Loonies, Toonies, Poutine and Everything Quebecoise!

Pic Courtesy of Cealy Tetley 

Last we left off, was shortly after returning home to Wisconsin from a winter season in Ocala FL. and after completing The Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Here we are just shy of two months since the last blog post and we have more to share. You may have seen some highlights recently from a little known show in Canada, but you may not be aware of the journey to get there and some of the speed bumps along the way. You may also not know that this isn’t Ali writing this, but in fact it’s Dave, her Mid-Best friend!

And I know what you're thinking… Who the hell is Dave? What the heck is a Mid-Best Friend? and where is Ali? Well followers of the Pink Pony Club…. Put on some good music, grab yourself a drink (Moscow Mule is the preferred libation round here, but pour yourself whatever marks the end of a good day where you are) and saddle up for the first Hijacking Guest writer of this little blog. Don’t worry, you're in good hands, I’ve done this before!! Oh and Ali is fine, I promise.

First just a little about me and my history with Ali. I am Dave Taylor, a USEF “R” and FEI Level 1 Cross Country Course Designer. In 2020 I was brought in by the powers to be at Sundance Farm to design the Preliminary track at their horse trial held in late September in Plymouth Wisconsin. When I first met Ali, she wanted nothing to do with the new designer that had been hired and she made that very clear when after we were introduced, she turned around and went about her day without a second thought as to who I was and why I was there. When I returned a few months later to do the final setting for the course, after a hard day of work Ali let down her guard and offered me a Moscow Mule to end the day. From that moment on, we hit it off. The most unlikely of friends from two different worlds brought together through the sport eventing and a taste for gingerbeer, lime juice, and vodka. 

Pic Courtesy D Taylor  

I had the pleasure of getting to know Ali for a year before she brought Little Hail home in late June 2021. Looking back on the post she made on June 27th 2021 about this exciting lease of Little Hail, I commented the following “Such an amazing opportunity. I know you will make the most of it, and doors will open” I knew just a year into our friendship that Ali had some very attainable goals, and with the right horse, she could easily meet and likely exceed those goals. I’m not sure I was prepared for just how far those little pony legs would carry Ali, but looking back, it is very apparent that I knew big things were on the horizon. Doors did in fact open

Being a Course Designer that travels a good part of the country gave me many opportunities to support Ali in person, From Wisconsin, to Iowa, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Kentucky, and now Bromont Canada. I don’t think I have had the honor to be part of someone's journey so intimately before, being there for so many milestones, and cheering loudly from the start box and finish line. (well not for someone that I'm not married to). Over the years I have cried way too many happy tears,  hugged too many people and hit refresh on evententries.com far more times than I care to admit. But let me tell you that being a small part of this team that supports Ali and Little Hail has been an incredible experience.

Now that i’ve done a quick dive into the past 6 years of Mid-Best Friendship,

(Also Mid-Best = Mid-West Best Friend… Yeah I came up with that, Ali is far too cool to have come up with that) lets get to the point of why you all are here. MARS Bromont CCI4*-L For those of you who may not know, In 1976 Bromont was the host for equestrian sport as part of the 1976 Olympic Games held in Montreal Quebec Canada. This year marked 50 years of Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park and it marked Ali’s first time competing internationally as well as her first time at a CCI 4*-Long. 

Pic Courtesy D Taylor 

What is so special about Bromont you ask? Well it has been said that the grounds at Bromont Equestrian Park along with the officials hired for this show are the closest you can get to competing in Europe without dropping $15,000 to fly your horse over the Atlantic Ocean. Meaning that if you plan to show at Bromont, you have got to be prepared, you and your horse have to be fit, and you need to have done your homework… and turned it in on time! Bromont isn’t just an event you show up to and go “I think i’ll give it a go”. You have to bring your A game and be ready to ride 100% of the time because for 10 plus minutes, Bromont is going to keep coming for you…. 41 jumps over 3.5 miles of Canadian terrain stand between completing and heading home early. Which when you live in Wisconsin is a long way to drive for some poutine and a “thanks for trying”. 

As you may recall, Kentucky went fairly well for Ali and Hail. Another awesome run around the blue grass. Smiles, a bright pink blur, and the lyrics to “Pink Pony Club” could be heard most of the way around the park while she was on course. However, after the dust settled and Hail and Ali resumed the status quo back at Sundance Farm, Hail had his own thoughts about the unusually dry ground he ran across at Kentucky. It seems that although the builders, grounds keepers and organizers of Kentucky did what they could to soften the going at the horse park, Hail’s feet said no thank you. And as a result Ali sprung into action to do everything she could to help hail recover from the hard ground.

With the diligent care of Ali and her team of vets and farrier as well as a theraplate (which made the trek to Bromont and was set up in front of Hail's stall), Hail’s feet were back in fighting form and ready for the next journey. Now all they needed was to use the hills around Sundance to get fit for the terrain of Bromont. Ali would also use all the cross country design skills she had to set some 6* questions to practice over!!! I remember her calling to ask me if what she had set on Sundance’s cross country schooling course was correct, I had to stop myself from spitting out my coffee. But in all fairness, she wanted to be ready. If I had a crystal ball, I would have said not to skip leg day.. But we will get to that shortly. But Ali did her homework and Little Hail was ready for his Canadian debut. 

Pic Courtesy D Taylor 

The Pink Pony Club arrived at Bromont Equestrian Park on Tuesday June 2nd after a 19 hour..ish drive from Wisconsin. And let me tell you, coming from the states into the province of  Quebec is quite the shock. First Canada is a country of the metric system, and to be honest it actually makes way more sense than what we use in the states. Measuring speed in Kilometers per hour and temperature in celsius and fuel is sold in liters.. But that simple change is compounded by the additional change in language and currency. I personally was using google translate and google lense a fair amount just to survive and not be a hindrance to the Quebecois. 

Some of you may be asking why “Dave, why the hell were you in Canada, we all know Derek di Grazia is the course designer”. And you would be 100% correct. Derek, one of the world's top designers, was in fact the designer of Bromont. But it takes a village of people to make his vision a reality. Jay Hambly (the assistant designer and a world class designer in his own right) asked me this past winter to be part of the team to make this course come to life. So for three weeks, I put my designer hat aside, and worked onsite doing anything and everything to help the team of builders prepare Bromont for the coming landmark show.

 It was funny for me though, as I helped place and then set the fences, all I kept saying to myself was “this better be right, because Ali and Hail are jumping this (along with some of North America's top riders and horses) so I better be doing this right”. And as the days I was onsite ticked by, my anxiety grew. It is one thing to design and set a course for a local show that runs through preliminary or intermediate, but its a whole new game being a part of a team that is integral to the running of a 50 year tradition. 

I’m not going to go over all of the things that happened during the event. If you want to go back and watch the jogs, dressage, cross country, second jog, and show jumping… Well you’re in luck. All 5 days were live streamed on youtube and can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/@BromontEventing/streams) 

Even though I was onsite live and in person, I have already gone back and rewatched all 3 phases and both jogs just to fulfill my membership criteria for the Pink Pony Club. But the highlights are as follows. Ali and Hail passed the first jog. They put in a decent dressage test which had them in 13th going into cross country, Friday was a free day so Ali could walk cross country as many times as she wanted. Saturday was amazing, The rain held off just enough for Ali and Hail to run around Bromont with only 1 stirrup which left the chat after fence 3, Hial lost a shoe somewhere on course and finished with one run out and a bit of time moving them up to 9th. Sunday morning Hail passed the jog, Ali was a bit lame but sound enough. The pair had two rails and was inside the time to finish 7th overall. 

Pic Courtesy Sally Spickard

Let me circle back to drive home this point. Ali lost her stirrup after fence two, but it hung on her foot until after fence three when it came off her foot before entering the water heading to fence 4. That means she rode 5,130 meters and jumped 39 rather large jumps with no right stirrup. I’m sorry but if that was me, You would have found me on the ground somewhere between fence two and fence three and my horse would be somewhere on the slopes of the ski resort right down the road from the horse park. So let's all give credit where credit is due. More than one person likened this to Mark Todd riding around Badminton in 1995 with only his right stirrup after his left stirrup broke less than a ⅓ the way around. As I'm writing this, I went back and read an interview of Mark Todd after Badminton and it makes me laugh at how similar both he and Ali responded to the issue at hand and what they had to say when it was over. 

So for all those reading this, Lets all give a big round of applause to Ali’s Right leg for hanging in there!!! But really I think this is just a physical manifestation to the grit and determination of a midwest girl, her little yet amazing horse and all of those that have stood behind them from the beginning. Ali you are my hero, and I hope that I can be half the equestrian you have become. I want to thank Ali for allowing me to write this blog for her, I want to thank all of those people that Ali has in her corner that have become my friends and family. And mostly I want to thank little Hail for carrying the dreams of a Midwest girl and showing her how good it feels to fly. (Also for not hating me when I offer you affection)

Pic Courtesy Sally Spickard

Ali seems to always end her blog with a super inspirational message of working towards your dreams, smiling more, being yourself and circling back to the blog title. So here goes.. as the Quebecois saying goes "Lâche pas la patate !" Which translated literally means “Don’t drop the potato”. But the meaning is this: no matter what happens, don’t give up, keep pushing, because you can do it, as long as you don’t drop the potato!!

This has been a blog Hijacking by Dave. Mid-Best signing out!!

One last thing before I go to help clarify the title. The loonie is Canada's $1 coin, affectionately named for the common loon depicted on its reverse. The toonie is the bi-metallic $2 coin, created by combining the word "two" with "loonie". Poutine is the most amazing dish invented in French Canada. It combines french fries, fresh cheese curds, and brown gravy. It is beyond surprising that this wasn’t invented in the Midwest. But i guess you guys have hotdish so close enough. And finally, "Québécois" (pronounced kay-beh-KWAH) refers to a native or resident of the Canadian province of Quebec, or specifically, the distinct French language and culture prevalent there. 

Now you know. Almost everything I learned in Bromont!