Lauren Nicholson and Larcot Z. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The new kids on the block are taking over in the CCI4*-L at the MARS Bromont CCI this weekend– all of our top three horses are aiming to complete their first long-format event at the level. In first place, Lauren Nicholson and Larcot Z (L’Arc de Triomphe x Kocote De La Londe, by Socrate de Chivre) have taken the early lead on a score of 27.1. Hot on her heels is Ema Klugman, who is laying claim to both second and third place, with Chiraz on a score of 30.0 and RF Redfern with a score of 30.6 respectively.
Lauren took over the ride on Larcot Z in 2023 from Olympian Will Coleman, who produced the gelding up to the three-star level. From there, She and “Larcot,” owned by Ms. Jacqueline Mars, have achieved some notable victories, particularly their second-place podium finish in the Maryland 5 Star CCI3*-L in 2024.
“We’re now in the second year since I’ve had him,” Lauren said. “Bromont — actually the 3*-L here — was one of my very first events with him two years ago, after Reagan Lafleur and Will Coleman produced him so well. And I just love Bromont. It’s always a great event. The courses are great. They’re challenging enough that you know you’re on par with going somewhere else in the world, as well. I think sometimes the four-Longs on this side are not comparable [with anywhere else].”
Still getting to know each other, Lauren and Larcot are navigating both a relatively new partnership and a new level together. Thus far in his career, the 12 year old Zangersheide gelding has finished just one 4*-S. This weekend marks their third attempt at a 4*-L and, hopefully, their first completion. But Lauren feels that as their partnership has grown over the last two years, they’re ready to hit the ground galloping this weekend.
“In the beginning — the first two years — you’re a little bit ticking boxes, making sure there’s nothing missing,” she said. “It takes a while, and you have to run a lot of courses to figure out: ‘Oh, he does this at a coffin if it’s early,’ or ‘He does this into the water,’ or ‘He lands short off of things on a hill,’ or something.”
“It takes a while to find those answers and know what kind of ride to give him, and I feel like I have that now with him,” Lauren continued. “So plan A: he’s super confident and competent, and we’ll go have a crack at it. You can always adjust your plan along the way if something arises, but he’s not green at the level anymore, and he’s ready to go out and storm around. I just need to give him a good ride and do it.”
Lauren Nicholson and Larcot Z (shown here at TerraNova). Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
While their dressage test produced one of their best scores yet, Lauren knows they can still do better, particularly as their partnership grows and strengthens over the years ahead. “I probably gave him about five minutes too much warm-up,” Lauren said. “We’re still figuring that out with him. Sometimes he comes out and has the zoomies, like a terrier with his butt tucked under him, and sometimes he comes out super relaxed and chill. Probably five minutes less and he would’ve had a little more oomph in his trot work. But his changes were really good, and he just makes a lovely picture. He’s such an elegant type. So I was quite happy with it. There are always more points to get, but for the day and what we had, I was thrilled.”
Ema Klugman and Chiraz. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Holding both second and third place, Ema Klugman’s weekend is off to a great start. In second place, she rides The Chiraz Syndicate’s Chiraz, who walked out of the dressage ring with a score of 30.0. Like Lauren and Larcot, this is Ema’s second season competing Chiraz, who she purchased from Boyd Martin in 2023. It’s been a big season so far for Chiraz (Cayado 3 x Asquetta, by Casall), who recently finished just inside the top ten in the 4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event with a score of 48.2.
Far from being daunted by the flapping flags and signs surrounding the atmospheric ring at the Bromont Horse Park, Ema says Chiraz knows when it’s time to perform. “He’s a really good boy,” Ema said. “He’s actually a little bit of a tricky horse — he’s very energetic, even at home, day-to-day. He’ll spook and be wild. He’s a bit of a character. But he’s a really cool character because he totally knows when it’s a big deal, and he concentrates way better. He’s almost better in a big arena like that than he is elsewhere, so that’s a good quality to have.”
This weekend marks the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding’s best dressage score yet with Ema in the saddle. “He’s got nice gaits, and he has all of the movements down, we’ve just been working on trying to get a bit more quality from him, getting him sitting a bit more in the collected work,” Ema said. “He was great. I’m very pleased with him. He’s been at the level for maybe about a year now and he’s just getting better.”
Ema Klugman and RF Redfern. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Her second ride in the 4*-L, RF Redfern, owned by Team Fern, had a similarly fantastic start to the weekend. At just 15.3 hands, she may be small for an eventer, but the little mare doesn’t let her height hold her back.
“She was great. She loves to dance,” Ema said. “She can be a little bit excited, but she’s so fun to ride. She’s only about 15.3, but she feels like she’s 18 hands when you’re doing the extended trot on her. So we love her — she’s a cool little horse. There were a couple of little spots where I just made mistakes and miscommunicated with her, so really, she should be in the 20s. But overall, she was great. We’re looking forward to a nice, easy day tomorrow and then tackling cross country.”
“Fern” (Any Given Sunday x Zsa Zsa) is also coming off of a run in the 4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event. In between Kentucky and Bromont, Ema chose to run both horses in Devon Arena Eventing. “The calendar’s not super great, to be honest,” Ema said. “I just don’t know why they have Tryon so close to Kentucky, and then there’s really nothing until this. So Fern just did an Open Intermediate to have a nice run, and then we actually took both of these horses to Devon.”
Despite a frustrating lack of events on the calendar, Ema feels confident in the prep work she’s done for both of her rides. “They’ve had good prep,” she said. “I mean, Kentucky was very hard. And in some ways, Kentucky is just so much busier — that part of it is an added element. At least here, it’s a hard course, but it’s a little bit more of a laid-back feel.”
In terms of choosing Bromont for both horses’ first 4*-L, Ema says the proof is in the pudding. She made the same decision with her beloved former five-star horse, Bendigo in 2019.
Jessie Phoenix and Aeronautics sit in fourth in the 4*-L. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“I just love Bromont,” Ema said. “I think it’s such a good course, and if you’ve done your training and preparation, this is an event that’s going to prepare them for the rest of their career so well. I’ve also done this as their first 4*-L with a couple other horses, and it just sets them up really well.”
Bromont has a reputation for having terrain like nothing else, with roller coaster hills that test a horse’s balance, grit, and fitness. For Ema, it was the up and down terrain combined with a course designed by Derek di Grazia that sealed the deal for her. “It’s got a lot of terrain, but it’s not like there’s just one big hill that knocks it out of them,” she said. “It’s just up and down the whole way. And I think Derek is the best course designer ever, so I really like to do his courses.”
Looking ahead to the cross country course, our first-place leader, Lauren, compares the terrain to Burghley. “There are a couple places where Derek did make the questions a bit kinder,” she said. “They’re still plenty aggressive, but it gives the horses a bit of a breath. That’s one of the harder things here — with the terrain, you kind of get about halfway through before they actually settle into a rhythm. It’s a bit Burghley-like in that sense.”
Boyd Martin and Fetiche Des Rouges lead the CCI3*-L after day one. Photo by Sally Spickard.
This year the course (view all courses on CrossCountryApp here) is 5760 meters long with an optimum time of 10 minutes and 6 seconds. The coffin and last corner combination are of particular note to Lauren, who says the footing and increased length of the course will definitely factor into her plan. “All the questions are asked — you’ve got your corners and your skinnies and lots of waters. Everything’s out there to get done,” She said. “And if you make a mistake, the horses have a way out, which I always appreciate about Derek’s courses. If you make a mistake, the horses can get out of it unscathed versus getting stuck in trouble and having a fall or something.”
Ahead of the action in the 4*-L today, the CCI3*-U25-L and the CCI2*-U25-L also finished their dressage phase. At this stage in the competition, Ivie Cullen-Dean and Fernhill Cardevega are leading the 3*-L for the U25 division on a score of 34.6, followed by Caitlin O’Roark & Landmark’s Mochachino (36.2). Noah Stanlaske & Chesterland are in third place with a score of 36.5. In the CCI2*-U25-L Kelsey Seidel and Chico’s Man VDF Z are holding onto first place with a score of 29.2, followed by Emma Armstrong & Newman in second (31.0) and Mandolin Whitten & Cooley Easy Trip in third (31.1).
Tomorrow kicks off dressage for the 4*-S and allows the 3*-L and 2*-L to wrap up their tests. The first horse trots down the centerline at 9 a.m. eastern time, with the 2*-L division starting the day. The 4*-S is scheduled to kick off at 2:27 p.m. and wrap up around 3:20 p.m.
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