All Presented Horses Ready to Set Sail Following First Horse Inspection at MARS Maryland 5 Star

Tayla Mason and Centennial. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

A moment for Jonelle Price’s pop of orange! Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

There’s something so lovely about an uneventful jog (and of course we always hope it’s uneventful on Wednesday), and we were treated to just that today to open the week at the fifth-anniversary MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, presented by Brown Advisory. Our Ground Jury members and Veterinary Delegate had a close eye on our competitors to ensure their readiness to compete this week, and all horses who were presented in both the CCI3*-L and the CCI5* were accepted.

We did have two withdrawals ahead of the jog: Buck Davidson pulled his Thoroughbred campaigner Sorocaima and will now just have Cooley Candyman this week. Jennie Brannigan also withdrew Connory and will only ride FE Lifestyle. Buck told us that “Cam” had an ill-timed abscess, so while he’s still here on site it was just close enough timing that he opted not to risk it — and for a horse who’s done so many of these events, he says, there was no reason to push to make the weekend happened.

Phillip Dutton trots up FE Lifestyle for Jennie Brannigan, who’s added an ankle boot to her wardrobe this weekend. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Jennie also opted to withdraw Connory after taking a hard fall at the start box with a different horse at Morven. She’s feeling just fine and has been cleared to compete this week by her doctors and coaches, but with this being Connory’s first 5*, she thought it would be best to focus her energies on the more experienced FE Lifestyle.

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

With that, we’ll see a total of 22 horses in our CCI5* field this week, and a total of 53 horses to see in the CCI3* division. Starting orders and times will be available soon here. We’ll be back tomorrow morning with our full Form Guide to the CCI5* field and much more as we kick things off on one of our favorite fall events on the calendar.

Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Grey. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

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.

MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill (MD): [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries] [Live Stream] [Scores] [EN’s Coverage]