Camille you are in Florida to compete with the goal of being chosen for the Canadian Dressage Team for Paris Does this add a level of difficulty to the season or since you did this for the Pan Am Games are you comfortable with it this time?
It’s a long time goal, but it’s my first try at qualifying for an Olympic Games
Although I just came back from Pan-Ams, qualifying for the Olympic still adds a level of difficulty for the season. Every scores are counting for the selection, except one drop score. It puts quite some pressure on us at every show to do well.
.You told me you have declared with two horses. Sound of Silence and Finnlanderin. Tell me about these horses. Do they have any little personality quirks you find entertaining? How is their work ethics? What is their age and breeding.?
The following quote is from Liz Steacie who spoke with Camille at the Global dressage Festival. There are lots of interesting details in this quote!!
Camille and Sound of Silence have achieved the last mark she needed to complete her Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) for Paris 2024. So today is a great day to tell you about:
CAMILLE CARRIER BERGERON
Camille began riding when she was just 8 years old, in a cautious 1 week riding camp.
Above Camille and her pony Monte Carlo
Camille tells us :”I just had quit competitive gymnastics on the recommendation of my parents who considered it was too time consuming for a little girl and too hard on the body. In search of a new sport to do, I tried dance, but didn’t really like it. Then my mom suggested that I try the riding camp, which I kinda did with a step back… my mom knew I always loved animals and nature, but I was also quite introverted and didn’t like camp in general. Therefore, we agreed on trying it for only one week.”
“I instantly fell in love and spent the whole summer there. And, I was very competitive already!! I refused to ride the ponies, and I wanted to be in the A group (best group) and not in the C group (beginners)!
After the summer , I started to ride in a riding school and my parents bought me my first horse : an OTTB [Off the track thoroughbred} who measured a tall 16.2 hands
My parents oriented me towards dressage, as jumping seemed too dangerous. It made me happy, I could find in dressage the same technical, artistic and perfectionism as in gymnastics. Then came my first competition at 9 years old, my feet were barely past the saddle pad. All the other kids were on their calm ponies, standing in the arena waiting for their class while I was the only one doing canter laps on her TB. And I got a brilliant 43% .”
After that, Camille’s parents got her a pony. And Camille did her homework and went up through the levels in dressage. Finally, she got her FEI pony “Monte Carlo”, and went off to compete at Dressage at Devon.
Camille remembers :”I remember competing in FEI pony at Dressage at Devon in 2012 and being so inspired by our Canadian Team who had just returned from London and the 2012 Olympics. Ashley Holzer came to me and invited us to this wine and cheese event and all my heroes were there and it felt surreal to be surrounded by “THE” Olympians! From as long as I can remember, I always wanted to achieve big goals. I remember when I was 8, we had to write down an essay at school about our biggest goal and I wrote : competing at the Olympic Games in 2024. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of and it is crazy to think that this year we are trying to qualify!”
“I went up the youth levels doing FEI junior and then FEI Young rider. In 2019 I started to train with Brittany Fraser. She is a huge inspiration and I owe her a lot of my recent achievements in the FEI young rider, U25 and Grand Prix.
“My parents have been huge supporters of my dreams and have made every goal possible and achievable. I’m so grateful for all they did and keep doing everyday for me.”
Camille tells us about the two horses she has declared for Paris 2024
SOUND OF SILENCE
“We purchased Sound of Silence (“SOS”) in 2015 as a 7 year old stallion. Following some difficulties with the castration, he could not be imported until 2018. I rode him in Germany in 2017, and we started to doubt our buy. He was very talented, but not motivated and a bit “shut down”. We brought him home and Pia Fortmuller who I was training with really convinced us to keep him and develop him. She believed in us. It wasn’t an easy journey for sure, with a lot of failures. With a lot of positive reinforcement, one day he started to really trust me and enjoy his work and give more and more. Together we went up the level in the FEI Junior, Young rider, U25 and now Grand Prix. He was my partner at the most recent Pan Am Games.” “SOS is such a sensitive and sweet horse, who’s really close to his people (and he’s picky with his people). He loves to go the show because he has all the attention for himself. You can see it in his mood how happy he is when he is at show, he becomes more goofy. He is not so much food driven, but boy does he love his bananas! Now 16 years old, he’s grown more mature, but for a while, not everyone could handle him. We did a lot of on the ground lessons, because he could be super chill and in one second he was gone. I even lost him when I was hand walking him in the barn at CHIO Aachen , when a jumper horse came back galloping into the barn with no rider on him. No need to say I was ashamed, lol!!! What a horse, he definitely taught me how to control my emotions and stay calm when he becomes nervous. I’ve learned to read him and know him so well, It’s crazy the bond we have.”
FINNLANDERIN: “Finnlanderin in the best chestnut mare in the world. We bought her in June 2022. She is so willing to work and she is so steady Eddie. You can always rely on her. She’s amazing! I love her so much! My biggest task is to ride her as well as she can be. She will not let me down, because she’s a fighter! In the barn, she is the “Queen”. She has very high standards, lol. She is very much food driven, but also very picky with her grain. She loves the attention, but not “too much”. She expects to be clean, but doesn’t like showers, especially not cold. She doesn’t like flies, but doesn’t like spray. I adore her and all her little quirks too, because under saddle she is so fun and so generous!”
Camille is a bright young star in the Canadian dressage community. Not only is she a consistent rider, but she is also a very nice and fun person, and a great ambassador for dressage and for Canada.
I hope you will join me in wishing Camille all the best with her two lovely horses.”
Camille and Sound of Silence in the Grand Prix Special at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival .As Camille and SOS leave the ring she is smiling She is happy with her test.
Thank you Liz for allowing me to feature your quote in my post.
Camille How did you become interested in riding horses.? Was there anyone who influenced you? When did you decide to be a professional rider?
In 2019 I started to train with Brittany Fraser. She is a huge inspiration and I owe her a lot of my recent achievements in the FEI young rider, U25 and Grand Prix. “
Camille credits her parents with much of her success.
“My parents have been huge supporters of my dreams and have made every goal possible and achievable. I’m so grateful for all they did and keep doing everyday for me’.
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