It’s (finally) official! Canada names Olympic dressage team

The wait is finally over. Equestrian Canada has announced our Olympic dressage team. Representing Canada in Paris will be:

- Naima Moreira Laliberté and Statesman
- Camille Carier Bergeron and Finnländerin
​- Jill Irving and Delacroix 11

The reserve combination is Chris Von Martels and Eclips.

Tokyo 2020 alternate athlete Moreira Laliberté will make her Olympic debut at Paris 2024. After winning team gold in Lima 2019 and contributing to Team Canada's Paris 2024 qualification in Santiago, she and her longtime partner, Statesman, competed formidably over the qualification period, posting their best scores in two years. The combination has been together since 2018 when Laliberté was 21 years old and have achieved significant success together at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) level.

In her first Olympic appearance, Moreira Laliberté is looking forward to competing with her 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding. “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 fuelled 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. I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us including my Dad and my family, my coaches Ashley (Holzer) and Jordi (Domingo Coll), our grooms, caretakers, physios, vets, farriers, and EC for supporting and encouraging us along our journey.”
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Paris 2024 will mark the Olympic debut for 24-year-old Carier Bergeron who was part of the Santiago 2023 team who earned the Paris 2024 qualification, and for 61-year-old Irving, who competed at Lima 2019. Irving is expected to be the oldest athlete on the Canadian Olympic Team for Paris 2024.

in the coming days we will dive into the appeals, delays, and questions surrounding the nomination process. But none of that should detract from celebrating the accomplishments of these riders, or stop us from supporting them 100% in Paris. Go Canada!

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