There was a leaderboard shift following cross-country in the CCI4*-L at the Bromont CCI on Saturday. Jennie Brannigan riding Nina Gardner’s homebred 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Twilightslastgleam (National Anthem x Royal child) moved into the top spot ahead of former leaders Liz Halliday-Sharp and The Monster Partnership's 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Moonshine (Cobra x Kilpatrick Duchess) after adding just 1.6 time penalties to their dressage score. Brannigan now sits in the lead going into the final phase tomorrow, show jumping, on a cumulative score of 34.2.
Speaking of the course and show management's decision to run the highest levels first because of the wet ground rather than as a feature over the lunch as usually done Brannigan said, "they obviously made the right call. Derek obviously knows what he is doing running the four-star divisions first. Derek is such a good course designer.”
In the CCI4*-S, wet footing certainly played a part in the day's results with 60% of the contestants not finishing their cross-country rounds. The new CCI4*-S leader going into jumping is Valerie Pride on her own 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding Favian (French Kiss x Risiko).
In the CCI3*-L Halliday-Sharp maintained her lead, however, she now leads aboard the Calmaria Partnership's 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse Mare Cooley HHS Calmaria (Cyrano x Chester Lass) following a double-clear cross-country round. Her former CCI3*-L leader Shanroe Cooley (Dallas x Shanroe Sapphire), the 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Ocala Horse Properties, now sits in fourth after adding 5.6 time penalties to their dressage score. Halliday-Sharp reflected that Cooley HHS Calmaria “was a beast who has really stepped up and suddenly become the horse I believed she was.”
While the wet ground did certainly play a part in every ride today, Halliday-Sharp shared positive comments about how hard everyone had worked to make the ground the best it could be for the horses and riders. “It is gorgeous, I will definitely be back. This is one I have been trying to come to for years, and years, and years!”
Halliday-Sharp also held onto her leading position in the CCI2*-L aboard Laurie Cameron's 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding Miks Master C (Mighty Magic x Qui Lumba CBF), but with the addition of 0.4 time penalties, Halliday-Sharp now shares the lead position with Phillip Dutton who has the ride on Caroline Moran's 7-year-old Holsteiner gelding Denim (Denkin x Celia II). Both pairs sit tied for first on a score of 24.7.
Not one who seems to ever travel in the slow lane Halliday-Sharp heads to Luhmühlen right after Bromont for the last in a series of U.S. team selection trials that included Bromont. She also has her eye on taking four horses all the way to Rebecca Farm, another great destination event in Kalispell, Montana next month.
In the CCI2*-L U25 Bromont first-time attendees Ayden Schain and Dawn Barclay's 9-year-old Zangersheide gelding Fernhill Hole Shot (Entertainer x Coriander Z) remain in first place.
The final horse inspection takes place Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. followed by a challenging Sarah Roberts-designed show jumping course.
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What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.