions in Canada and four in the United States though three of those are in California. The next competition is in Tryon, North Carolina in mid-April.
A team must include at least one Grand Prix combination to qualify for the Olympics. Canada, like most nations has not announced how Small and Big Tour combinations it will send to Lima.
Tina Irwin and Laurencio, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Tina and her husband, Jaimey, lead the Canadian Small Tour standings. The pair has an average of 72.995 in the Prix St. Georges that counts for 60% of the total and 72.309 for Intermediate 1 that makes up the other 40% of the required total.
Tina, 38 years old, competed for Canada on the silver medal team at the 2011 Pan American Games.
Lindsay Kellock on Floratina, an 11-year-old Hanoverian mare, is second in the standings with a Prix St. Georges average of 71.520 and 71.086 at Intermediate 1. Lindsay, who will be 29 later this month and competes Floratina for Chloe Gasiorowski, rode the horse on the Canadian Nations Cup team in Wellington last month, but she has not yet competed on a championship team.
Belinda Trussell is ranked third on Carlucci, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding with an average score of 70.098 in the St. Georges and 69.784 at Int. 1. Belinda, 48, has competed for Canada at two Olympics, four World Equestrian Games, a World Cup Final and a Pan American Games as well as the 2003 open European Championships.
Tom Dvorak stand fourth on Cyrus, a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding that has averages of 70.016 at St. Georges and 68.575 at Int. 1. Tom, 53, has competed at two Pan Ams, winning team silver at both.
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu has not competed since winning the CDI5* Grand Prix and Freestyle on All In, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding, at the Global Dressage Festival in early February.
Her scores average 72.033 at Grand Prix and 69.936 in the Special.
Jill Irving on Degas, her 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding, stands second in Big Tour standings with a Grand Prix average of 70.201 and a Special average of 71.585.
Jill, 56, on Arthur is in a close contest with Under-25 rider Naima Moreira Laliberte on the 12-year-old Statesman, and Olympic and two-times World Games rider Megan Lane, 27, on the 14-year-old KWPN Zodiak MW.
Canada will face Brazil and Mexico and possibly other nations for the two team places at the Tokyo Games. The United States is already qualified with its team silver performance at the World Games in Tryon last fall.
