Bennett Bounces Back For A Bromont Win

She and her fellow Canadian riders stage a coup d’état in Quebec, sweeping all three CCI divisions.

When Hawley Bennett got the ride on Gin & Juice three years ago, the mare’s name inspired her to call all of her horses by lighthearted, drinking-related names: Gin Fizz, Amstel, Five O’Clock Somewhere and Last Call. But she didn’t have any Champagne until she won the Bromont CCI*** in Bromont, Que., June 10-14.

Bennett, a Canadian citizen based in Temecula, Calif., had plenty of reason to pop corks after riding Gin & Juice to a huge win in the second-annual Todd Sandler Memorial Challenge division. “Ginny,” an 8-year-old Thoroughbred mare (Audio—Qtrapastree), finished on her dressage score of 51.9.

“It’s kind of cool having it be in my home country,” Bennett, 32, said. “It’s so incredible that Canada won the one-, two- and three-stars. It’s kind of exciting. Ginny should be a team horse. She’s got all the parts. She’ll definitely be aiming for the World [Equestrian Games] and the Pan Ams and the Olympics.”

The pair started Saturday morning in fifth place, but one of only two double-clear cross-country rounds in the division sent them into the runner-up spot.

“Ginny was great right from the get-go,” Bennett said. “She’s fast, but [in the past] I’d had to check her a little bit. But now I think the bigger fences back her off, so I don’t have to do as much work.

“I was actually a little nervous,” she continued. “But I had a good warm-up, and that gave me a good feeling going in, and it ended up being probably one of my best rides ever. She was like a little sports car. I’m so proud of her.”

Heading into the show jumping, U.S. veterans Corinne Ashton and Dobbin held a lead of .3 points over Bennett and Ginny.

Armed with the knowledge that she’d already had a hard knock in the warm-up, not to mention a neck strap to help her stay with Ginny’s catapult-like jump, Bennett looked cool as a cucumber as she cantered around the Bromont International Horse Park’s massive main arena. The diminutive mare ate up the course as eagerly as ever, but she looked calm and focused.

“I know if she hits one in the warm-up, she won’t do it again,” Bennett said. “The mare can jump. It’s just whether she gets nervous or not, if I pick down to the base of the fences.”

After Bennett logged a thrilling double-clear, Ashton entered the arena in an uncomfortably familiar position. She’d been winning the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) last fall until Dobbin pulled the very last rail on course to drop to second. And Ashton’s disappointment was evident when history repeated itself at Bromont—the second-to-last fence, a square oxer in the middle of the triple combination, spoiled their victory. The crowd let out an audible “Awwww,” as they passed through the finish flags.

Bennett couldn’t help feeling thrilled for her young mare, however, and for her owner, Linda Paine of KingsWay Farm. Paine made the trip to Bromont, but by the time the CCI*** division jumped on Sun-day, she’d already had to leave to catch her flight home. Thus, she missed out on seeing her youngster lead the victory gallop.