February 27, 2022 – Wellington, FL – Beatrice Boucher of St. Dominique, QC, earned two victories for Canada as the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival entered its seventh week of competition from February 23 to 27, 2022, in Wellington, FL.

Contesting the CDI1* division, Boucher guided Summerwood’s Limei to victory in a 16-horse starting field in Friday’s Prix St. Georges with a score of 73.382%.  The pair repeated their winning ways on Saturday in the Intermediaire 1 test by earning 70.912% from the panel of five international judges.

“She was great and just did whatever I asked her for,” said Boucher of the nine-year-old Hanoverian mare (Londonderry x Weltmeyer) owned by Monica Von Glahn.  “We knew each other a little bit more in the ring than even two weeks ago, and this weekend we could push a bit more and get higher points compared to two weeks ago.

“Her walk is her biggest strength; it helps a lot to have a good walk,” continued Boucher.  “We still have to improve everything in a bigger way.  Everything is settling, it’s just a matter of improving it all to go to eights on our movements instead of sevens or seven and a half.”

Boucher had originally shown Summerwood’s Limei as a young horse for the breeders, Claude Ménard and Lynda Tétreault.  After bringing her up to Third Level, the mare was sold to Monica Von Glahn of the United States.  In March of 2021, Von Glahn asked Boucher to take back the ride.  Reunited, Boucher and Summerwood’s Limei made their Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) competition debut during week five of the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival and earned scores of 70.912% to place fourth and 70.324% to place second in the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I tests respectively.

“I’ve had her back for almost a year now; her basics were mine, so she settled in quite easily,” said Boucher, 24, of the transition.  “She’s really a one-person horse.  She doesn’t like to have different people taking care of her, so I take care of her all the time at the barn and at the shows.  When she trusts the person, she’s super cuddly and loves to hang out with you.”

Boucher, who has trained with her mother, Isabelle Ouellet, for the duration of her young career, is based in Quebec and spends the winter season in Wellington, FL.  Her abilities caught the attention of six-time Canadian Olympian, Christilot Hanson Boylen, who asked her to ride one of her horses.  Boylen and Ouellet now share coaching duties, with Ouellet travelling to Florida during week five of competition and providing video input during week seven.

“My mom has been my trainer forever, and then when I started riding Christilot’s mare last year, I found I really enjoyed riding with her,” said Boucher of the Canadian dressage icon.  “She’s a horsewoman, she wants the best for the horse, and she has a lot of experience.  I found her training to be close to my own values.”

Having achieved qualifying scores, Boucher now hopes to represent Canada at the upcoming Nations’ Cup team competition in Wellington, FL, from March 15 to 20.

Several other Canadian dressage athletes broke the 70% barrier during week seven of the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival.  Contesting the CDI5* division for the first time this season, Canadian Olympian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, 33, of Saint-Bruno, QC, riding All In, a 16-year-old liver chestnut Dutch Warmblood gelding (Tango x Damiro), scored 70.152% in the Grand Prix to place sixth among 13 entries on Wednesday evening.  On Friday night, they again placed sixth with an impressive score of 77.350% in the Grand Prix Freestyle while Naima Moreira Laliberté, 25, of Outremont, QC, was ninth after scoring 71.790% riding Statesman, a 15-year-old bay Hanoverian gelding (Sandro Hit x Brentano II) owned by KML Inc.  It was a change of scenery for human and equine athletes alike as both classes were held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, the site of the 13-week Winter Equestrian Festival for show jumping.  Fans packed the International Arena, signalling a welcome change of venue for both competitors and spectators.

A veteran of the 2018 North American Young Riders’ Championship, Ava MacCoubrey, 20, of Cobourg, ON, showed Du Vin, a chestnut Oldenburg stallion (Desparado x Don Romantic) owned by Chloe Gasiorowski, in the CDIYH division for five-year-old horses.  On Saturday, the pair earned 81.800% in the Preliminary test and returned to the competition arena on Sunday to score 75.300% in the Final test.  In both tests, the three judges awarded the highest marks for Du Vin’s walk.

For more information on the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival, including full results, visit gdf.coth.com/.