Kim Severson, Julie Richards and Marilyn Little. Photo by Jenni Autry.

It’s been a decade since Julie Richards has enjoyed being in the international spotlight, and she burst back onto the scene in a big way yesterday, winning the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2* with Urlanmore Beauty thanks to jumping a double clear show jumping round.

Julie said the horse, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Asa Cooper and previously campaigned as a Young Rider horse by Sarah Kamensky, jumped his heart out. “The horse is so generous; it’s just a really super animal that way,” Julie said. “I knew he would try. He touched one or two, and that always gives you heart palpitations, but sometimes it goes your way.”

In the last 10 years since winning a team bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with Jacob Two Two, Julie has developed a thriving training and sales business in her hometown in Georgia, as well as focused on raising her two children, Genevieve, 11, and Adam, 9.

A return to High Performance?

“I ride so much better now than I did,” Julie said. “I have to thank my business and clients for that. I have to talk about it and teach it and think about it every day, and then look at these horses and decide what they’ll be best at. It’s so fun; it’s so much more fun than when I was trying to get two or three horses to the top level. … Every day is a journey, and you put all the pieces of the puzzle together.”

But that doesn’t mean she’s ruling out making a return to the upper levels. “I love High Performance, and it’s what I did before I had all my children and during my children, so, absolutely, I would love to go into the top level again on my own time and with the horses I believe in, not just on any horse, because I have two very small children who depend on me. Everyone is cautious about what they do with their life. I don’t feel like I have to go and do it again unless it works out.”

So could it work out with Urlanmore Beauty? Julie said she feels like “Ricky” is a horse she “could jump a mountain on,” and now it will be up to the Cooper family as to what’s next for the horse. “This is a good thing for the horse to do for his eduction, so we’ll see if he wants to go the next step,” Julie said, adding she thinks a season at Advanced would be good for him.

Cooley Cross Border finds his stride

Kim Severson found redemption yesterday aboard Cooley Cross Border, who was crowned the 5-year-old Young Event Horse East Coast Champion in 2012 at this event. The 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by The Cross Syndicate returned two years later to place second in the Fair Hill CCI2* after jumping double clear.

The horse had a runout at his first CIC2* at Virginia Horse Trials in May and and then had two runouts before ultimately retiring in his second attempt at the level at Plantation Field Horse Trials last month. But he stepped up in a big way at Fair Hill, adding no jumping penalties to his dressage score of 43.6.

“I have taken my time with him a lot, and therefore he has very few holes,” Kim said. “I rode him very, very poorly at Plantation. He’s the only horse I have that’s huge with a big stride, and I was either completely right or completely wrong at each jump. I went to add in the water, and he just stopped like he was saying, ‘Do you know what you want to do here?’”

Then when she came to a gate and “kinda checked out,” she said Cross didn’t even realize he was supposed to jump it, and she decided to retire. “I have spent the last few weeks jumping and galloping oxers in the field and getting my eye back,” Kim said. “He’s such a good boy as long as you tell him what to do.”

RF Quarterman chooses eventing

Marilyn Little and RF Quarterman quietly stalked the leaders in the CCI2* all weekend, sitting in 13th after dressage, moving up to sixth after cross country and going double clear in show jumping to ultimately finish third on a score of 46.6 in the horse’s first CCI2 — and first season of eventing, for that matter.

A 6-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Raylyn Farms, Marilyn found “Fiddy” in East Germany last year as a green 5-year-old show jumping prospect. He spent the winter learning the jumper ropes at the Winter Equestrian Festival, and Marilyn took him to Ocala after the show to turn him out for a vacation.

“I thought it would be nice for him to hack out and jump some cross country jumps, and when he did, he just got it,” Marilyn said. “He jumped everything in the field at Jacqueline Mars’ Meredyth South and understood looking for the flags.”

So she decided to put him in an Open Preliminary division at Carolina International in March just to see how he handled it. He picked up just two time penalties on cross country to finish in second place on 30.3.

“He was the one who made the decision,” Marilyn said, adding “just because you buy a horse for one thing doesn’t mean you should close the doors to what might be the right road for them. If it’s what’s right for the horse, it’s what makes the journey the most fun in the end.”

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Tim Dutta, Boyd Martin, Jennie Brannigan and Allison Springer.

When asked how it felt to win the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3*, Jennie Brannigan said she’s a bit overwhelmed by the achievement — an understandable reaction when you consider everything she’s been through in the past two years to get to this point.

By now most of you know the story of the rocky road Jennie and Cambalda have traveled to get here. After enjoying a wave of success when “Ping” started going Advanced, a string of bad luck reared its ugly head. It all started while attempting to complete their first CCI4* last year, when Ping slipped on pavement before dressage, ultimately forcing her to withdraw.

They re-routed to Luhmühlen, where they fell at the first water complex, thankfully unharmed sans wounded pride. Then their comeback story seemed all but written at Fair Hill last fall, when Jennie and Ping led after dressage only to pick up 20 at a corner combination in the main arena.

An emotional win for Jennie, Gardners

And their luck still didn’t turn, as they infamously missed a flag at Rolex this year when Ping locked on to the widest part of an open corner, picking up a technical elimination. Through it all, Jennie strengthened her resolve to bounce back. As Boyd Martin put it yesterday, she’s “gone beyond what normal people would do to get here.”

“When Ping first moved up to Advanced, he was on a bit of a hot streak, so I thought, ‘Alright, here we go,’” Jennie said. “But it’s been a couple years of some disappointments. At this point, I realize I was lucky as a Young Rider to have the horses I did.

“I realize that this is a heartbreaking sport, and everyone has to pay their dues,” which Jennie understands all too well, especially when it comes to this event, as she clinched the win today in the same arena where her beloved partner Cooper suffered the injury that ultimately claimed his life: “It’s an emotional place for me.”

And it’s made even more emotional by the fact that she secured a win today for her longtime owners and supporters Tim and Nina Gardner. “They’re unbelievable,” Jennie said. “When the horse fell on the pavement last year at Rolex, they spent the money out of their own pocket to take me to Luhmühlen … and then I messed up and fell in the water.

“These people could have given the horse to someone like Phillip (Dutton), but they said, ‘It’s going to be fine. We want to support you, not just one horse.’ They’re that kind of people. …  I can definitely say I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. They really like the whole journey.”

What’s next for Master Frisky?

Boyd Martin has paved a similar windy path to the top with Master Frisky, who pulled one rail today to finish second in his first CCI3*, and he said he owes a lot to the horse’s owner, Steve Blauner, who is involved in a number of the syndicates for his top horses.

“I’ve very pleased because I asked him to buy this horse a couple years ago, and then he got hurt and didn’t work out that well, and then he came here and did this,” Boyd said, noting he’s already thinking ahead with what’s next for “Mikey.”

“He’s young and green, and this was his first time at the three-star level, and I don’t think he looked out of place here,” Boyd said. “The fastest way is to go slow with him, keep chipping away … I think he could be a really good horse.”

Boyd said he’ll run the horse in a couple Advanced horse trials next year and then make the decision as to whether he’s going to Rolex or another three-star. “He handles the cross country well, which is a factor that makes you take him or not take him to Rolex, and he’s pretty brave,” Boyd said. “In the back of your mind, you start thinking about the Olympics in a couple of years.”

Allison Springer getting better with age

Allison Springer is also looking to the future with Copycat Chloe, as she said both she and the mare are continuing to grow and develop as competitors. “This summer I talked to Kevin Keane about how to get a warmblood horse fit — she’s Trakehner/Thoroughbred — so I stuck to his plan and got a heart rate monitor,” she said.

Thanks to Kevin’s fitness advice, Allison said she felt confident Chloe was fit enough to tackle the course, and she stormed around just one second over the optimum time. “About halfway she slowed down,” Allison said. “In the past, I would have thought she was tired, but I said, ‘Come on, Momma, you keep going,’ and she did.”

Allison said she would rate cross country as her weakest phase, but that she’s working on it and slowly improving. “I guess you get better with age,” she said, having just celebrated her birthday on Friday. “Phillip has really helped me a lot. I know I had a mistake at Burghley on Arthur, but I really felt like that was such a good, forward riding round for me, and I learned a lot from that.”

Chloe can be a quirky horse — much like Arthur — and Allison said their partnership is still developing, but she’s pleased with the progress they’ve made. “I can’t say that our relationship is perfect yet; there’s always so much more to improve,” she said.

“I was thrilled, especially yesterday with cross country. I really felt coming into this that I knew in my heart she was fit enough. … It was me having the confidence that she could do that. I’ve certainly learned more about confident, forward riding.”

Dutta Corp gives Fair Hill wings

Tim Dutta, whose company Dutta Corporation will serve as the title sponsor of the event for at least six more years under the current contract, said he has big plans for Fair Hill, like improvements to stabling, more parties and entertainment, and increased prize money.

When Boyd said he wanted to see 100,000 people show up on Saturday — leaving “drunk bodies on the cross country course” — Tim seemed pretty supportive of the idea. Fair Hill should be to the U.S. what Boekelo is to Holland, a rousing celebration of the sport that attracts people far and wide.

The Dutta Corp’s slogan says, “We give horses wings,” but it’s clear the company has also given Fair Hill wings. There are great things ahead for Fair Hill thanks to Tim, and we have to extend our genuine thanks to him for supporting our sport. Go Eventing.

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Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Jennie Brannigan couldn’t watch Boyd Martin’s show jumping round with Master Frisky. After she jumped a double clear with Cambalda, she knew Boyd couldn’t afford a single rail to keep his lead. So she stood in the far corner of the warmup ring during his round, her back turned to the arena.

When Master Frisky took a rail at the liverpool, it became official: Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda are the 2014 Fair Hill CCI3* National Champions, and what a sweet win it is. Heavily favored to win last year only to fall victim to the double corners in the main arena, Jennie returned with a vengeance this year, storming around cross country yesterday to come home with just 1.2 time.

After falling at Luhmühlen, being thwarted twice at Rolex and the blip at Fair Hill last year, Jennie has officially put the bad luck streak behind her. All that goes to say it’s an emotional win for all those who have weathered the storm with Jennie, with lots of hugs and tears all around as it sunk in that her perseverance had finally paid off.

Boyd Martin and Master Frisky. Photo by Jenni Autry.

A rail and 2 time penalties dropped Boyd and Master Frisky to second place, and Allison Springer and Copycat Chloe continued their steady rise of the leaderboard, jumping double clear to finish in third place on their dressage score of 54.8. Caitlin Silliman and Catch A Star pulled one rail to drop to fourth place on 56.0, and she tweeted right after her round that she was thrilled with the mare.

Buck Davidson and The Apprentice jumped clear but picked up 5 time to drop from fourth to fifth place, while his student Carolina Martin and Quantum Solace jumped clear with 1 time penalty to move up one spot to finish in sixth on 57.8. Jon Holling also moved up thanks to jumping a double clear round with Zatopek B, finishing seventh on 60.2.

Kevin Keane and Fernhill Flutter, who jumped the only double clear cross country round yesterday, went out guns blazing today, pulling two rails to drop from fifth to eighth on 60.8. Holly Payne and Never OutFoxed win the Biggest Mover Award for climbing from 42nd after dressage all the way to ninth after adding just 2.4 total time penalties to their dressage score.

Allison Springer and Copycat Chloe. Photo by Jenni Autry.

And Libby Head and Sir Rockstar round out the top 10 after pulling off an amazing save at the second to last fence to jump clear with 1 time penalty. We luckily caught that one on video, so be sure to keep an eye on our YouTube channel as videos from the CCI3* upload. (Update: We just added the link below.)

More than 30 horses jumped double clear in the CCI2* this morning, but the three-star horses had a much different day over Sally Ike’s course, with just five riders pulling off a double clear. In addition to the riders we already mentioned, Boyd Martin and Crackerjack and Allie Knowles and Sound Prospect jumped double clear today.

For winning the Fair Hill International CCI3*, Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda win an overseas flight courtesy of title sponsor the Dutta Corporation. So naturally we’ll all be dying to know: Where will Jennie and Ping go? We’ll be sure to ask that in the press conference. It’s about time they had their moment in the spotlight. Stay tuned for much more from Fair Hill.

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Julie Richards and Urlanmore Beauty. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Clear rounds mattered on a day when two rails separated the top 10 in the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2*, with just one rail separating the top three. Julie Richards and Urlanmore Beauty jumped double clear to put the pressure on overnight leader Victoria Jessop and Desert Mystery, who ultimately pulled two rails, giving Julie the National CCI2* Championship on her dressage score of 43.

Julie has only ridden this horse since July, having taken over the ride from her student Asa Cooper, making the win all the more impressive. Victoria said in yesterday’s press conference that show jumping is not her horse’s strongest phase, but she still put in an incredibly strong performance in their first two-star to ultimately finish in seventh place on 49.3.

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border rose to the occasion this weekend, jumping clear in both jumping phases to clinch the Reserve National CCI2* championship on her dressage score of 43.6 in the horse’s first CCI2*. Marilyn Little, who quietly stalked the leaders all weekend with RF Quarterman, moved up from sixth to finish in third place on 46.6 thanks to jumping double clear. The horse only just started eventing at The Fork this year.

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Tamie Smith and Twizted Syster came into show jumping in fourth place, with Chloe breathing fire throughout the round. Though they pulled one rail to drop to fifth place, Tamie rode her extremely well, and this is a partnership that’s only just getting started. Tamie is the highest-placed of the West Coast riders who came east to compete. Go girl!

Buck Davidson finished on his dressage score with Quasar, moving up from 19th to sixth place on 49. Two rails dropped Boyd Martin and SBF Cortez from fifth to eighth place to finish on 54.2, and one rail dropped Lynn Symansky and Osborne 9 from seventh to round out the top 10 on 54.4.

We have to give a serious shoutout to Ryan Wood, who jumped clear with both of his horses to finish eighth with McLovin on 54.4, who moved up from 33rd after dressage, and 11th with Fernhill Classic on 54.9, who moved up from 42nd after dressage. Fernhill Classic finished second last year in the CCI2*. When are you going to move these horses up, Woodsy? It’s time!

Julie Richards finished with two horses inside the top 15, clinching the win with Urlanmore Beauty and also finishing 15th with the lovely mare Beaulieu’s Cayenne on 57.1. Phillip Dutton finished two horses in the top 20 riding for Kristen Bond, with I’m Sew Ready finishing 12th on 55.1 and Get Ready finishing 18th on on 58.2.

Marilyn Little and RF Quarterman. Photo by Jenni Autry.

As for big movers on the leaderboard, CCI2* first-timer Andrew McConnon moved from 58th after dressage all the way up to 16th after jumping double clear in both jumping phases, finishing on 57.7 with Rachel Jurgens’ Rolex horse Ziggy. Will Faudree and Pfun moved from 60th to 19th and Buck Davidson moved from 65th to 20th — also giving him two horses in the top 20 — thanks to adding no jumping penalties to their dressage scores of 58.3 and 59.1, respectively.

A large number of horses jumped double clear, with 33 of 72 leaving all the poles in the cups. It will definitely be interesting to see if Sally Ike’s course is so kind to the CCI3* riders. You can check out the course map here.

Awards are just wrapping up now, with the press conference scheduled to start shortly. CCI3* show jumping is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. Keep an eye on our YouTube channel for videos from CCI2* show jumping, and keep checking back for much more throughout the day.

Go Fair Hill, Go Eventing.

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Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda at FHI 2014. Photo by Jenni Autry.

With the dust settled at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International, the top three in the CCI3* and CCI2* gathered for a press conference to share their thoughts on a cross country day that certainly took no prisoners.

Boyd Martin, who holds the overnight lead in the CCI3* with Master Frisky, thought this year’s course was particularly tough — maybe even too tough — saying “it makes Boekelo look like a two-star.”

“It’s the most prestigious three day event in America. I would hold winning this event as important as anything else I’ve accomplished,” Boyd said. “From the rider’s point of view, this is the Hawaiian Ironman. That’s why great horses and great riders come here and go on to do wonderful things later in their careers.”

But he’ll likely need to leave all the rails in the cups tomorrow to win, as second-placed Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda are notoriously strong in show jumping. Unfortunately, it’s not Master Frisky’s best phase.

“When I was in France (for WEG), Michael Walton came over and jumped him for me and gave me a couple pointers with him,” Boyd said. “He’s a got a good jump; he jumps really big behind and sometimes jumps over himself. We’ll just do the best we can.”

Redemption proved sweet for Jennie today, as she conquered the double corner combination that caught out Cambalda last year to put herself less than a rail out of the lead. “It was nice to feel like I pulled the trigger on the day,” she said.

Jennie has been very stoic about the struggles she and Cambalda have faced in the past year. After Fair Hill and her technical elimination Rolex, she said in an emotional moment during yesterday’s press conference that she felt like she’d been “kicked in the teeth” after those events.

She’s been exercising racehorses for Michael Matz at Fair Hill’s training track — as well as galloping Cambalda and Henry on the track as part of their fitness regime — and she said her track family and routine have ultimately proved to be her saving grace.

“It’s hard when you’re up and coming and you’re supposed to be a star and you let everyone down, and you beat yourself up, and it’s been this thing to make me realize I just love horses. I love riding good horses,” Jennie said.

Caitlin Silliman also came into cross country day with demons to conquer, as she fell from Remington XXV last year in the two-star and has battled runouts with Catch A Star this year. So when it came to how she prepared mentally, she said she simply knew what she needed to do.

“She’s a very good cross country horse. If I ride her well, she goes well. If you give her confidence in the first five fences, she builds the whole way around,” Caitlin said, and that’s what happened today, with “Hoku” skipping around to move them from 15th up to third.

Though Boyd made it clear winning Fair Hill would mean a lot to him, you can’t help but get the impression he wouldn’t mind seeing a blue ribbon pinned to Cambalda or Catch A Star’s bridle tomorrow.

“It’s a very heartbreaking sport, this sport,” Boyd said. “These girls have had so many reasons to wander off and quit. They’ve worked very, very hard and gone beyond what normal people would do to get here.”

Victoria Jessop, who leads the Fair Hill CCI2*, has had an equally long road to get here with Desert Mystery, an off-track Thoroughbred who raced over fences and came to her as a 3 year old.

“We have a great partnership now, but it took a long time because he needed it mentally, but it was a real reward to put it all together,” she said. “He gave me a great ride. Cross country is his forte; he loves it.”

Show jumping is not the horse’s strong phase, as he’s not the most careful jumper, Victoria said. “We’re working on it, but it would definitely be our crux. It’s getting better, and we’ll give it out best shot. I’m riding the wave right now and enjoying it.”

Julie Richards is also enjoying the ride with Urlanmore Beauty, who did Young Riders with Sarah Kamensky in 2011 and has since been sold to Asa Cooper. When Asa decided to focus on college, the horse went to Julie to compete.

She only started riding him in July, and when he finished cross country at the American Eventing Championships with 5 time penalties on a 6 1/2-minute course, Julie knew she needed to step up her fitness game. The hard work paid off with a double clear today to put her in second place in the two-star.

“He’s Irish, and that’s why I lot of us like to ride those horses, because they just keep galloping,” Julie said. “That’s why I drove 17 hours to get here. You never know when they’re going to step up, and I’m thrilled he did.”

Cooley Cross Border also stepped up today with Kim Severson in his first CCI2* to jump double clear to move to third place, which is particularly noticeable since he’s battled blips on cross country this season.

“I just had to get it right today. That was pretty much my thing,” Kim said. “He is usually very straightforward, but I’ve made some mistakes that was just me not riding well, so I needed to ride well, and I did that, and he was very good.”

The final horse inspection starts bright and early at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, so be sure to tune back in first thing in the morning for live tweets during the jog. There’s still much more to come from Fair Hill. Thanks for following along today.

[Boyd Martin and Master Frisky Hold Fair Hill CCI3* Lead]

[Fair Hill CCI3* Live Cross Country Updates: Boyd Martin Holds Lead]

[Victoria Jessop and Desert Mystery Take Fair Hill CCI2* Lead]

[Fair Hill CCI2* Live Cross County Updates: Victoria Jessop Leads]

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