Last week we had the pleasure of attending our second five-star competition at Fair Hill International in Maryland. The competition began Thursday morning and featured the 4-year-old and 5-year-old young event horse champioships, a 3-star, and of course the 5-star competitions.
Day 1: Thursday
Suzanne and I left my house at 2:30am. We traveled south and got to the park around 7:30am…we were thrown off by a rollover accident and emergency vehicles that I mistook for parking/traffic control. An SUV had apparently driven into the electric road sign for event parking and rolled down the embankment to where the cars typically park. It was on its roof and crews were still extracting people/persons from the SUV when we arrived. There was debris along the hillside and an axle in the middle of the field. We never found out what happened or if they were ok.
We got to enter the competition at 8am and walked the open shops. The layout was slightly different. Instead of having additional shops in the backfield they were lined up along the short side of the arena.
In no time at all it was time for dressage to begin so we found our seats. We watched as the three-star horse and rider pairs entered at A. Fifty-four pairs were entered into the 3* competition and only 23 in the 5*. Thursday and Friday were both dedicated to dressage across both divisions. I loved the tests, I found them really interesting and easy to follow. They were also very inspiring.
Before our arrival, I was putting together a podcast playlist and wanted to find an interview with Jennie Brannigan for the trip (our friend has been trying to work on getting a clinic with her in our area). I stumbled across a post from Southern California Equestrian Sports advertising a course walk with Jennie at noon on Thursday. Suzanne and I arrived at the startbox around 11:30am and waited. Erik Duvander, Jennie’s trainer (as well as Boyd’s, Phill Dutton, Ariel Grald, and more) arrived and shortly after, there she was. We began walking early, at 11:45. Erik and Jennie used the walk to plan their ride, we tried to keep up but couldn’t always hear the dialogue, unfortunately. It was an amazing honor to be able to be part of the walk at all. As a super low-level ammy, I sure wasn’t about to get in the way of their walk and potential success.
Tim Gardiner joined us, he is the owner of Jennie’s horses and a legendary supporter of the sport. He played a role in Philip Dutton’s career and in the purchase of True Prospect Farm where Phil and Jennie are both located.
Jennie needed to help a student and left early, so Tim graciously agreed to finish the course walk…it was his THIRD WALK already on Thursday. What an impressive person. I was so shy and awestruck I had no idea what to even ask. I felt like a dumb wide-eyed fool but I was thrilled all the same.
SOMEWHERE there is a group photo…hopefully, I find it someday (it was not taken with my phone).
The cross-country course was massive as expected. It followed the same track as last year but there were subtle differences. The biggest difference? I didn’t have to walk it in a medical boot and worry about breaking the screws in my foot! It was nice to have the free mobility…but I no longer had an excuse to be so darn winded. The course was very hilly.
When the walk was finished we got a ride in a side-by-side and returned to the entrance. We grabbed some lunch and sat to watch the 5* dressage rides. I chose to get a wood-fired pizza from Bristow Live Fire food truck.
That evening we went to a local restaurant called Unwined on the Water. We enjoyed a crab pretzel for the table and I ordered the Outer Banks (Shrimp and Crab served with mashed potatoes and vegetables). The restaurant was delightful, and it felt like a tropical vacation (despite the chill in the air).
Our AirBnB was located about 10 minutes from the restaurant. It was a perfect little cottage on the river. It was easy to find and get in. It was comfortable, and quiet, and had stunning views despite us not spending much time there.
Day 2: Friday
Friday morning we stopped for coffee and made our way back to Fair Hill for our second day of dressage. I enjoyed every test, but watching Mai Baum was a different level. I’m a sucker for tall, dark, and handsome and Mai Baum is from another world; the pair received a TEN for harmony!
For lunch I ordered from a different food truck, this one was from Southern Peach BBQ and Soul Food. I was craving some fish tacos, and they had them. I enjoyed 2 fish tacos and a shrimp taco as we wrapped up dressage.
At 4:30pm we met at the start box as a group to walk the course with Ema Klugman. This was sponsored by Ride IQ so it was a MUCH different experience. It was a massive group of people, very slow, and we were not allowed beyond the ropes. The number of people and the speed gave me anxiety until I received a text from our friends. At some point, they had dropped away and gotten in touch with our golf cart friend Dirk who was happy to give us a ride around the course before he had to return for the day.
As we approached the giant mound we saw Ian walking his track. This is Ian’s last 5* course design; it must be bittersweet. Right behind him came Boyd Martin and Erik Duvander. We sat quietly watching on the sidelines as they discussed their plan of attack. The mound was tricky…you came downhill to a log fence, a stride to a ditch, then shoot up the steep mound over a large log then 2 strides down the other side to a skinny brush. Boyd practiced how he’d position himself and visualized the ride through this setup.
We drove around a bit more and had to be dropped off back at the entrance. From there we went into town to a famous restaurant called Woody’s Crab House. We ordered a crab and artichoke spinach dip and Malaina taught us how to eat Oysters. We each had one Chincoteague Salts oyster and one Blue Points oyster. For my first time eating raw oysters I did well. I didn’t taste much besides horseradish and brine and I didn’t give them any time to get a texture. For dinner I enjoyed “Steak and Cake” consisting of a rare 8oz sirloin (it was ok) and a fantastic crab cake. They are famous for a reason, the crab is fantastic!
Day 3: Saturday
Saturday we arrived early and parked at the sawmill for “preferred parking.” Our friend Deb joined us, arriving at the AirBnB around 10pm Friday night, still in scrubs from a long day’s work (and drive).
On cross country day we tend to all split up into smaller groups. We have different ideas of where we’d like to spectate. I’m a mover, I don’t like standing still so we walk to different fences after seeing one jumped a couple of times. We walked our way from the crab complex to the fox catcher, to the fair hill drop, and worked our way down to the first 3* water. We got to see so many tricky complexes and great riding in the 3* group!
In my heightened state, I saw people walking the course and a horse coming up from behind. I thought they were on the 3* track so I instinctively yelled “heads up” to them…not realizing I was yelling at Oliver Townend walking his own damned course…not in the 3-star lane. Oh My Lord! My adrenaline needs to take a back seat sometimes. FOOT…IN…MOUTH.
While at the water complex, we noticed Harry Meade walking his 5* course and he graciously agreed to stop for a photo. He had 2 horses to compete and yet he made time for us!
We were devastated to hear about Boyd falling off Mo Chroi, his first XC ride of the day. From the sounds of it, the fall was rough, enough to create a hold on course, and it took them a moment to get going again. Later we learned Boyd has withdrawn his other 3* horse to save himself for Connor’s cross-country debut at the 5* level.
Of the 54 three-star pairs that began the competition, 44 made it around the cross country course…7 were eliminated, 2 retired, and Boyd withdrew Barney Rubble before they left the startbox.
There were a couple of hours between the three and five star so we all met up in the Yanmar Sunken Road. There was a jumbotron, Bar Movement, and a pizza truck with picnic benches in the field. Deb Suzanne and I all split a pepperoni wood fired pizza and I enjoyed a “Sunken Road” cocktail.
In no time it was time for the five-star cross country to begin! We split up once again. I had an idea of what I wanted to see and one of the others in our group was pretty dismissive about it, but it worked out.
We saw our first rider Harry Meade jump a giant table at 3 into the water and up out of the water over another table. I was so bummed that the scheduled first rider Jessica Phoenix withdrew before the XC. We caught Harry in time to watch him take the timber rails at a distance and he came up and jumped through the sunken road in front of us.
We had time to cross over and see the timber rails a bit closer. They were placed so awkwardly…forcing the riders to hug the string in order to approach the first element. They turned midair to a tight 4 to jump the second element toward the strings. The had to turn left midair to cruise up to the sunken road.
We walked back toward the sunken road to see Emily Hamel and Corvette take on the sunken road. We kept walking, catching David Doel at the Dubarry Slide, and Buck at the Canue and Cascade. We waited for another rider before deciding it was a bit crowded and walked to make our way towards the mound. We had just watched Boyd planning his route over the mound the day before so I thought it was a perfect place to watch him come through.
Unfortunately, Boyd didn’t get to the mound. Connor and Boyd both fell at fence 3 into the water. We were destroyed to hear it over our radios, and even more so when they decided to withdraw Thomas…taking Boyd out of the Maryland placings for all 4 horses.
We ultimately camped out at the interstitial between the mound and the finish line. From that spot, we could watch the Irish Horse Board Coffin Question (Mound), the Cecil County Barricades, and Corner but we could also see horses coming home over the Belgian Owls and Scotty’s Farewell.
We were thrilled to see Jennie come through and even more so when she came home. We watched Mai Baum and Tammie Smith come over the mound and I nearly cried when she retired him. Harry retired his first horse and we saw him fall at the mound.
The cross country left us a bit saddened as a spectator. Of twenty-three pairs only 8 were left to show jump the next day. We lost two-thirds of the field. One horse fell (Connor), 3 riders fell. The rest were eliminated on their third refusal (6) and 7 retired on their own. Nobody was seriously injured, and people put their horses first and made their own decisions to retire.
It was a tough day for eventing, but we refused to let it spoil all of our fun. With the cross country completed spectators were allowed to walk on course. We took pictures with the crab and I took off my shoes to get in the water.
We still had some time to kill before our dinner reservations at Steak and Main so we went back into the show grounds to visit with our friends at Forrestier. The gentlemen of this booth are WILD…in the best ways. We joined them for Prosecco, prosciutto, cheese, and camaraderie. They were cranking the 90’s and 2000’s pop music and playing cornhole. We always have a good time with these folks.
We were excited to get to Steak and Main where we ordered a Lobster Surf and Turf roll for the table. This was Maine lobster inside and topped with torched filet mignon and eel sauce. For dinner I enjoyed duck.
Day 4: Sunday
I feel like we blinked and it was Sunday already. We were all a bit sad that the weekend was drawing to a close so fast.
I walked out to enjoy the serenity of the dock at dawn. We were staying right on Elk River. The world was quiet, the steam was rising from the water. There were some Canadian geese in the distance and an occasional fish jumping out of the water. Farther beyond I saw a hot air balloon. If we had the time it wouldn’t have been the perfect setting for morning coffee/tea and some yoga. Perhaps on another trip.
Sunday morning for the Maryland 5* begins with the final horse inspection. A few horses withdrew before presenting, 3 horses of the 3* were spun. All horses were accepted at the end. We only had 8 horses present for 5* but they were all accepted.
After the inspection we stopped in at Waffle N Joe to order a Patty and Egg. Later I enjoyed a caramel frappe from Travelin Tom’s Coffee. At lunchtime I stopped by Puzzle Up Food Truck for a crab dip served with soft pretzel bites and sliced apples.
The stadium jumping was great. One of my favorite parts is looking at the course before the start and figuring out the pattern before anyone can say it out loud. The course flowed well and offered a fair challenge. You could tell some of the horses were tired from the day before and yet others still looked ready to roll.
What a pleasure it was to watch Sharon White jump clear to win the three star division. I’ve yet to meet her but I’ve been a fan and see clinics with her sprouting throughout area 1. I know it’s only a matter of time before I finally get to go audit one of those clinics.
In the five star we had only EIGHT horse and rider combinations. It was a sad feeling going in but we were still excited to see them go. Above all we were excited for Jennie Brannigan. She knocked 2 rails to finish 6th in a competition previously starting with 23 pairs.
Our top scores were Oliver Townend (Great Britain), winning the competition on 31.3 with time faults in XC and double clear in SJ. Tim Price (New Zealand) took second on 34.6 with time faults in XC and double clear in SJ. Behind them was David Doel on 38.5; he was the only pair to go double clear in XC but took one rail in SJ. For the United States Buck and Sorocaima (a thoroughbred) took 4th on 47.6. They had XC time faults and 2 rails in SJ. The others to complete the 5-star were Bubby Upton, Jennie, Emily Hamel, and Lillian Heard Wood.
We watched the prize giving and somberly left the grandstands. There was no champagne toast this time (that we were invited to). The competition was over. We had a great time but there was much to reflect on.
Final Words and Thoughts
I feel like we could discuss this event in an entirely different article in terms of eventing as the sport…but this was to highlight our overall experience.
In the end I had a marvelous time. I got to spend 4 days with 4 of my favorite people and I was consumed by what I love. Horses. We laughed, walked a lot, and enjoyed some of the best food I eat all year.
As a fan of eventing there were ups and downs. I don’t like seeing only a third of the entries complete a competition successfully. There were no serious wrecks which I am truly grateful for. The track was tough and hilly, and there were some younger horses (10/11 years) and some older horses (17/18 years). I can take away from this experience that we saw excellent horseman who put their horses above the competition. Instead of riding a tired horse they opted to retire knowing it was some of their horses’ final 5-star event.
It is pretty impressive to see horses in their late teens compete at this level. Oliver’s horse Ballaghmor Class is 17. Lillian’s horse LCC Barnaby is 18. The youngest five-star horses to complete were 13 years old.
The venue is remarkable and well organized. Fair Hill did a great job. If I were to critique I’d simply have to suggest an “express lane” because navigating through all the shops trying to get to our seats takes too much time. People in the shops area are slow and we nearly took some people out going back and forth. I’m glad the venue offered more food options this year, too.
I didn’t get to do much shopping. I bought 1 hat but the Maryland shop was very expensive as were quite a few other shops. The shops were mainly tailored to the wealthy…not us. I wanted to watch the pony races, corgi races, and attend the other smaller festivals but our first priority is competition. The venue and vendors only stay open while competition is going on. I won’t miss watching rides to shop and I feel like other people are the same. It would have been nice if they tailored the shops/shopping around the competition better so we could have done it all.
We returned home at 10pm, exhausted. I am so grateful for this experience, and look forward to what 2025 brings.
The Green Horseman 
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