United States Eventing Association

Live Scoring | Photo Gallery

Nineteen horse and rider combinations started today’s Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series CIC2* cross-country course at the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials, and when the final rider had galloped through the finish flags it was Jennifer Brannigan and Cambalda who came out on top. The eight-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Nina Gardner, was one of the earlier pairs on the course and when they put in a clean and fast round, the pressure was on for the overnight leader, Leslie Law. Although Law’s mount Pembridge Swingtime performed brilliantly, four time penalties dropped them into second place by a mere .1 penalty point.

“This was Cambalda’s first cross-country run since Jersey,” Brannigan explained. “So I wasn’t going to go crazy if he felt tired and to be honest he did feel tired, but he went pretty well through everything and he jumped really well and confidently. This is my last run before Cambalda moves up to Advanced at Millbrook, so I am feeling good about that after today.”

With less than a rail separating the top three riders there is no time for mistakes in tomorrow’s show jumping phase. “I don’t want to think too much about how closely placed we all are,” said Brannigan. “I just want to sleep well tonight, channel Susie Hutchinson from my old show jumping days, and hope that I put in the best effort that I can. I know that Phillip is going to jump double clean and knowing Leslie, he is going to jump clean as well, so I am just going to try to the best I can. Luckily this horse has been show jumping well all spring, so I am just going to get a good night's sleep and pray.”

Nina Gardner purchased Cambalda in early May of this year and the pair has done very well since the transfer in ownership. When asked why she decided to buy Cambalda, Gardner simply responded: “I liked the horse and I liked the rider, and I thought that Cambalda would be a wonderful up-and-coming horse, and so far he has proved me right.”

Point one penalties out of the lead is Leslie Law who is partnered with Missy Miller’s Pembridge Swingtime. “I am very happy really because I never competed this horse before, and we are doing pretty well. It was a very good cross-country course, well built and designed. The terrain is tough, up and down and quite a lot of turning, it would be a hard place to do build a course really so Derek [Di Grazia] has done a very good job with it.”

“Of course I read Jennie’s quote last night and saw that she is getting a bit fed up of finishing second to me,” Law explained. “So I thought I would take it a bit easy today and give Jennie some confidence by letting her go into the ring in the lead tomorrow. Swinger is a good jumper, but obviously I am very different physique than Missy so I hope I am able to push the right buttons and have a clean round tomorrow.”

Third placed pair, Phillip Dutton and J.C. Chester’s Syd Kent, were the only team to put in a double clear round on today’s CIC2* course.“Syd Kent did it pretty easily, jumped very well which I would expect of him,” Dutton explained. “His show jumping abilities are very good, so hopefully I will be able to give him a good ride tomorrow.”

The CIC2* is set to show jump at 2:00 tomorrow.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title: Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer and Nutrena, and Patron: Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Mountain Horse, and Succeed.

Winners of the CIC2*, the designated "Gold Cup division," will take home $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Second place finishers take home a Nutrena feed gift certificate and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots, and third place receives a pair of the Nunn Finer boots as well.