Connor Husain started the weekend tied for 5th with the lady he would eventually have to beat in the the end; Jennie Brannigan. On cross-country day he added just 0.8 time penalties, on a horse he’s only had for a year. Connor and Piece of Hope were part of the Area II Young Riders team who won the 2* competition earlier this year.
“It’s unreal. I’m so lucky. I dont know how to describe it. I’ve been working towards it for a long time,” Connor said. Connor is a full-time student at James Madison University, and also rides multiple horses at their Morningside Farm in Virginia.
“I get nervous but I know my plan-Jimmy Wofford was telling me to tape my round in my head and make sure they looked the same.”
Jennie Brannigan was on top with Indie going into the final phase, but a rail down slid her down to third. Clayton Fredericks, on his first visit to Fair Hill, finished in second with Pigrela Des Cabanes. Doug Payne clinched the fourth spot with Crown Talisman (how he got back on after having to jog three times this morning I’ll never know), and Boyd Martin finished 5th and 6th on Master Frisky and Crackerjack.
Clayton Fredericks came in second in the Fair Hill CCI**
“I wanted the horse to go and have a good round,” Jennie said. “He’s very green and very spooky, I figured Connor would grab a clear round, and I just wanted the horse to be brave. He made me ride for it a bit, but you know, if you would have told me he was 3rd in this kind of field, I’m happy.”
Rounding out the top 10 was Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Fugitive (7th), Danielle Ditching and The Graduate (8th) Lauren Kieffer and Cosima (9th) and Susan Beebee and Wolf (10th).
