Boyd Martin and Luke 140. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
This year at the MARS Maryland 5 Star, we’re looking at a field that is arguably one of the highest-quality lineups we’ve seen in this event’s young history. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, the Maryland 5 Star is really still forming its identity (fun fact: the next youngest 5* of the seven in the world is Luhmühlen, which despite its rich history of World and European Championships hosting, did not run its first now-5* until 2005).
When the event first launched in 2021, we had Ian Stark designing the 5 Star course for the first time (his first even at the 5* level, though of course his 4* tracks were world-renowned). We also knew little about this side of the Fair Hill property; the “old” Fair Hill International was held on the other side of the road on a completely different piece of land. So, we approached this new 5* with much (if not everything) unknown. Now, with Pierre Le Goupil stepping in fresh off his Paris Olympic course design, there’s once again that sense of a new chapter and a new set of questions about what type of horse suits this terrain and this course.
In other words, while this is a dressage report, it’s really all part of the bigger picture. This year, we have a strong contingent of Thoroughbreds and quite a few horses who’ve proven themselves over a course like Burghley. And that’s a trend worth noting, because it tells us a lot about the kind of horse that can handle this event, and what sort of “horses for courses” reputation Maryland is building.
While we’ve seen three of the last four winners of the 5* start off on sub-30 scores (and in at least third place (Austin O’Connor’s 2022 win is the only anomaly, wherein he started with a 33.7 and in 12th after dressage), there’s still an interesting connection that at least I am making. As I mentioned, we’re flush with both Thoroughbreds and Burghley horses this year. Four of the horses in the field are race-bred Thoroughbreds (and a large majority of the field carries a strong percentage of Thoroughbred blood: an average of 62.6%), and eight horses have successfully gone around Burghley, some even twice. All but one of our former winners here have also successfully gone around Burghley (one of them even finished on the podium just this year).
So yes, while that once-rare specimen of a horse who can compete in dressage and still come up with enough in the tank to throttle around a Burghley course (ok, show jumping is another story for some of these types, but that’s alright) is becoming rarer, the fact remains that dressage here will not be the sole deciding factor (it never should be, really).
Now that I’ve really gone full send on the idea of burying a lede, I hope I’ve set the stage a little for you here. Of course, I’m writing with a bit of my own view in mind here, and with a small field of 22 it’s hard to make direct comparisons, but I think it’s interesting in the grand scheme of this competition, somewhat more so than the specifics of any particular score today.
‘Spook’ 140 Hangs In for Early Lead
Boyd Martin and Luke 140. Photo by Atalya Boytner.
While no one dipped into the sub-30s today, a few pairs came close. Notably, our day one leader is none other than Boyd Martin, fresh off his U.S. Equestrian Open of Eventing Final win at Morven Park. Boyd’s brought forward two horses this weekend: Luke 140, owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate, and Commando 3, owned by Yankee Creek Ranch LLC, who will start his competition tomorrow afternoon.
Luke 140, affectionately known as “Spook 140” in Boyd’s barn (and yes, there’s a t-shirt), did show a bit of his signature sharpness in the ring today. Their score of 31.0 was higher than anticipated. They earned a 27.9 at Kentucky and have averaged a 28.2 this season across levels, so while today was not the best they’ve done, reference the intro to this article. Frankly, the ability of Boyd (with the help of his Grand Prix rider of a wife, Silva, at home, as well as Bettina Hoy) to coax sub-30 scores out of a horse he describes as “hot and nervous” in general with this phase is a skill in itself. Boyd noted that the tents flapping in today’s wind gusts and the jumbotron that yawns above A helped put a bit more edge on, and while they trended in the 28-29 range for most of their test, they lost marks particularly in some of the canter work.
“You sort of just control what you can control,” Boyd said. “He’s a hot, spicy horse, which makes him a great cross country horse. I’m attracted to energetic horses and the hardest thing is just trying to work on getting him quite settled so he can perform in there. Our biggest enemy, along with a lot of the the other three-day event horses, is they’ve got to be relaxed and calm for the dressage judges, but on Saturday, they’ve got to be raring to go, so it’s a bit of a balancing act. What I’ve learned with him is just to try and avoid confrontation!”
Caroline Pamukcu exits to a big cheer from her support crew after her test with She’s the One. Photo by Atalya Boytner.
In second place, we have Caroline Pamukcu with She’s the One, who has shaved a good four points off her Kentucky debut score to go onto a 31.4. Caroline’s been working with Samantha St. Jacques on dressage, and it’s really paying off in terms of connection and relaxation. Caroline’s got three horses here, all essentially rookies at this level, and she’s aiming to leverage their Thoroughbred influence to tackle Maryland’s terrain.
“The mare’s ten this year, but she’s had quite a bit of experience,” Caroline said in the press conference. “The team last year sent us over to Millstreet, which was great experience or her. Then this year, they sent us over to Arville, so I’m really thankful So I’m really thankful for the Federation to keep putting a little bit of energy and time into her, and giving me an opportunity so that this sort of atmosphere, she’s getting quite used to it.” There will be more to come in this phase from this still-young mare, who also campaigned with French rider Gaspard Maksud.
Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Atalya Boytner.
Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle are sitting in third after putting in a 32.8. Jennie’s had a tough lead-up with an injury, and “Foxy” is coming back from a serious setback sustained while en route to Badminton this spring. But with the guidance of Bettina Hoy and Peter Wylde, as well as longtime coach Phillip Dutton, Jennie feels like they delivered their best 5* test yet.
“I’m super happy with his work,” Jennie said. “He got a little tense, and did [a] little [flying] change at the half-pass. A couple things I could’ve cleaned up.”
Bettina’s taken a few rides on Foxy building up to this, particularly while Jennie was preparing for and competing at Morven Park last weekend. They brought him to Morven so Bettina could school him in the main warm-up as well. “I had him in training with Silva for a bit a few years ago, but that’s [really] the most I’ve ever had someone else [ride him],” she said. “[Bettina] was like, ‘you focus on Morven, I’ll ride Foxy every day.’ And it’s pretty amazing. The first day I rode him was the day I jumped him [on Monday following Morven Park], I thought he jumped phenomenal. It’s just amazing how adjustable he is, and it took me a second for my eye to adjust to the fact that he was so rideable.”
Jennie opted to be on her own for her pre-rides but decided to have Bettina in her ear for her warm-ups, which she said helped get her and Foxy into that right before the ring mindset. She’s confirmed that contrary to some rumors she did not break her ankle in a fall at the startbox with Kismet at Morven, but she is working daily with a physio to help her be sound on a sprained left ankle sustained in the fall.
What’s On Tap for Friday
Lindsay Traisnel and Bacyrouge slot into fourth place. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Here’s a look at your initial starting order ahead of Friday:
You can view the order of go for Friday here. The top three horses in the EquiRatings Prediction Center will be among those we’ll see tomorrow: Boyd Martin and Commando 3 (3:19 p.m. ET), Monica Spencer and Artist (2:37), and Caroline Pamucku and HSH Blake (3:35 p.m.).
Caroline Pamukcu also holds fifth place with HSH Tolan King. Photo by Atalya Boytner.
This week, you’ll be able to follow along live on USEF Network on ClipMyHorse for our U.S. readers. Instructions on how to link your USEF Account are here so you can access the ClipMyHorse stream for free. For local viewers, Maryland Public Television also carries a great live stream that can be accessed here. For anyone needing an easy way to convert time zones for viewing in your local area, this website is a really handy tool.
EN is pleased to welcome Deirdre Vaillancourt Real Estate as the sponsor of our coverage of this year’s MARS Maryland 5 Star. If you’ve got Aiken, SC on your list as a place to base or even move to, Deirdre should be your first call! You can find all properties available and contact Deirdre directly by visiting AikenSCProperties.com.
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