Classic Eventing Nation

Hannah Sue Burnett, Jennie Brannigan and Jessica Phoenix — Chinch’s heroes and your top three finishers in the CIC3* at Red Hills Horse Trials! Stay tuned for comments and their thoughts on the day. #RHHT2017

A post shared by Eventing Nation (@goeventing) on Mar 11, 2017 at 3:09pm PST

There’s nothing like getting bucked-off in warm-up and still going on to win. That’s exactly what happened to Hannah Sue Burnett in this morning’s CIC3* show jumping warm-up at Red Hills International Horse Trials, when Harbour Pilot couldn’t quite contain his boisterousness and dumped her on the ground.

Fellow competitor Lisa Barry caught him, Hannah hopped back on, and then went in the ring to jump a clear round. “Sometimes he needs to be a little bit crazy, and then he’s really well behaved,” Hannah said. And isn’t that the hallmark of a good event horse?

“We’ve really been focusing on show jumping over the last year,” Hannah added. “It’s nice for him to have a bit of a disturbance in the warm-up and then go in the ring and jump fantastic. He was really trying.”

Hannah and Harbour Pilot retained their lead with a clear show jumping round and then sealed the deal with a clear cross country trip to win on 54.9.

“He was nice and easy and fun on cross country,” Hannah said. “In the cross country warm-up, where he’s usually really nervous and excited, he was really quiet. And then he cantered around really nice, so I was happy with him.”

Last year Hannah took a lighter approach in her preparation for a spring CCI4*, and this year she’s decided to run Harbour Pilot once more in the CIC3* at Carolina International before going on to Badminton Horse Trials.

As for their run today: “He’s an experienced horse, and I got to cruise around on him and enjoy it. I had a blast.”

Jennie Brannigan and Tim and Nina Gardner’s Cambalda hadn’t competed in an FEI event since 2015, and he looked back to his old self this weekend, easily jumping around to finish second in the CIC3* on 66.9.

“I honestly have to say that it’s great to have Ping back. He’s been a really wonderful horse for me and my career. The last year and a half has been about focusing on the future and producing other horses, and I feel very lucky that I can still focus on the other horses and have Ping come out and do well at this level,” Jennie said.

“He felt a little bit rusty this weekend, but he felt great cross country. It’s honestly probably one of the best rounds he’s had. It’s like riding a good old friend.”

Cambalda will next go on to Carolina International, and then Jennie said she will decide with the Gardners what’s next for his future. “He’s a horse that doesn’t owe me anything, and all I care about really is him being happy, and that’s all they care about as well.”

Bentley’s Best jumped around like a little warrior today in a super impressive performance that saw him finish third on 69.6, and Jessica Phoenix agreed that “Benny” has stepped up his game this year.

“All weekend long, he was just so much fun,” Jessie said. “I love riding him, and he just feels like a new man this year. He’s strong and he’s playing at the level, which is so cool when you have a horse like that.”

All three ladies agreed that Mike Etherington-Smith’s course wasn’t an easy ask by any means, and especially when jumping into the combinations your game plan could change in a split second.

“With the distances you had to seriously wait to see how your horse jumped in and make a decision, so you had plan A, B, C and D and sometimes you ended up further down the list,” Jessie said. “I think it was just riding off of your instinct, and my horse came out and jumped really well and felt confident.”

Click here to catch up on the full report from the CIC3* action at Red Hills, and stay tuned for more. Go Eventing.

Red Hills Links: Website, Entries, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Hannah Sue Burnett and Jacqueline Mars’ Harbour Pilot clinched a wire-to-wire win in the Red Hills International Horse Trials CIC3* after a jam-packed day of show jumping and cross country. Two clear jumping rounds saw them take a dominant victory by a 12-point margin on 54.9.

Looking to this morning’s show jumping, Chris Barnard’s debut as course designer certainly shook things up, with only four combinations jumping clear and inside the time. Time penalties proved very influential, with seven combinations jumping clear rounds but exceeding the time allowed.

After an exuberant Harbour Pilot bucked her off in show jumping warm-up, Hannah climbed back on and jumped a clear round with 2.0 time penalties to hold their lead on 46.1. Buck Davidson and Petite Flower jumped clear and inside the time to move up to second on 51.3, and Lauren Kieffer and D.A. Duras also stayed on their dressage score to move to third on 52.2.

Kudos to the two other riders who conquered Chris’ show jumping course without adding any penalties: Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna and Jessica Phoenix and A Little Romance.

Then Mike Etherington-Smith’s cross country course turned the leaderboard upside down again. Hannah and Harbour Pilot, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Cruising X Shannon), jumped clear with 8.8 time penalties to seal the deal on the win on a final score of 54.9.

Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Jennie Brannigan and Tim and Nina Gardner’s Cambalda, a 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Balda Beau X Cathy’s Lady), completed his first FEI competition since 2015 in beautiful form. After adding just 2.0 time penalties in show jumping this morning, they jumped clear cross country with 12.8 time penalties to finish second on 66.9.

Jessica Phoenix and Don Good’s Bentley’s Best, a 10-year-old Trakehner gelding (Hirtentanz X Hauptstutbuch Baronesse XIII), continued to impress after sitting in third following yesterday’s dressage. While one rail down and 2.0 time penalties added in show jumping slipped them down to fifth, they stormed back to finish third on 69.6 thanks to a clear round and 16.0 time penalties.

Madeline Backus and her own P.S. Arianna, a 16-year-old Anglo-Trakehner mare (Ibsen X Amazing Raven), had the second-fastest time of the day, coming home with 7.6 time penalties to finish in fourth place on 69.8. They added the fewest penalties to their dressage score of anyone in the CIC3* division, which moved them up from 18th after dressage to a top-five finish.

Jessica Phoenix and Bentley’s Best. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Daniela Mougel and Cecelia, a 14-year-old Thoroughbred mare (Connecticut X Penny Stock) owned by Aurelio Quinzaños and Jorge Castrejon, also had an impressive move up the leaderboard, adding just 2.0 time penalties in show jumping this morning and an additional 9.6 cross country time penalties to finish in fifth place on 71.0.

Phillip Dutton came back with a bang after spending much of the winter season in Pennsylvania caring for his stepdaughter Lee Lee Jones. He delivered six clear cross country rounds in all today, with the Revelation Group’s Fernhill Revelation, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (YOU X Hallo Noble Girl), finishing sixth in the CIC3* on 71.7 after adding 19.2 time cross country penalties.

Hannah finished a second ride in the top 10 with a clear cross country round on Mary Ann Ghadban’s Under Suspection, a 13-year-old Holsteiner mare (Contender X Naomagic I), adding 18.4 time penalties to finish seventh on 72.9. Lisa Marie Fergusson and her own Honor Me, an 11-year-old Welsh Sport Horse gelding (Brynarian Brenin X Dream Contessa), had the fastest time of the day, finishing eighth on 73.9 with 4.8 time penalties.

Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Courtney Cooper achieved her goal of gaining her final qualifying score to compete her homebred Who’s A Star, a 14-year-old Irish/New Zealand Sport Horse gelding (Aberjack X Heavenly Star) at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, finishing ninth on 79.5 with 23.2 time penalties on cross country. Joe Meyer and Theresa Foote’s Clip Clop, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Crosstown Dancer X Terrific Star), round out the top 10 with a clear cross country trip and 9.6 time penalties to finish on 84.8.

Looking to which spots on cross country caused the most problems, three fences accounted for all of the refusals and falls, with the two water complexes proving to be the most vexing for horses and riders. You can view photos of all the fences on course in our preview.

Buck Davidson retired Halimey after two refusals at the Boathouse, the first water complex. Justine Dutton and Huck Finn also fell at the first water when the horse fell on landing after 8A. She subsequently withdrew Jak My Style and confirmed to EN that she is a bit banged up but OK.

At the second water complex, Lauren Kieffer fell from D.A. Duras when he seemed to get caught up on the back side of the triple brush at 15C, sending Lauren out the side door. She subsequently withdrew Veronica from the Advanced division.

Daniela Mougel and Cecelia. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Boyd Martin also fell at 15C when Tsesterleg glanced off the triple brush to the left, sending Boyd somersaulting right over the fence. He was up and OK and his since posted the video on his Facebook page.

Caroline Martin and Danger Mouse had a glance off at 15C at the second water complex and successfully re-routed to the option. Lizzy Jahnke and Princeton had a refusal at 15B, a triple brush in the water, and continued on with no other problems.

The corners at fence 21 also caused trouble, with Jessica Phoenix and A Little Romance picking up 20 penalties there, as well as Buck Davidson and Petite Flower, who were sitting in second place after show jumping.

It’s a very busy day here at Red Hills, and CIC* cross country is still running. We’ll have much more to bring you on the other divisions soon. Clayton Fredericks’ and Katie Ruppel’s Houdini lead the CIC2* after cross country, and Selena O’Hanlon and John and Judy Rumble’s Foxwood High held their lead in the Advanced. Stay tuned. Go Eventing.

Red Hills Links: Website, Entries, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Chinch is such a ladies' man. Photo via EN's Instagram.

EN caught up with the CIC3* leading ladies of Red Hills at the end of a dusty day of dressage here in Tallahassee, Florida. Curious about their plans for the spring, their thoughts on the course and how the atmosphere affected their horses today? Read on!

Harbour Pilot, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Jacqueline Mars, is a seasoned competitors nowadays, but he was very much on his toes for his test this morning, which scored 44.1 to lead. Red Hills benefits from widespread support from the local community, and there were far more spectators out and about today that what we typically see on dressage day at a U.S. event.

“I rode William twice this morning — I usually only ride him once — but he was a bit hot. I think the atmosphere is really intense,” Hannah said. “There are a lot of people walking around, and the far ring by the sponsor tent is so far away from warm-up. It just lights them up a little bit. He was really well behaved, but he definitely was tense.”

Hannah said she’ll be planning to work William in a little more before their upcoming tests later this spring, with the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials being their ultimate goal for the spring season.

Courtney Cooper and Who’s A Star. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Courtney Cooper sits second on 46.3 with “Tag,” a 14-year-old Irish/New Zealand Sport Horse by Aberjack and one of her homebreds. Today was an emotional one considering all Tag went through last fall, battling life-threatening inflammatory bowel disease and severe allergies. After working with New Bolton Center and UC Davis, Courtney said Tag is back on track.

“He just let me really ride him today,” Courtney said. “There were points where I thought I could have done better with him, but every day is really a privilege with him to have him back and be able to have him at all.”

Courtney has been training on the flat with Silva Martin, who she said has been an extremely valuable resource and helped her “try to squeeze out extra points here and there.”

Jessica Phoenix said the surplus of atmosphere today worked to the advantage of Bentley’s Best, a 10-year-old Trakehner gelding owned by Don Good, who scored 47.6 for third place. She said “Benny” loves atmosphere and does better when there’s some buzz to pep him up, which is very different from the type of horse she typically rides.

“Last year he was definitely really green at the level. This year he’s come out and feels a lot more solid in his brain,” Jessica said. “He’s got a lot more muscle and he feels like he can hold himself better. Over the winter we’ve done a ton of gymnastic work and really worked on the dressage to get him stronger.”

With that in mind, Jessica is aiming a more mature Benny at his first CCI4* at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event next month. As for her strategy for tackling Mike Etherington-Smith’s CIC3* cross country course tomorrow, Jessica said she will be looking to give Benny a good fitness run.

“It’s still early in the season for them,” Jessica said. “With Rolex in mind, I want to go out there and give him a good jump around and use the hills. In Florida we really don’t have a lot of hills, so I want to push him and give him a good blow.”

Hannah has a similar strategy with William, who she said has been wound up this year. “I’m not going to kick him on landing like I would at a CCI, but I’m going to let him run forward.”

With this being Tag’s biggest run back since his recovery, Courtney said her plan is to go out and try to be competitive while keeping his well-being and her bigger goal in mind. “Most importantly I need to get a qualifying score for Rolex. My goal is to jump clean with some time and to feel like he’s back on his feet. I’m going to be running but not trying to make the time.”

The massive log into the first water complex. Photo by Shems Hamilton.

All three ladies agree that the course is beefed up from last year. Click here to check out a fence-by-fence preview courtesy of the one and only Shems Hamilton, the fabulous official photographer at Red Hills. They also agree that the footing is improved, so kudos to all who worked hard to get it better for the horses.

Which spots on the CIC3* course do they think will be most difficult? Hannah said she thinks the first water complex is tough, with a big log drop in followed by a corner in the water. “You’re going to have to be on your A-game there to make sure they jump in well,” she said.

Jessica said she thinks Goliath’s Gap at fence 11, a two-stride angled brush combination, will also be a demanding question.

Courtney added: “There’s enough to do, and there aren’t a lot of breathers on the course. Mike develops really nice courses and leaves the horses with a good taste in their mouths when they’re done.”

Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High Float to Advanced Lead

Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High, a 14-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding owned by John and Judy Rumble, scored 30.2 to lead the strong Advanced division. That score is one point better than the 31.3 they delivered at Rocking Horse Winter II Horse Trials last month. Keep chipping away, Woody!

Dom Schramm and Bolytair B continue to impress as they step up to the Advanced level, sitting in second place on 32.7. After finishing eighth in their Advanced debut at Pine Top last month, Dom and “Boly,” an 11-year-old Dutch gelding owned by the Naked Horse Eventing Syndicate, are on track for another strong finish.

Whitney Mahloch and Military Mind, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding she owns, round out the top three on 32.9. Lauren Kieffer and Veronica, the two-time defending champions of this division, sit in fourth on 34.7 after some sassy moments in their test, but don’t count them out!

As we did for the CIC3*, EN also compared today’s scoring to the average scores for the Advanced competitors. Lois Henry scored nearly bang on the expected scores for these horses and riders, just 0.023 points higher. The field average was 37.66. The 2016 division averaged 38.75, with a 2015 average of 37.75.

Clayton Fredericks and FE Ophelia. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Clayton Fredericks and Megan Lynn Lead CIC2*/CIC*

In a déjà vu moment from last year, Clayton Fredericks is totally dominating the CIC2*, sitting one-two after dressage. FE Ophelia, a 10-year-old Zweibrucker mare, topped the score from her CIC2* debut at Plantation Field by nearly 20 points to lead the division on 37.2. Houdini, a 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Katie Ruppel, scored 37.7 for second place.

Allie Knowles and FE Crosby, a 7-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Katherine O’Brien, scored 38.4 in their CIC2* debut to round out the top three.

There are a number of heavy hitters competing in the CIC2* — like RF Demeter, The Apprentice, Fernhill Fugitive and Rubens D’Ysieux — so you should definitely take a scroll through the leaderboard to check out the scores after dressage.

Looking to the CIC*, we have to send a MASSIVE shout out to Elevate Event Team member Megan Lynn, who scored 38.0 with The Natural E to lead the nearly 50-strong division. The 9-year-old Danish Warmblood owned by the Elevate Event Team bested her previous CIC* score by 16 points in a truly impressive performance.

Cross country starts tomorrow at 8 a.m. with the CIC2*, followed by the Open Intermediate at 9:40 a.m., the CIC3* at 10:45 a.m., the Advanced at 12:30 p.m., the CIC* at 1:35 p.m. and the Preliminary divisions at 3:20 p.m. The CIC3* will show jump before cross country at 9 a.m.

Click here to catch up with all of EN’s Red Hills coverage so far, and don’t forget to check EN’s Instagram for more photos. Go Eventing.

Red Hills Links: Website, Entries, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram