Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Gray. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
When Brooke Burchianti can’t sleep, she’s usually thinking about Kentucky.
“I’m not at all mentally stable about this,” she laughs. “It’s all I think about—when I’m trying to fall asleep, when I’m trying to relax. I know there’s nothing I can do until we’re there, but that doesn’t stop my brain.”
It’s a refreshingly honest admission from a rider stepping up to her first 5* at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and a reminder that behind every stellar, confidence-inducing cross country round is a whole host of grit, self-doubt, and sheer perseverance.
Brooke, 26, is one of the most relatable rookies you’ll meet this year at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Based in Washington, PA—closer to Pittsburgh than to the heart of the East Coast eventing scene most associated with living in Pennsylvania—she grew up surrounded by horses thanks to her mom, Karen, who competed through what is now the 3* level, and her grandmother, Joanne, who focused on dressage.
“I was kind of just born into it,” Brooke explains. “My mom put me on her big dressage horse when I was three, and that was it. I don’t think I ever considered doing anything else.”
Her first partner in crime was Roxy, a 28-year-old Welsh pony mare who packed her around her very first unrecognized starter event at the age of eight. “She was a literal saint,” Brooke recalls. “I remember being so nervous—I thought I’d forget my course in show jumping. My mom walked me through the start box, and I was just sweating and so serious about it. But after that event, I knew—this was all I wanted to do.”
She worked her way up through the levels the way so many riders do—on hard-knocking, budget-friendly horses that taught her more than any polished schoolmaster ever could. One of those was her Thoroughbred mare Eternal Hope, who took her to Young Riders and her first FEI events. Hope wasn’t fancy—“she hated dressage,” Brooke says with a laugh—but she had heart, especially on cross country.
Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Grey. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“She just lived for it,” she says. “She wasn’t the easiest, but she made me fall in love with that feeling of galloping something that really wanted to do the job with you.”
After college in Virginia, Brooke returned to her hometown and began working out of her mom’s farm. It’s not exactly eventing central. “People hear Pennsylvania and think I’m down the road from Boyd or Phillip, but I’m five hours from that part of the state. It’s not a very horsey area, so I do a lot of traveling to get to shows or lessons.”
She also doesn’t have a big team or a string of horses at her disposal. In fact, Cooley Space Grey—“Astro” around the barn—is the only horse she has competing at the top levels. But he’s been the one to take her farther than she thought possible.
“I bought him in Ireland as a six-year-old,” she says. “And honestly, I got eliminated a lot at first. He was super difficult—spooky, careful, not easy to ride at all. There were times I thought, ‘What did I do?’”
She remembers falling off at their first Beginner Novice at home in Winona. “He jumped a fence huge, landed and propped, and off I went. I was like, ‘Great start.’”
But something in her gut said to keep going. And little by little, Astro began to trust her.
“I think that was the key—earning his trust. He’s not the kind of horse you can bully or convince,” she muses. “He has to believe you, and he has to know you’re not going to ask him to do something he can’t do. Once he got that, he started giving me everything.”
Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Grey. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Their climb up the levels has been slow, deliberate, and full of lessons. There were dressage scores that missed qualifications by a hair. There were long-format events where Brooke debated whether to even start, only to have her mom encourage her to see the big picture.
“She said, ‘Look, it’s another run, another experience. That matters more than a qualifying score sometimes.’ And she was right.”
Brooke’s 4*-L results include a clear round at Bromont, a solid effort at Morven, and a strong showing at TerraNova last fall, where they finally ticked the last box to qualify for Kentucky.
But even with the boxes ticked, Brooke is quick to temper expectations. “I just want to finish,” she says. “That’s the goal. A clean cross country round would be amazing. A clean stadium would be amazing. But finishing—getting through it—is what I want.”
That humility comes with experience—hard-won over time, with plenty of ups and downs. It also comes from the reality of producing your only upper-level horse without a built-in safety net.
“I don’t have five horses jumping 1.30 every week,” she says. “So I have to stay sharp with what I have. I’ll set a fence big in a jump school, just to keep my eye in, even if I only jump it once or twice. My other horses are going Training or Prelim. But every bit helps.”
Photo by Sally Spickard.
To stay sane in the lead-up, Brooke’s turned to physical outlets—gym sessions, hikes, swimming. Anything to quiet the noise in her head. “I know I’ve done everything I can to prepare. But still—it’s Kentucky. I’m a worrier. I just have to keep moving and try not to overthink everything.”
She’s hoping to reconnect with Emily Hamel once on site—Emily helped her during a stint in Aiken and has been a mentor, especially since their horses share a similar temperament.
“Emily’s been so helpful. Her journey with [Corvett] has been amazing to watch, and it gives me hope because he hasn’t been the easiest either. She gets it.”
In a sport that often glorifies speed and shiny results, Brooke’s story is a powerful reminder that slow and steady—coupled with belief and quiet tenacity—can still get you to the top.
“There’s no big team behind me, no perfect prep. It’s just me, my mom, my horse, and a lot of hard work,” she says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in Kentucky, but I know I’ve done the best I can. And I’m proud of that.”
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