Brannigan and White Take Early Leads in USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championships at Morven Park
Leesburg, Va.—Oct. 10—While all eyes have been on the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final dressage the past two days, this afternoon, the stars of the future got to shine in the USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championship for 6- and 7-year-olds.
This championship is a crucial stepping stone from the USEA Young Event Horse program (YEH), which is open to 4- and 5-year-olds, and will set these talented horses up for the future.
Jennie Brannigan and Royal Scandic are currently on top of the CCI3*YH-S with a six-point lead after dressage on a score of 27.7.
Brannigan knew Royal Scandic was going to be special from the moment she saw him. “I was at Boekelo two years ago, and Philipp Kolossa asked me if I wanted to go look at horses and I said, ‘Well, I don’t have any money, and I don’t know anyone looking, but I’ll go.’ And I found Louie on that trip,” she recalled. “I was like, ‘I don’t have any money, but I gotta figure out how to buy him.’”
So she went home, sold her condo, and imported the now 7-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Revolution x Schatzi), but it looked like fate might have other plans for Louie at first.
“Then it was kind of like, well I got this horse but now I have no money,” she joked. “I put him on the market once, because I was thinking about trying to buy part of a farm. Someone was coming to look at him, and [longtime owner] Tim Gardner was telling me as a dad to look out for my finances and telling me I needed to sell him, because the sale price was the right thing to do financially.”
Brannigan was committed to the plan and took Louie to a group jump school with Peter Wylde where Gardner got the chance to see Louie go and changed his mind.
“He said to me, ‘Well why don’t I buy a part of this horse?’ And so now he gets to stay!”
Louie is now owned in partnership by Gardner, Brian and Norma Murray, and Margie Malloy.
“I'm really proud of him,” reflected Brannigan on their performance today. “I know there's like only four horses in the class, but I think the same judges were in the open three-star class, and I think he had one of the lowest scores of both, so that makes me very proud.”
Brannigan had originally dreamed of heading to Le Lion in France with Louie and even had her eyes on the CCI3*-L at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at one point as well, but Wylde and dressage trainer Bettina Hoy have encouraged her to be selective with where she chooses to take him.
“After talking to Peter and Bettina, they both said this is such a good horse for the future, and he's still young, he's still growing into himself so maybe he shouldn’t do a three-long this fall, and I agree with them. So it just seemed perfect to bring him here. This is the most exciting young horse I've ever had, so it just seemed like a perfect end for his year.”
She wants to give the cross-country a real crack at it tomorrow, but will always ride with Louie’s future in mind.
“He’s a horse that makes you want to keep doing the sport,” she said. “Phillip Dutton cross-country schooled him for me the other day, and he turned around and he went, ‘Wow, this horse is freaking incredible, isn't it?’ I just want to showcase how great he is, because he’s a horse of a lifetime.”
Sharon White has been working alongside Anita Antenucci for many years now, helping breed and produce promising U.S.-bred event horses, and White currently leads the CCI2*YH-S with one of those young horses, Arden Janeway (Jaguar Mail x Freespirit).
“Jane felt just amazing today,” said White after their test which put them at the top of the pack on a score of 27.4. “She is a right proper competitor and likes to come and do her job, which is really satisfying, especially for a young horse.”
White and Antenucci love to utilize the classes in the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) program and now the Developing Horse Championships to help truly educate their up-and-comers.
“I always think these young horse classes are so important to really promote the breeding that is happening and to give these young horses a chance to be in a proper environment,” she said. “There's a lot going on, right? There's a proper cross-country course for them and things like that, and it's a really good stepping stone in their careers, so her target has always been to do this this year.”
“Jane” was sixth in the USEA YEH East Coast 5-year-old Championships last year and has spent the 2025 season working her way up to the Preliminary level. White takes each outing with the young horses very seriously, as she always has the future in mind versus current results.
“I think it's been pretty good,” she said of their season so far. “I think when she moved up to Preliminary, she had a bit of a moment where I probably tried to make her go too fast, too soon. But then her last few outings, she did her first two-star short at Plantation, and I think that's a really big ask for them, and she was excellent there. This will be her next big ask, and I'm excited to see what she does."
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