Australia Tops MARS Bromont CCI4*-L Following Saturday’s Cross Country
Australia Sits One-Two in MARS Bromont CCI4*-L
Following Saturday’s Cross Country Phase
It was Australian rider Ema Klugman’s day to shine at the MARS Bromont CCI, taking over the top two spots on the podium following cross-country in the CCI4*-L.
Klugman, who is coming off successful runs at Defender Kentucky’s CCI4*S in April with both RF Redfern (owned by Team Fern) and Chiraz (owned by the Chiraz Syndicate), secured quick, efficient clear rounds today on Derek di Grazia’s course to move up in the standings after overnight leader Lauren Nicholson and Larcot Z collected a few too many time penalties to retain their position.
“‘Fern’ was great. I’m super proud of her,” Klugman commented after her rides. RF Redfern, a 12-year-old Westphalian mare by Any Given Sunday, is the division leader, carrying a two-day score of 31.8. “This is her first four-star long, and I’ve always believed in her and thought she was an incredible little horse. But oftentimes horses have to develop their own self-belief, and she was just absolutely incredible–she totally rose to the occasion, and she loves to go fast. So, you know, if she’s going, she’s going to be fast.”
Chiraz (below), a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Cayado 3 who was campaigned to the CCI3* level with Boyd Martin, will take second place into show jumping on Sunday on a score of 34.4.
“He did Kentucky and was awesome there, so I felt like we were really prepared coming here,” Klugman said of Chiraz, who was her first ride of the day. “I’ve had the ride on him for just about a year and a half. To be honest, it wasn’t totally smooth sailing in the beginning. He’s a little tricky to ride sometimes — he’s got a bit of personality — so we had to figure out where to meet in the middle. But he gave me an amazing ride today. I actually made a couple of mistakes on him — dumb mistakes — and I’m really, really impressed with him because even despite my mistakes, he totally stepped up. He kind of took the reins and just went for it.”
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