Trussell and Lane to Represent Canada at Rio Olympics

Megan Lane of Canada and Caravella

Ottawa, Ontario – July 14, 2016 – Equine Canada has announced two athletes who will represent the country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. Belinda Trussell and Megan Lane prevailed at the end of a closely fought selection process and will compete in Rio, while Karen Pavicic will serve as the reserve. Christine Peters is the chef d’equipe, and Volker Moritz is the technical advisor.

“It is an honor to be chosen to represent Canada at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,” Trussell said. “These Olympics are so special to me because four years ago my dreams were shattered when my horse Anton had a major injury that took us out of the running for the London 2012 Games. Little did I know he would recover so well and earn a place on the Rio Olympic Team with personal best scores.”

Trussell, a Canadian team veteran, competed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With Anton, her 2016 Olympic partner, she represented Canada at the 2010 and 2014 World Equestrian Games and 2015 Pan American Games. This will be the first Olympic Games for Lane, who was Trussell’s teammate at the 2014 World Equestrian Games and 2015 Pan American Games. Caravella, Lane’s partner for Rio, was Lane’s Young Rider mount, and the pair came up the ranks together.

Canada is not able to field a full team at this Olympic Games. With Brazil, as the host country, taking one of the team slots set aside for the Americas, the United States and Canada had to battle it out for the one slot available through the 2015 Pan American Games. The U.S. won Pan Am gold, leaving Canada to try to qualify riders individually.

Trussell earned one qualification for Canada through her fourth place finish at the Pan American Games, and Lane earned a second due to her high ranking in the individual Olympic standings. While that meant there would be two spots available for Canada, those spots were not guaranteed to be filled by Trussell and Lane, as countries may select the riders they feel will be most competitive in Rio.

Lane, Pavicic and Chris von Martels were neck and neck as the selection period neared an end. In early June, Pavicic posted two personal best scores at the Thunderbird CDI3* in Langley, British Columbia, to move into second place, but Lane overtook her a week later at the Cedar Valley CDI3* in Ontario. Pavicic made a last-minute trip to Fritzens, Austria, to compete in the last CDI before the qualification deadline of July 3, but wasn’t able to secure the score she needed to regain her position. In the end, just fractions separated second through fourth place in the standings.

The individuals representing Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games are as follows:

Megan Lane of Collingwood, Ontario, riding Caravella, a KWPN mare (Contango-P. Riviera, Riverman) owned by Megan Lane & Cathy Lane

Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, Ontario, riding Anton, a 16-year-old Sachsen gelding (Antaeus-Shirley, Melit) owned by Robyn Eames & Mark Trussell

Reserve:

Karen Pavicic of Surrey, British Columbia, on Don Daiquiri, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Don Cardinale-Neastate III, Rubinstein I) owned by Karen Pavicic & Jayne Essig

Belinda Trussell and Anton


Karen Pavicic and Don Daiquiri

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