United States Eventing Association

Jersey Fresh Wrap-Up: Show Jumping & Five Minutes with Jennie Brannigan & Lillian Heard

Photos by Mike McNally

WINDY! Show jumping day today at the Jersey Fresh three-day event was windy with a biting chill in the air. This was particularly unfortunate for all of the competitors who planned on wearing a spring ensemble for the jog. The breezy weather relegated everyone back into their back up outfits of long pants and warm jackets. The good news about the jog however, is that the horses were in fine fettle after Saturday’s cross-country phase. All but one horse was accepted to move on to show jumping. Final Results

The CCI2* division was the first group to jump and there were quite a few rails dropping for the horses and riders at the lower end of the pack. Later in the division, only one rail was dropped for the entire top six horse and rider teams; and there were no time penalties in the entire division. Yesterday’s top three: Cambalda, Happy Valley, and Malibu all put in double clears to remain on their existing scores. Jennie Brannigan and Nina Gardner’s bay Thoroughbred Cambalda solidified their stellar weekend with a lovely round which ended their outing with the lowest total score for all three divisions (44.3). Doug Payne and Sanford Freeman’s Happy Valley also put in a great trip and ended their weekend in second place with a score of 50.0. In the third spot, just as they were yesterday was Canada’s Joelle Baskerville and Malibu. Their weekend concluded with an a fluent jumping round and an admirable score of 56.0.

The CIC3* was unique yesterday in that everyone in the division had cross-country time penalties. Today the group was unique in that there was only one double clear show jumping round in the division (Hannah Sue Burnett and Dick Thompson’s St. Barths). The rest of the group dropped at least one rail per ride. Overnight leaders Phillip Dutton and Tru Luck, owned by Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard, held on to the top spot with one rail down and three time penalties, totaling their score at 65.4. Canada’s Peter Barry and the Irish Sport Horse Kilrodan Abbott fought hard and kept the number two placing, taking down one rail and gaining six time penalties. Ashley Kehoe and Mazetto, owned by Kehoe Enterprises, had a rail down and one time fault. It was quite a respectable round which moved them up one position to finish in third place with a 77.6.

The course was reversed and a number fences were added for the final division of the day, the CCI3*. Tiana Coudray and the spectacular Irish Sport Horse, Ringwood Magister, grasped tightly to their leading score pulling only one rail, winning the division with final score of 45.6. Though Coudray and Ringwood Magister had a hefty lead over the rest of the pack going in to the show jumping, the scores held by the rest of the group left room for some movement in the standings. Yet again finding a way to move into the top two, Phillip Dutton and Jan Byyny’s Thoroughbred Inmidair threw down a double clear round, moving the pair from fourth to second place, with a final score of 58.0. Colin Davidson and his Thoroughbred gelding Draco pulled two rails moving them down the leader board one place into third with a score of 64.2.

Overall the day was a success and it was wonderful to see all of the finishers looking quite fresh after an arduous weekend. The course seemed to ride well, the arena footing looked excellent, and all of the fences stayed upright in the wind thanks to some extra securing by the ring crew. Congratulations to all of the horses, competitors, show organizers and Horse Park of NJ staff on a job well done!

The Last Five Minutes with Two Riders…Part Three

We couldn’t end the weekend without a few last words from our featured riders, Lillian Heard and Jennie Brannigan. Lillian and her horse, the marvelous eight year old gelding Share Option (Whitey) finished 6^th today in the CCI3*, which was their first outing at this level. Jennie, as we featured above, with Nina Gardner’s lovely gelding Cambalda (Ping) won the CCI2* division…Congratulations to both!

(Lillian Heard & Share Option finish sixth in their first CCI3*.)

As riders, grooms, family members, and friends bustled around taking care of the horses and packed up their equipment for a long ride home, I managed to secure a few parting comments from Lillian and Jennie…

1. Do you have any parting comments regarding today’s Show Jumping or on the weekend?

Lillian: “Show jumping was tough and it caught some people out. It was fun. I had a rail, but he (Whitey) jumped great and didn’t seem too tired. He gave me the idea that he’s a horse for the future, and that’s a really good feeling to have! I’d also like to thank Jennie, Boyd, and Silva. “

Jennie: “I’m happy! Happy that things turned out well. I feel so lucky. Thank you to the Gardner family, Phillip, Evie, Lee Lee, and Lillian”.

Please keep your eyes out for Lillian and Jennie in the future!