Ottawa – Six athletes and their horses will represent Team Canada in the dressage and eventing equestrian disciplines at Paris 2024. They join the contingent of jumping athletes and horses previously named to Team Canada in June. In dressage, Camille Carier Bergeron (Finnländerin), Jill Irving (Genesis) and Naïma Moreira Laliberté (Statesman) will join forces once more. Carier Bergeron and Moreira Laliberté were on the team that won a bronze medal for Canada in team dressage at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games, which secured the team qualification for Paris 2024. Four years earlier, Irving and Moreira Laliberté were part of the team that won gold at Lima 2019. All three athletes will make their Olympic debut, with Moreira Laliberté having served as a travelling alternate for Tokyo 2020. At 61 years old, Irving is anticipated to be the oldest member of Team Canada at Paris 2024.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be heading to Paris with Statesman,” said Moreira Laliberte. “Being the traveling reserve in Tokyo was a challenging task and it was not easy to be in that position. Although I did travel with the team and got an experience out of it, it definitely fueled me and gave me a lot of determination to chase my dream. For me to now qualify in the number one spot has been really rewarding, after everything Statesman has done for me and we have achieved together, it makes me really proud. We are so thankful to everyone that has helped us, supported and encouraged us along our journey.”
In eventing Jessica Phoenix (Freedom GS), Karl Slezak (Hot Bobo) and Michael Winter (El Mundo) will represent Team Canada.
Phoenix has been named to her fourth straight Olympic team, though she had to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 after her horse, Pavarotti, sustained an injury in a final training session. Phoenix is a five-time medallist at the Pan Am Games.
It will be the third Olympic appearance for Winter, who returns to Olympic competition for the first time since making back-to-back appearances at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. The three-time Pan Am Games medallist was part of the gold medal-winning team at Santiago 2023 which qualified Canada for Paris 2024. The gold medal finish came down to 0.1 points.
Slezak is a two-time Pan Am Games medallist who was a non-travelling alternate for Tokyo 2020. He and Hot Bobo finished fourth in individual eventing at Santiago 2023, in addition to being part of the team gold medal. They posted several strong performances during the qualification period for Paris 2024, including Canada’s first win since 1992 at the famous Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. Slezak took the top spot in the Cosequin® Lexington 4*-S in April 2023. The pair also came out on top in in the CCI4*-S division of the final qualifying event of the season at the MARS Bromont CCI. Slezak will make his Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
Source: https://olympic.ca/