North Salem, N.Y.—August 1

When Camille Carier Bergeron headed into the ring for her FEI Young Rider Team test at the Adequan FEI North American Youth Championships, she didn’t know where her team stood in the rankings, but she knew it was her time to shine.

As Quebec/Alberta fans on the sidelines got out their calculators to figure out what score Bergeron needed to boost their team to the top of the podium, she laid down a mistake-free test to land third overall and give her combined team the win.

“I like watching some riders but not all of them, and I didn’t know what [score I was trying] to achieve,” said Bergeron, 18. “I was trying to focus on myself and my horse and our team and what we can do, not trying to ride for the others, just to be in the ring and focused on our movements and nothing else.”

Team Quebec/Alberta, (from left) Camille Carier Bergeron, Rakeya Moussa and Beatrice Boucher earned young rider team gold at NAYC. Photo by Emily Stakem.

Bergeron’s test with Baldacci earned her a 70.35 percent, and coupled with marks from teammate Rakeya Moussa (Davidoff v.h. Trichelhof) and Beatrice Boucher (Delfiano), the group claimed Young Rider team gold. With three strong scores, the lack of a drop score didn’t affect the team at all. All three riders were grinning ear to ear when they came to get their medals in the pouring rain.

After hearing her score, Bergeron burst into tears.

“Thinking all what we’ve been through, training over the last year and a half, thinking of all the progress we’ve made and being able to get a 70 percent at a championship is a dream come true,” said Bergeron, Mascouche, Quebec. “I’m still very emotional about it.”

Quebec and Alberta’s team earned the win over the combined team from Regions 4 and 7 (Jenna Upchurch on Westerstorm, Annika Tedlund on Vade Mecum Interago, Tillie Jones on Apachi and Christian Simonson on FRH Rassolini) with Region 1 (Amanda Perkowski on Quando Boy, Kristin Counterman on Three Times, Anna Weniger on Don Derrick and Kayla Kadlubek on Perfect Step) taking bronze.

Team Quebec/Alberta earned young rider team gold over the team from Region 4 and 7 with Region 1 taking bronze. Photo by Emily Stakem.

First out for Quebec/Alberta, Moussa earned the second-highest score of the day (71.32%).

“Today I was just so happy with his rideability and consistency,” said Moussa, Edmonton, Alberta. “Pirouettes have not been his strong point, so I was excited to get those done well.”

Boucher and Delfiano posted the seventh-highest score: 68.47 percent.

“I was really happy with our test,” said the 21-year-old from Saint-Dominique, Quebec. “He was really consistent and winning the gold was a great closing to my [time as a young rider].

“The trot work today was really consistent, and I was really happy,” she continued.

The three riders will return on Friday at 9 a.m. for the FEI Young Rider Individual test.

You can see full results here: 

Stay glued to coth.com for updates throughout the week for lots more from the Adequan FEI North American Youth Championship, and be sure you’re following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @chronofhorse. We’ll have lots more from the competition in the Aug. 20 issue of the magazine.