Bromont, Quebec—June 11

While Jordán Linstedt is thrilled to be leaving Canada with the cooler proclaiming her to be the winner of the CCI***, she has one regret.

Making a bet with fellow west coast riders Frankie Thieriot Stutes and Tamie Smith.

As the winners sat down for the press conference afterwards, second-place finisher Sara Kozumplik Murphy reminded her that the last time someone led the three-star from start to finish, Jon Holling streaked in front of the Bromont sign.

“Oh no!” was Linstedt’s response. “Frankie and I and Tamie all shook on it at dinner the first night we were here. I didn’t realize…”

So when asked when she was leaving Linstedt’s response was an emphatic, “Right after this meeting.”

Jordán Linstedt lead the CCI*** from start to finish with RevitaVet Capato. Photo by Kimberly Loushin

All joking aside, this is a result Linstedt has been yearning for since she paired up with RevitaVet Capato. Originally nobody thought he would make a good event horse since he was so spooky, so he was going to be sold as a dressage horse. But Linstedt persevered, and seven years later they brought home their biggest victory to date—one in which they led from start to finish.

Linstedt rode to a 43.2 in the dressage and added just 1.3 time penalties on cross-country. In a very influential show jumping course designed by Marc Donovan, she dropped two rails and picked up 4 time penalties, but it was enough to keep her in the lead.

“It wasn’t maybe the most perfect ride today,” she said. “I typically have time on him, which I did acquire a couple. My plan is to kind of go in and not be in a hurry because I knew I had a gap, but overall he jumped really well.

“He’s just continued to jump better and better all spring,” she said. “Being out here on the east coast it’s been awesome to ride with these guys and see them ride and watch them ride and get the help from some of the top trainers has been really beneficial.”

Sara Kozumplik Murphy and Rubens D’Ysieux jumped the only double clear in the CCI*** show jumping to take second. Photo by Kimberly Loushin.

Murphy put in the only double clear round of the division with Rubens D’Ysieux, which was enough to boost them to second place in their first CCI*** together. The pair was third after dressage on a 44.9, but 13.6 time penalties in cross-country meant they dropped to a tie for 10^th before show jumping.

“He’s one of a kind,” Murphy said. “He’s an unbelievable horse. I’m pretty excited about him obviously. I couldn’t talk about him enough.

“He’s a wicked show jumper,” she continued. “My husband is a very good show jumping coach as well, so I’ve gotten a lot better in show jumping. When you’ve got a horse like that it makes you really confident and happy, and he goes in there and tries really hard.

“It’s funny. Boyd [Martin] actually said to me, ‘Oh he looks kind of normal in the warm-up.’ I’m like ‘Yeah, but he’s like a circus pony.’ He gets in there and he’s like Yeah! He puts in his unicorn horn, and he’s like, ‘I’m ready.’ ”

Kylie Lyman rounded out the top three with Lup The Loop. Jessica Phoenix took home the Canadian National CCI*** Championship with Bogue Sound.

Springer’s Next Star

When Allison Springer swung her leg over Lord Willing’s back for the CCI** she knew she was going to have a good day.

“He’s a very sensitive horse, and he’s really friendly and sweet, but when he’s nervous he’s kind of tough,” she said. ‘In show jumping today when I got on him he just felt happy and relaxed about his day yesterday, and that’s a great feeling.”

Allison Springer and Lord Willing took top call in the CCI**. Photo by Kimberly Loushin

The pair was leading after dressage on a 37.8, but 4.4 time penalties on cross-country dropped them to second. Waylon Roberts had a narrow lead on Lancaster, with just a single penalty separating them before show jumping.

“He felt so awesome out there [on cross-country,]” said Springer. “I was disappointed I didn’t make time. I felt like there were a couple places where I was slow, like after that first water. I went booking as fast as I could through the tree line, and then it’s kind of a weird S-turn which I completely overshot, so I had to slow down there.

“There were a couple of places where I could have just been much more efficient in my turns and my path,” she continued. “I thought I had a good plan with that. It was definitely my goal to come and have a really good dressage test and try to finish on that score. I’m disappointed I didn’t do that but pretty thrilled of course with a win and how confident and fun he was to ride.

Springer and “Liam” dropped a rail late in the course giving Roberts a bit of breathing room, however he and “Baxter” dropped five rails, knocking them to 11^th. This marks Liam’s second FEI win. He also won the CIC* at Plantation Field (Pa.), last fall. Will Coleman slotted into second with Off The Record and Bobby Meyerhoff took third with Rascal Rap.

Great Expectations Lives Up To His Name

When Rachel Wilks headed into show jumping for the CCI* she wasn’t feeling a lot of pressure. She was sitting in second with her own Great Expectations, and there was a 10-point margin between her and the overnight leader Kelli Temple and Metallica.

“I was like, ‘Well, we know it’s Kelli Temple. She’s going to be fine. It will be what it be. I’ll do the best that I can and give him a good ride,’ He was amazing this weekend,” said Wilks.

Rachel Wilks and Great Expectations were stalking the lead all weekend, and a clear show jumping round helped them take the CCI* title. Photo by Kimberly Loushin

Wilks and Great Expectations jumped clear, so all that was left to do was wait. When Temple dropped the top rail of both fences in the first combination, things started to look up for Wilks. And when Metallica tipped a fence in the triple combination coming home, the victory was Wilks’. Temple finished second, and Holly Payne Caravella rode to third on CharmKing.

“In the dressage, he had a fantastic test and got a 41.3. I couldn’t have asked him to be any better,” she continued. “He was fantastic cross-country. It’s his first one star, so I was really thrilled with how he came out, and then today he felt amazing. He surpassed every expectation that I had and he lived up to his name.”

Wilks has had a large support team here this weekend. Her regular coach and boss Sharon White is in Germany to compete at Luhmühlen CCI*** next week, so she’s relied on Sara and Brian Murphy, who live down the road from White’s Last Frontier Farm.

“Brian’s a show jumper, so he helped me in the show jumping,” she said. “[Canadian dressage rider] Jacquie Brooks was here on Wednesday and helped me in the dressage and she’s amazing. Then Sara helped me in the warm-up for dressage and cross-country. It was a team effort.”

On Cue Steps Up

When it was time to send in entries for Bromont, Boyd Martin was on the fence about whether or not he wanted to bring On Cue. The cross-country course designed by Derek di Grazia is known to be a tougher one, and the bay mare only had a couple of intermediates under her belt.

Boyd Martin and On Cue jumped clear to win the CIC**. Photo by Kimberly Loushin

But she’s had a strong spring season, so he decided On Cue would be shipping to Canada. And she proved his decision was the right one. She sat third after dressage and went double clear over both jumping phases to soar to the win in the CIC**.

“It’s been an awesome weekend,” said Martin. “I think this has been by far one of the best three-day events in North America. Derek di Grazia builds a wickedly awesome track. The tracks I think are bigger. I’ve ridden three stars all over the world. This is bigger that Boekelo [the Netherlands], and it felt bigger than Luhmühlen CCI**** to be honest. I think any horse that runs well in the two-star or three-star here, you know you’ve got a proper horse that’s going to be a horse that can cope with four-star.”

Martin just started riding On Cue this year. She got her start with Sinead Halpin before moving on to train under Michael Pollard. When Pollard decided to retire from eventing, she went to live at owner Christine Turner’s farm for a year before she headed to Martin’s farm.`

“I’ve really clicked with the mare,” said Martin. “She oozes with class. She’s very elegant on the flat, brave cross-country, and the show jumping would be her weakest thing with her technique, but I think she’s really special, and I’m hoping that I can keep going with her.”

Important links: Full Pedigree Bromont CCI*** results  ¦  All the Chronicle’s Bromont coverage  ¦  The Chronicle’s home page

And don’t miss more in-depth about the winners in the July 3 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse magazine.