Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Sally Spickard.
For anyone who says Thoroughbreds can’t dance, they may want to tune in next time Artist (Guillotine – Maxamore, by Satin Blush) goes down centerline. This elegant Thoroughbred gelding was a purchase made when Monica Spencer was still based in the southern hemisphere who went on to stamp her firmly on the world scene with a standout performance at the 2022 FEI World Championships for Eventing. There, the pair finished 21st individually and earned a team silver medal for the Kiwis.
Now, Monica is basing herself here in the U.S. for the foreseeable future in Virginia, and en route back north from basing at Buck Davidson’s Ocala farm she’s made her first trip to Carolina International. Her efforts in the 4*-S today with Artist resulted in the sole sub-30 score of the day and sends her into tomorrow’s show jumping with 1.7 penalty points in hand over second-placed Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle (30.3).
While Monica didn’t quite replicate the 22.4 earned earned at the Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase earlier this month, she earned a healthy number of 8s from the judging panel of Sandy Phillips (GBR) and Bea di Grazia (USA). The 4* riders today used FEI 4* Test C, which has had a few updates for the new year and can be viewed here if you want to study up.
Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“I just feel really privileged to have a horse like him,” Monica said. “One that I can go out and compete with at these great events. He’s such a professional. He actually felt a bit nervous out there today, which surprised me given the atmosphere in that ring. But he did his job, and, like I said, I really appreciate having him. He’s a joy to ride.”
Monica is prepping to go to Kentucky next month with “Max”, and she’s brought all of her up and coming horses also to compete here this weekend. “Everyone has spoken so highly of this event,” she said. “We didn’t compete here last year; instead, we stayed in Ocala and did Terranova, which was a lovely event in its own right. But this year, we felt ready to leave Florida, and we thought, ‘Hey, let’s do Carolina on the way [back up north] and then head back to Virginia next week.’”
Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Sitting second overnight are Jennie Brannigan and the Gardners’ FE Lifestyle (Leo von Faelz – Berina A, by Brandenburger), who earned a 30.3 from Sandy and Bea and ticked another box as they inch towards their 5* goal in May. Jennie made the decision to save her dollars and brave the Pennsylvania winter this year in lieu of going to Florida, and while she admits it’s been challenging she also feels like the dedicated work she’s put in is paying off in these early days of the season.
“It was interesting being by myself this winter,” Jennie said. “With Eric [Duvander] deciding to stay on the West Coast— which we’re all happy for him but also a little sad — I rode with Bettina Hoy when she came to teach Philip. I rode with her once this winter and again at the showcase. It’s been really good for me to be locked in the indoor and forced to focus. I was kind of nervous about the Showcase because I had just come down and had only been jumping in an indoor. It was great to have Bettina’s help and Peter’s support there. I was really excited that it went well, and since then, I’ve just been trying to build on that.”
Jennie enjoyed a solid day of dressage across the board today — she’s also leading the 1*-S aboard Royal Scandic — and was also pleased with her efforts on a test that she had not ridden before this morning.
Jennie waves to her longtime supporters, Tim and Nina Gardner, after her test on their FE Lifestyle. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“This was my first time ever riding this test, and historically, it would have been extremely hard for me — especially the left lead canter work,” she said. “So I’m pretty thrilled with him. I don’t want to speak too soon, but it’s starting to feel like we’re establishing a clear pattern of consistency. We’ve had one-off good tests before, but this feels like something to really be excited about. Knock on wood!”
Right now, Jennie has entered both Kentucky and Badminton, and this weekend will be his sole 4* prep run ahead of whichever 5* she opts for in the end. “I also think that, as Americans, we often tend to overrun our horses,” she said. “I was already planning not to event my upper-level horses until this event anyway. Doing the Showcase was way earlier than I’d normally start, but I’m lucky that these horses have been produced at the top level for a while. It goes against my nature — I like to give my horses a long winter break. So if I’m not running them anyway, why am I spending the money? Everything has just gotten more and more expensive. I’m really grateful to Annie [Eldridge] and Ariel [Grald] for letting me stay at their place [in Southern Pines leading up to the Showcase and Carolina], and we’ll see how the rest of the weekend goes. So far, knock on wood, it’s all good.”
Allie Knowles and Morswood. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Allie Knowles and the 17-years-young Morswood (Ricardo Z – Princess in Arms, by Present Arms xx) will take third place into show jumping tomorrow on a score 31.7, and Allie’s theme for the weekend so far can be summed up with one word.
“Gratitude. That’s the word for today,” she said. With multiple 5*s under his belt at this stage in his career, Allie’s made the decision not to run any more events at the level with “Ginge”, instead focusing on letting him do what feels the most comfortable for him as he nears full retirement.
“I can’t believe he’s 17 this year—that’s crazy!” she said. “And he looks amazing. Honestly, he’s only gotten better every year. Or maybe I’ve just gotten better at riding him! Either way, he’s been my little warhorse. We’ve done a whole lot of growing up together. This is going to be a fun weekend. I walked the course and thought, ‘Alright, let’s do another four-star. Let’s do this.’ I’ll go as fast as I can and do my best in show jumping — our weakest phase, for sure. I’ll be more nervous tomorrow, but I’m going to try to take the pressure off both of us. We’ve got nothing to prove. We’re doing this for fun. He’s keeping me at the advanced level until my next younger group is ready.”
Allie Knowles and Morswood. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Allie plans to take Morswood to the Cosequin Lexington 4*-S next month, and potentially maybe the 4*-L at MARS Bromont in June after that. ” I’ve retired him from the five-star level,” she elaborated. “He’s done eleven of them for me. He always tried his heart out, and we had medium success — maybe made it around half the times we tried. But I realized it was just a little outside of his ability. At Maryland [last October], I could feel how hard he was trying, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to feel this again -— where he’s giving everything but can’t quite make the distance or width.’ So I decided to keep him where he’s comfortable. We’ll do the four-star at Kentucky, and Bromont sounds really fun too. I haven’t done the four-star at Bromont in a long time, and it has a similar feel to Bramham, where I had a great run last year. I told the O’Briens [owners of Morswood and several other horses for Allie], ‘Who knows, this might actually be our best year.’ He’s jumping amazing, stronger than ever -— knock on wood, the soundest horse I’ve ever had. He’s just rock solid. I’ve said this so many times, but we’re just going to enjoy our career together.”
Tomorrow, we’ll move on to show jumping starting at 9 a.m. with the 2*-S division. The 4*-S will jump starting at 1:40 p.m. In addition to a new cross country designer in Derek di Grazia, we’ll also see a new show jumping designer in the USA’s Brody Robertson, who takes over from former designer Marc Donovan this year.
As always, you can catch the live feed (where all FEI show jumping tomorrow and all cross country on Saturday available) on Horse & Country here.
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