Millstreet, Ireland – Jennie Brannigan and Stella Artois had a strong performance in the Noel C. Duggan Engineering CCI3* division at the Millstreet International Horse Trials, August 25-27. The pair had a nice dressage test on Friday to earn a score of 47.10. Brannigan (Reddick, Fla.) and Cory Walkey, Beth Lendrum, and Elsbeth Battel’s 2008 Holsteiner/Thoroughbred mare made light work of the tough cross-country track on Saturday, collecting 4.80 time penalties while jumping cleanly over the course. On Sunday, the duo added one time penalty to their score in the show jumping phase to finish fourth on a score of 52.90. Brannigan received the USEA Foundation Rebecca Broussard Developing International Rider Grant and Stella Artois received the USET Foundation Connaught Award to further their education competing abroad.
“This weekend was really special for me, and I really appreciate the Connaught Award and the Rebecca Broussard Developing International Rider Grant for the support to make it happen,” Brannigan said. “Stella Artois has been such a pleasure to produce, and I think this was such an important step in our journey!”
Several other U.S. combinations are competing at the three-star level at the Millstreet International Horse Trials. Sara Kozumplik Murphy (Berryville, Va.) and Rubens d’Ysieux, a 2005 Selle Français gelding owned by Rubens d’Ysieux Syndicate, LLC, also competed in the CCI3* division. The pair scored an impressive 39.90 on their dressage test but tallied 35.00 penalties on cross-country after a mishap involving jumping the galloping lane ropes. They closed out the competition with a rail down at the B element of the triple combination and one time penalty, for a total of five penalties to finish on a score of 79.90.
The Connolly’s RED MILLS CIC3* division came to its conclusion on Saturday, and Kim Severson (Charlottesville, Va.) and Cooley Cross Border, The Cross Syndicate’s 2007 Irish Sport Horse gelding, finished second with a score of 47.60, adding only 2.40 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score of 45.20. Hannah Sue Burnett (The Plains, Va.) finished ninth and 10th with RF Demeter and Harbour Pilot, respectively. She and RF Demeter, Jacqueline Mars’s 2002 Oldenburg mare, scored 41.80 on their dressage test, then tallied six penalties in the show jumping phase and 7.60 time penalties in the cross-country phase to finish on a score of 55.40. Burnett and Harbour Pilot, Mars’s 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding, received a score of 45.50 on their dressage test; they collected two time penalties in the show jumping phase and eight time penalties in the cross-country phase to finish on a score of 55.50.
