Classic Eventing Nation

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Sally Spickard.

It proved to be a quintessential cross country day today at the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International (Raeford, NC), with immaculate conditions providing the perfect canvas on which to roll out the stories of the day. We were all keen to see how Derek di Grazia’s refreshed track would fare after he took over the reins from the legend himself, Ian Stark, who had been the designer in residence for the top levels at Carolina for the better part of a decade.

What we heard from the riders over the weekend was that Derek had laid out “plenty to do”, but in a way that they believed the horses would read and respond well to each question asked. As a general rule, Derek has the trust of the riders who take on his designs, and he’s widely respected for the subtle nuance and insistence that riders ride well and accurately that permeates his style.

And what a treat it was to watch the course debut in full. While it caused its fair share of influence, the cross country today was overall a display of strong riding and horses finishing confidently, leaving the riders feeling good about the next step on their spring calendars, wherever that may be.

It would not be a day for a third consecutive wire-to-wire victory in the Sandy River Equestrian Center CCI4*-S. Overnight leader, New Zealand’s Monica Spencer, ran into early trouble on course with Artist at fence 9C, a tricky corner on a tough line from a brush arrowhead at 9B. Monica and Artist unfortunately knocked the MIM-pinned rail at this question, resulting in 11 costly penalties. From there, Monica opted to cruise around to tick off her primary goal of boosting Artist’s confidence in his final major prep before Kentucky, and she finished clear from that point on.

Photo by Sally Spickard.

This opened the door for a rider who had already turned in a fast clear round to step up onto the top spot on the podium, and that rider was Jennie Brannigan, who piloted Tim and Nina Gardner’s FE Lifestyle (Leo von Faelz – Berina A, by Brandenburger) to the win on a final score of 40.3. Jennie had been in second behind Monica going into cross country today, and earns her first 4* win here at Carolina and her 12th win at the level in her career. They finish the weekend on a score of 40.3.

“It means a lot,” Jennie reflected. “I think it’s really easy to just move on to the next thing when you do well, always looking ahead. And while it’s important to keep the big picture in mind, it’s just as important to celebrate the moments when things go right. Finding that balance is hard.”

It wasn’t so long ago that Jennie experienced a big down weekend at this event. In 2019, Jennie brought FE Lifestyle to Carolina to contest his first 4*. Midway through the cross country, at the coffin complex, Jennie fell from “Foxy”, causing her to break several bones in her face and lose a few teeth.

“It’s been such a journey with this horse,” she said. “I broke my face at this venue riding him, and now, to be here, with Annie Eldrige’s support [Jennie has been basing at Annie’s farm leading up to this event] — it’s a full-circle moment. To be honest, I’ve been working so much and I’m so exhausted that it’ll probably take a few days for it all to sink in. But this horse deserves it. He’s phenomenal. He’s just pure joy to ride, and I’m so happy that the flatwork is coming along.”

“We’ve had him since he was a baby,” FE Lifestyle’s owner, Nina Gardner, said. “And he’s been a real project in terms of his development. I feel so invested in him because I’ve always seen this incredible potential, but he has a way of reminding you of his quirks when you least need them. So, it’s really nice to see it all come together today. Hopefully, he’s growing out of some of those adolescent moments!”

For Jennie though, the win is, yes, worth celebrating — but she’s the most proud of her riding this weekend.

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“I really believe that being a good horseman and being a strong competitor should go hand in hand,” she told us. “My goal with all of my horses was just to ride well, and so I tried to not get just caught up in [being a] champion. I wanted to be a good horseman, and that means the world to me. Winning used to mean the world to me, and I think being a horseman means a ton, so obviously it’s pleasing when you can ride well, be a good horseman, and be competitive. In the past, I would have just gone flat out and not ridden well, and now that doesn’t mean as much to me as winning because you’re riding well, not just because you’re willing to go the fastest.”

Jennie now looks ahead to Badminton, which is her top choice on where to take the 15-year-old DSP gelding. This would be his eighth 5* start; he’s completed Burghley twice, finishing as high as 12th, and placed as high as fifth at Maryland 5 Star.

Waylon Roberts and OKE Ruby R. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Second-placed Waylon Roberts (CAN) has had a circuitous path to this point in the season with the astonishing mare OKE Ruby R (Namelus R – B. Termie R 6, by Germus R), who is owned by John and Michelle Koppin. Waylon and “Ruby” finished on the podium in the MARS Bromont 4*-L last year, but shortly after, Waylon and his team made the decision to pull the mare from competition for a few months to give them time to build her body condition and fitness up.

“It was mostly about her body condition,” he explained. “I just felt like she didn’t have enough flesh on her—she looked too lean. And if I kept running her at this level and pushing her without addressing that, it wasn’t going to be sustainable. She’s an internal worrier, one of those horses who probably burns calories just standing still. She’s super intelligent, always thinking. She knows where every other horse on the property is at all times -— she’s like a mama bear, always watching over everyone else but not necessarily thinking about eating when she should. So, we pulled her out of competition, took the pressure off, and let her reset. And this year, she’s come back more confident in herself.”

In addition, Ruby was diagnosed with EPM over the winter, and thanks to the dedicated efforts of Waylon’s vet in Aiken, SC, Dr. Tom Wendel, Ruby eventually was back to feeling herself again.

This season, she’s come out right where she left off, earning one of two clears inside the time on cross country at the Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase in Bruce’s Field earlier this month and then finishing nearly on her dressage score this weekend at Carolina, moving all the way up from 23rd after dressage on a final mark of 42.1.

“For me, this was a bit of a fact-finding mission,” Waylon said of this weekend. “So this was really our first test of her fitness and conditioning since last August. I always have to set a good pace with her because that’s just what she and I like. And she answered everything I asked of her today. There were a few moments of seat-of-the-pants riding, which, honestly, is just a bit of our style.”

For Waylon — and for all of us — the big takeaway from this process is the importance of trusting your gut and listening to your horse. “That’s where experience comes in. You have to trust your gut. Even though everything seemed to be going well, I knew we weren’t at 100%. She finished second in the Bromont 4*-L, which was my personal best performance ever, but results don’t always tell the whole story.”

Allison Springer and No May Moon. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Also earning a spot on the podium are Allison Springer with Nancy Winter’s No May Moon (Catherston Dazzler – Ebony Moon, by Mystic Replica), the feisty MARS Bromont CCI4*-L winner from 2024. This diminutive Connemara/Thoroughbred mare, called “Mayzie” in the barn, is anything but in personality and athleticism, and she too enjoyed a steady climb up the board after starting the weekend in 12th.

“I just feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing mare and to have Nancy Winter in my life,” Allison said. “She’s believed in me since I was a kid, and now this little mare is making dreams come true for both of us. She was just massive — so, so good.”

“I thought it was a great course,” Allison said of Derek di Grazia’s design today. “There were certainly a few things I wondered about, but I have so much confidence, not just in my mare, but also in Derek as a course designer. He’s such a gifted designer, and I’m incredibly grateful to this entire organizing committee for putting on such a class event. For a horse like Maizie, who’s only been at this level for about a year, the thing that makes her such a great cross country horse is getting to run great courses at top competitions like this.”

It’s a special story for Allison and Nancy, who have been partnered together over horses for many years. Nancy herself is a big fan of the Connemara breed. “We wanted to try a Connemara sport horse type, but I don’t know much about breeding,” Allison elaborated. “I happened to see on Facebook that someone in the U.S. had some semen from Catherston Dazzler, and I thought, ‘That stallion has produced a lot of top horses.’ Of course, Nancy knows everyone, and she had a connection to the breeder. So we gave it a shot, and that’s how we got Maisie. Her full brother, Crystal Crescent Moon, is now going Intermediate — he’ll go cross country in the morning tomorrow, and he’s just fabulous.”

Ema Klugman and Bronte Beach Z. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Ema Klugman and the Bronte Beach Syndicate’s Bronte Beach Z (Verdi TN – Dalphine, by Chopin) stamped their ticket to Kentucky with a strong prep and a fourth place finish today on a score of 45.1. For Ema, who’s a full-time attorney in Washington D.C., the process of laying out her season necessitates a different strategy from other pro riders — there’s only so much PTO to go around for a season.

“So we really needed this weekend to go well!” Ema laughed. “I work full-time, so I can’t just take another week off to go and do another FEI event.

“She’s a warmblood, so she’s not the fastest horse in the world, but we wanted to give her a good fitness run while staying competitive without taking unnecessary risks,” Ema continued. “It would be silly to have something go wrong here just because I was pushing for speed. I think we struck the balance well—she cooled out in five minutes, so it didn’t take much out of her. She loves her job. I’ve had her since she was five, so it’s really fun to see her at this stage.”

Lindsay Traisnel and Bacyrouge. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Fifth on the weekend were Canada’s Lindsay Traisnel and her own Bacyrouge (Mylord Carthago – Lelia, by Clyde de la Combe), who also made some major moves in the standings, jumping up from 24th after dressage into 16th after show jumping en route to this top-five finish. Lindsay is aiming for the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event next month with the 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding.

“He’s just such a fantastic cross country horse,” Lindsay said. “I’m so lucky to ride him. I just have complete faith in him. And he was exactly as I thought he would be.”

It’s a big balancing act for Lindsay and her husband, Xavier, who have two kids and spend the majority of their time at their home base in Canada. “We spend most of the time at home,” she explained. “We do a few weeks to start the season in Aiken, and then we sort of just compete, traveling back and forth from Canada. I’ve got two kids in school and lots of horses at home, so we sort of go back and forth a lot, but it works for us.”

Will Faudree and Pfun. Photo by Sally Spickard.

And one last shout to sixth-placed Will Faudree and Jennifer Mosing/Sterling Silver Stables’ Pfun (Tadmus – Celerina, by Cento), who notched yet another top-10 finish here at Carolina (that’s a total of 7, plus one time competing at the then-CIC2* level, for those keeping track). This is to be Pfun’s last competition at the 4* or above level, as at the age of 18 Will feels this special Irish gelding owes him absolutely nothing. Will was quite emotional as he finished cross country on Pfun, something he admits doesn’t usually happen. But when the curtain closes on a storied career, it’s natural to feel that wave of emotion that comes with knowing it was the last time. We’ll have a full retirement tribute to Pfun, aka “Ted”, coming on EN later this week.

Colin Gaffney and Baymax. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Looking to the numbers, we didn’t see any clear rounds inside the time today. This isn’t all that surprising — 4*-S events tend to be more difficult in terms of time in some ways due to the short, technical nature of the track. Couple that with the fact that not every rider would have been planning to press for the time — many riders choose to save this for Long-format events — and this is fairly standard, especially at this point in the season. Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Gray were the quickest home, accumulating two seconds of time en route to a 10th place finish. Colin Gaffney and Baymax showed marked improvement as they gain more experience at this level, earning the second-quickest time of the day with 2.0 time penalties and a seventh place finish in just their second run at 4*.

And with that, we wrap up another year at the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International, and what a great weekend it was for our sport. Let’s all take away a few lessons from the weekend, which above all include listening to our horses and making them our priority, always. Thanks for following along with us, and Go Eventing.

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