Clark Montgomery of Fairburn, Georgia, and Loughan Glen continue to lead the CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event running June 9 to 12 in Bromont, Quebec. Photo by Cealy Tetley

June 11, 2011 – Bromont, Quebec – Clark Montgomery of the United States continues to lead the CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, following the cross-country phase held Saturday, June 11, in Bromont, Quebec.

Conditions were ideal for a full day of cross-country competition which saw competitors from around the world contesting the CCI3*, CCI2*, CCI1*, and Open Training divisions.

In the CCI3* division, Montgomery riding Loughan Glen was foot perfect around the track set by course designer Derek Di Grazia. The pair collected four time penalties for exceeding the time allowed of nine minutes, 34 seconds, to bring their two-day total to 43 penalty points.

“The course rode great,” said Montgomery, 30, of Fairburn, Georgia. “My horse is green and he over-jumped some fences, but he is such a trier and he is just so honest. He coped with the course really well, he just got a little bit jumping tired at the end but was still galloping well. From fence 24 to the end, I had to help him home, but that was only the last four jumps or so. He just has to get used to jumping that many fences at that height now. He recovered great, and I was really pleased.”

Bromont is the first three-star event for Loughan Glen, an eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Jessica Montgomery, Kathryn Kraft and Holly Becker. Montgomery is hoping to maintain his position at the top of the leader board following Sunday’s final phase of show jumping.

“He is usually pretty good,” said Montgomery of his horse’s show jumping skills. “We’ll see how he feels. If he’s a bit tired, I may need to help him a little bit, but be wants to be a careful horse. He’s dead honest, and he’s such a trier. He analyzes things and understands it, and he likes his job.”

With his cross-country performance, Montgomery has widened his lead over 2004 Olympic Champion Leslie Law of Great Britain who is sitting in second riding Rehy Lux. Law picked up 8.40 time penalties with the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding for a two-day score of 50.70 penalty points.

American Sharon White moved up from fifth after dressage into third position following her cross-country performance with Rafferty's Rules. The pair added six time penalties to their dressage score for a two-day total of 57 penalty points. Kristin Bachman of the United States dropped to fourth riding Gryffindor with a score of 57.80 penalty points while two-time Olympic Team Gold medalist Phillip Dutton of West Grove, Pennsylvania, rounds out the top five with a provisional score of 59.30 riding William Penn.

Of the 22 entries that went out on cross-country in the three-star division, 20 completed although none finished under the time allowed. Only Buck Davidson, who elected to retire with Titanium, and Amy Ruth Borun, who was eliminated riding Santa’s Playboy, did not complete the course.

Like Montgomery, Canada’s Rebecca Howard of Salmon Arm, BC, also maintained her lead in the CCI2* division with Roquefort, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding she co-owns with Jim Cogdell. With only two time penalties added to their score, Howard narrowly holds her lead with 49.40 penalty points over Dutton who was clear with Mighty Fine for a score of 49.50.

“He was great, I was really proud of him,” said Howard, who is based at The Fork Stables in Norwood, North Carolina. “He is not the fastest horse, so I have to keep on him. He is pretty experienced at this level, and the course here is beautiful. It’s such a horse-friendly course, and it was a smart course. It was tough but not trappy. The ground is great, and we so appreciate that.”

Heading into Sunday’s final phase of show jumping, Howard is confident in Roquefort’s abilities in the stadium, and hopes her performance will sufficiently impress the Canadian Eventing Team selection committee that will determine the line-up for this October’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“He’s a very good show jumper,” Howard said. “He is a scopey, athletic jumper and very careful. He didn’t pull up tired after the cross-country, and I am optimistic for tomorrow.”

In the CCI1* division, Will Coleman of Gordonsville, Virginia, also continues to lead with Zipp with a two-day score of 43.40. Coleman was the winner of the 2010 CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge. He is followed in the placings by fellow American Doug Payne who currently lies second with a score of 45.70 penalty points riding Camerlingo.

Continuing the theme, Mara Depuy of the United States also continues to lead the Open Training division riding Alimit, having added nothing to her dressage score of 41.90 penalty points.

Course designer Derek Di Grazia of Carmel Valley, California, and Canadian course builder Jay Hambly received rave reviews for their course-country tracks set in the picturesque Bromont Olympic Horse Park, site of the equestrian events for the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

The Bromont Three Day Event concludes on Sunday, June 12, with the third and final phase of show jumping, beginning at 9:30 a.m. More than $30,000 in prize money will then be awarded to the top finishers.

For more information about the Bromont Three Day Event, including LIVE SCORING, please visit the bilingual website, www.bromont3dayevent.com.