Jennie & Ping at Richland, photo by Samantha
The horses have already boarded their planes for Boekelo, and Clark, Phillip and Jennie are leaving today on a plane together after competing in combined tests at Morven Park just yesterday. Next week, as you well know by now, Boekelo CCI*** is hosting the final leg in the 2012 FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series, and Team USA is bringing it back in style by sending our best and brightest, and also several stars for the future.
One horse and rider combination that has quietly come back on the scene recently is Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda, or “Ping.” After proving themselves almost unbeatable at the Advanced and 3* level in 2010 and winning USEA Horse of the Year awards, 2011 promised to be just as rewarding, but was cut short by a disappointing result at Luhmuhlen CCI4*. Shortly after that, Ping sustained an injury, and was unable to finish the 2011 season. “I’m really excited to have him back, it was quite disappointing to get him back after Luhmuhlen and have a few runs and then not finish the season,” Jennie explains, “I’ve given him more time than he needed to recover from the injury, he’s such a special horse to me. Right now, he’s looking really good, really sound.”
Jennie & Ping at the CIC3* recently at Plantation, photo by Samantha
The training grants for Boekelo were announced on August 17th, only a short month after Ping returned to competition with a Preliminary at Loch Moy, and a week after his first Intermediate back up in Millbrook, NY. “I was a bit shocked that they announced us as recipients of the grant before he had returned to Advanced,” says Jennie, “Applying to Boekelo was a bit of a last minute decision, and I was certainly feeling the pressure at the CIC3* at Plantation to prove that the selectors were right about us.” Ping now has two Advanced competitions under his belt this year, and performed well at both of them. The combination finished 11th out of a strong field in the CIC3* at Plantation, and she feels confident with that preparation. “I feel like I have the same horse that I did last year. In some ways he feels stronger over the jumps, and my eye feels better. I didn’t make time at Plantation, and he’s quite easy to do that with, but I’m trying to be a better horseman and not just win blue ribbons all the time.”
While certainly the youngest, Jennie is by no means lacking in experience at the level, and she’s drawing on her past exposure to European competitions to prepare herself for Boekelo. “I had such a big buildup in my head for Bramham [in 2009 with Cooper] and Luhmuhlen, I’m trying to play the mental game a bit better this time around,” says Jennie, “I feel much more comfortable now, having been to Europe and experienced their atmosphere before. It’s really nice to fly over there and compete at a level that I’m familiar with though, I feel like I’m setting myself up more for success.”
Plantation CIC3*, photo by Samantha
As for her hopes for the weekend and the future, Jennie is taking a mature and pragmatic approach to things. We all know that Eventing can be a roller coaster for your emotions, and Jennie has certainly had her fair share. “I need to go out there and put some of my demons to rest about traveling to Europe, have a good round on foreign ground and do the right thing for the horse. The plan is that he’ll perform well in all three phases, and come out feeling confident, happy and sound,” says Jennie, “This weekend I’m really trying to be focused on being a positive team player, and supporting Team USA in our efforts as a whole. Fingers crossed, this will be a really good preparation for Rolex in the spring.”
As soon as the team returns to US soil early next week, Jennie has to hop in the truck and head right down to Maryland for Fair Hill CCI3* and CCI2*, where she has three horses entered. Both Walkabout and No Objection are in the 3*, while Indie is in the 2*. When I asked how she managed this kind of crazy schedule without being completely exhausted, she explained that she wasn’t quite sure. “I really don’t know how I’m going to do it, this is my first time having this many horses at the top level. You grow up, dreaming of being Phillip Dutton and having a string of amazing horses, and then it happens to you and you realize exactly how much work it is to achieve and maintain it, and you really have to step up to the plate.”
"I was pretty stoked to put that helmet cover on... I'm getting pumped!" via Jennie's FB
The competition at Boekelo starts early next week, with the jogs on Wednesday and the Dressage commencing the day after that. While Germany has an unassailable lead with 41 points, nations such as Spain, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain are all in the hunt for silver and bronze. Going into the final leg at Boekelo, the leaderboard is as follows:
FEI Nations Cup Eventing Leaderboard (after 5 out of 6 Events)
- Germany (41 points)
- Spain (28)
- Netherlands (23)
- France (20)
- Great Britain (20)
- Sweden (16)
- Australia (15)
- New Zealand (14)
- Switzerland (9)
- Brazil (6)
- Poland (5)
