United States Eventing Association

Artist and Spencer Paint a Beautiful Picture at SRF Carolina International CCI4*-S

Raeford, N.C.—March 13—In their first trip down centerline at the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI4*-S, Monica Spencer and Artist slipped into the top spot this afternoon with a score of 28.6.

The New Zealand native, who’s now based in The Plains, Virginia, has been partnered with “Max,” a 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding (Guillotine x Maxamore) she owns, since he was 4.

"I just feel really privileged to have a horse like him—one that I can go out and compete with at these great events,” she said. “He’s such a professional. He actually felt a bit nervous out there today, which surprised me given the atmosphere in that ring. But he did his job, and, like I said, I really appreciate having him. He’s a joy to ride.”

The pair competed at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships (Italy) and have completed multiple five-stars, including a seventh place finish at Defender Kentucky and 11^th place finish at Burghley (England) last year. She’s planning to head to Kentucky again in April.

While she hasn’t had a chance to look at new course designer Derek Di Grazia’s cross-country track yet, she’s excited to check it out.

“I’ve heard the footing looks amazing, and I’m really excited to ride another one of Derek’s courses—he’s one of my favorite course designers. We’ve never been to Carolina before, so it’s exciting to be here. Everyone has spoken so highly of this event. We didn’t compete here last year; instead, we stayed in Ocala and did Terranova [Myakka City, Florida], which was a lovely event in its own right. But this year, we felt ready to leave Florida, and we thought, ‘Hey, let’s do Carolina on the way [back up north] and then head back to Virginia next week.’ "

Another strong five-star pair, Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle, are close behind Spencer and Max with a 30.3.

Brannigan spent the winter at home in Pennsylvania instead of heading south to work towards her goal of buying a farm and to purposely start her string of horses later in the season, so she took “Foxy” to the $100,000 Sterling Venture Capital Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase (Aiken, South Carolina) two weeks ago as their first run.

Brannigan credited work with German dressage coach Bettina Hoy for her improvement on the flat over the winter.

“It’s been really good for me to be locked in the indoor and forced to focus,” she said. “I was kind of nervous about the Showcase because I had just come down and had only been jumping in an indoor. It was great to have Bettina's help and Peter [show jumper Wylde’s] support there. I was really excited that it went well, and since then, I’ve just been trying to build on that.”

“This was my first time ever riding this test [FEI CCI4 test C], and historically, it would have been extremely hard for me—especially the left lead canter work, so I’m pretty thrilled with him. I don’t want to speak too soon, but it’s starting to feel like we’re establishing a clear pattern of consistency. We've had one-off good tests before, but this feels like something to really be excited about. Knock on wood!”

She’s got Foxy, a 15-year-old German Sport Horse gelding (Leo von Faelz x Berina A) owned by Tim and Nina Gardner, cross-entered at Kentucky and Badminton (England).

“This will be his first and last run before then—knock on wood, if all goes well,” she said. “I’ll just see how he feels. The Showcase was a lot, and it was pretty quick, but the footing here is amazing, so I plan to give him a proper run. Then I’ll do dressage at Kentucky, and we’ll decide from there.”

Allie Knowles and her longtime five-star partner Morswood round out the top-3 with a score of 31.7.

"I can't believe he's 17 this year—that's crazy!” she said. “And he looks amazing. Honestly, he's only gotten better every year. Or maybe I’ve just gotten better at riding him! Either way, he’s been my little warhorse.”

The Irish Sport Horse gelding (Ricardo x Princess In Arms) owned by Katherine O’Brien, has been retired from the five-star level this year, so Knowles will be focusing on the four-star level, which is within his comfort zone.

“Today was fun,” she said. “I was working really hard, but it was fun. He felt happy, healthy, comfortable, and fancy. Of course, there are always things to fix, but at this point in our career together, I’m reaching that grateful stage. I know I’m going to miss him when I don’t have him. But for now, I’m just appreciating every ride. At 17, you never know how much longer you’ll have, so I think my mindset has shifted. It takes the pressure off, and, magically, we do better.”

“We’ve grown up together,” she added. “We’ve done a whole lot of growing up together. This is going to be a fun weekend. I walked the course and thought, 'Alright, let’s do another four-star. Let’s do this.' I’ll go as fast as I can and do my best in show jumping—our weakest phase, for sure. I’ll be more nervous tomorrow, but I’m going to try to take the pressure off both of us. We’ve got nothing to prove. We’re doing this for fun. He’s keeping me at the Advanced level until my next younger group is ready. So yeah—gratitude. That’s the word for today."

The CCI4*-S riders will show jump tomorrow beginning at 1:10 p.m. EST.

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