This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Millbrook Horse Trials at Riga Meadow Equestrian Center at Coole Park in Millbrook, NY, July 24-27, where more than 350 total entries were competing, from Beginner Novice to Advanced level.
Dressage: Robin Walker and SBT Barolo grab early lead
Robin Walker and his 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse SBT Barolo, (Loughehoe Guy x Tentore Flight), took the lead in the Advanced division when they scored 29.8 on their dressage test. Walker, 60 of Lexington, KY and Ocala, FL owns the horse in partnership with Alston Kerr and Roger Schramm and the pair have competed to the four-star level. The horse was purchased as a youngster at the Goresbridge Go for Gold sale in Ireland.
Katie Lichten of Hamilton, MA and now based in Virginia, was second after dressage riding HTS Jensen, a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse by Tolan R with 30.7 penalties.
This weekend was HTS Jensen’s first Advanced and Lichten said that he got a bit excited going into the ring, as a storm was rolling through the area just as she started her test.
“I looked around and saw lightning in the distance and just thought, ‘I need to focus’,” she said. “He’s a pretty good boy and he tries hard, so he tried to stay with me.” Lichten is a student of Allison Springer, who is placed just behind her in third place on the Connemara cross Crystal Crescent Moon, (31.1), owned and bred by Nancy Winter.
In the Intermediate A division, Boyd Martin and Fedarman B, owned by the Annie Goodwin Syndicate, led with a score of 25.5, and Martin was also second riding Fetiche Des Rouges (30.5), owned by the Barney Rubble Syndicate. Katie Lichten riding Fast Company was tied for third with Canadian Lindsay Traisnel riding Bacyrouge (31.6).
Martin also had the lead in the Intermediate B riding Cooley Nutcracker, owned by Liz’s Nutcrackers, on a score of 30.2. This division contained a couple of Canadians: Colleen Loach riding Chiaro Z Excalibur (7th after dressage) and Dana Cooke with FE Damaskus (8th after dressage).
Cross-Country: Boyd Martin and Miss Lulu Herself Move Up
Olympian Boyd Martin of Cochranville, PA, jumped around clear and leapt to the top of the leaderboard in the Advanced division on Saturday riding Bonnie Stedt’s Miss Lulu Herself. Even with 12.8 time faults, the pair moved up from 8th place after dressage and sat on a 44.9 going into Sunday’s show jumping. Time was an influential factor, as the ground was hard after lack of rain and most riders took it easy around the course.
Katie Lichten maintained her second-place standing, but with a different horse than she started the course with: Hickstead Musterd, who moved up from a tie for 9th after dressage (45.1). Her other Advanced horse, HTS Jensen, had a refusal at fence 20A on course and dropped to 6th place overall (70.7).
Overnight leader Robin Walker, riding SBT Barolo, jumped clear, but added 29.6 time faults to drop into 5th place (59.4). Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Gray had the most meteoric rise up the standings, moving up from 16th after dressage to third after cross-country with the fastest ride of the day, adding 5.6 time faults for a current score of 45.4.
Out of nineteen starters in the Advanced division, four horses were withdrawn before cross-country (including Canada’s Diana Burnett with Mint Monster), there was one technical elimination, a retirement after a refusal, one fall of rider and one fall of horse.
Martin said, “Cross-country walked tremendously tough, it was a big challenge, but Lulu’s got some good miles on her now and is a top cross country horse and she zipped around in great fashion. It’s a bit early in the season for the older horses, who are running the Intermediate, and the ground is a bit dry up here, so I just coasted around on them. Both Bruno [Fedarman B] and Cooley Nutcracker are going to Pau in France this fall.”
Martin mentioned that Lulu’s owner, Bonnie Stedt, is a member of the Millbrook horse community and also lives in Aiken during the winters, where Martin is also based during the winter season. “Bonnie has been a supporter of mine since coming to America, and she also owns the horse that won the Training Rider division, The Fonz, Himself, with Jacqueline Thorne riding. So Bonnie’s two horses have had a fantastic event so far, and Lulu’s been brilliant; she recently won the Devon Eventing Showcase and we’ll figure out another big event for her after this weekend.”
Martin, who moved to the US from Australia more than 15 years ago, noted, “Millbrook has always been a special place to me; the bulk of my supporters are from this community thanks in great part to the clinics I taught for many years at Fitch’s Corner. I’ve become great friends with a lot of people from this area, so it’s both an awesome event here and it’s also fun catching up with all these people who have helped shape my career.”
Katie Lichten took the lead in Open Intermediate A riding Fast Company (43.2); Traisnel and Bacyrouge had some time penalties to drop to 5th. Savannah Fulton riding Cash Point led the Open Intermediate B (35.7). Both Canadians improved their positions after XC, with Loach and Chiaro Z Excalibur‘s speedy round moving them up to 2nd place, while Cooke and FE Damaskus nudged up into 7th.
Show Jumping: Martin and Miss Lulu Prevail
With one of only three clear rounds in the final phase of competition, Boyd Martin claimed victory in the Advanced division riding Miss Lulu Herself (44.9). A light rain was falling as onlookers cheered from the VIP tents, many of them with connections to Martin and his horses. The spicy 12-year-old chestnut Hanoverian mare (Stolzenfels x Noisette) looked eager to jump around and had no problem leaving the rails in their cups.
Katie Lichten and Hickstead Musterd had one rail down to make way for Brooke Burchianti and her KWPN gelding Cooley Space Gray (by Harley VDL) to finish second overall (45.4).Just ten horses out of 19 starters completed the competition in the advanced division.
Martin said, “This is a very, very special mare, Miss Lulu Herself. We bought her as a four-year-old, sight unseen, and Bonnie was the only owner crazy enough to buy one off the video. Usually that technique doesn’t work, but we’re very fortunate that it came off with Lulu. She’s a great jumper and tries hard, and it’s a great victory here at Millbrook.”
He said, “She’s an energetic chestnut mare and she sort of pranced out of the stables this morning. I did a bit of flat work with her and she felt like a million bucks, so deep down I knew she’d jump well, but in show jumping, you know, anything can still go wrong. It was a good track, and there’s always a bit of pressure when you jump in reverse order of standing, but there was a great crowd here cheering us on.”
Katie Lichten won the Open Intermediate A division riding Fast Company (Contendro x E Blue Star), and Martin finished second riding the Annie Goodwin Syndicate’s Fedarman B (Eurocommerce Washington x Paulien B). Monica Spencer, riding for New Zealand, but currently also based in Cochranville, PA, placed third on Valkyrie. Traisnel withdrew Bacyrouge prior to the jumping phase.
Savannah Fulton won the Open Intermediate B riding Cash and Carry, a Holsteiner gelding owned by Nelson Warnell. Monica Spencer placed second with David and Karie Thompson’s Marvel, and Millbrook local Booli Selmayr finished third riding Quality Touchdown. Loach had a rail with Chiaro Z Excalbur to finish 4th, while Cooke had a clear round with Damaskus to move up to 5th.
Other top-5 Canadian results:
Open Prelim A – Colleen Loach and FE Golden Eye, 4th
Modified Rider – Dick Bayly and Graf Bobby, 2nd
Open Novice A – Sean McIntosh and Keep Your Word, 5th
Full results here.
~ with files from Amber Heintzberger
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