Jennie Brannigan and Stella Artois. Photo by Shelby Allen.
Jennie Brannigan put nearly two years of setbacks behind her today to win the Rebecca Farm CCI4*-L aboard the Stella Artois Syndicate’s Stella Artois. After a 12-month suspension and a broken jaw, this four-star win was especially sweet.
“I didn’t even know if I would event again,” she said. “Everything was going great until Carolina. I was keen to come out really strong (after my suspension). I had so many people support me when I couldn’t compete — all the sudden everything came back and I had 35 horses. It was busy and insane. Even if you feel like you trained in an off year there’s an underlying pressure to come out and succeed,” she said.
Like Jennie, this season year was also a rebound for “Toddy,” an 11-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred owned by the Stella Artois Syndicate.
“I gave her to Boyd Martin last year. I was going to have him ride her as a backup for WEG, but she got hurt. It was really odd timing because she had just been vetted by the team and had a long break. Not to be overly spiritual, but I think it was God saying, ‘keep your horse.’
So she did, and they both came back better than ever. Today they jumped double clear to win on a score of 32.9.
Lauren Billys and Castle Larchfield Purdy. Photo by Shelby Allen.
A miscommunication brought a rail down at the Swedish oxer for overnight leaders Lauren Billys and Castle Larchfield Purdy, a 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Karistos x Hallo Purdy, Hallo) owned by the Purdy Syndicate.
The four faults bumped them down to second place on a final score of 35. Though she missed out on the win, Lauren has still achieved a qualifying score toward representing Puerto Rico at the 2020 Olympic Games.
James Alliston and Pandora. Photo by Shelby Allen.
The spitfire Pandora was full of running for James Alliston. Laura Boyer’s 9-year-old Swedish Warmblood (Prostor x Camellia E, by Comefast) tapped one pole to finish the weekend in third place on a score of 43.8.
Clark Montgomery was fourth after two rails with the Caribbean Soul Syndicate’s Caribbean Soul on a score of 47.2. Andrea Baxter moved from seventh to fifth after a clear round with Indy 500.
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