Austin O’Connor (IRL) secured the first CCI5*-L victory by an Irish rider in nearly six decades, jumping up from fourth place at the start of Sunday’s show jumping finale and catapulting to the top of the leaderboard with longtime partner Colorado Blue at the 2023 MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill presented by Brown Advisory. The three-time Olympian sealed the deal to break the longstanding Irish drought with a mistake-free round on Sunday, jumping clear and finishing on a final total score of 34.9.
Five-time British Olympic veteran William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Grafennacht finished in second place on a final score of 35.3, while World No. 1 Oliver Townend (GBR) and Cooley Rosalent took third place with a 37.1 after dropping two rails during their round to add eight faults to their final score. Hannah Sue Hollberg (USA), was the highest-placing American, finishing fourth on a 40.0.
Colorado Blue, a 2009 Great Britain Sport Horse owned by The Salty Syndicate, has been a consistent staple in O’Connor’s string, having competed in three CCI5*-L events since 2022, as well as at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2022 FEI Eventing World Championships. The pair were trailblazers around yesterday’s cross-country track, which they navigated with efficiency and grit, tackling all of the difficult combinations, coming in just barely over the time.
“He’s an unbelievable horse. He’s a proper, proper five-star event horse,” said O’Connor, and added, “He always looked a good horse, but I guess a bit like myself, with age he’s just got better. Or lucky. He’s 85% Thoroughbred—he’s all blood, he’s all class, he’s all heart, and he’ll try and try and try to the bitter end.”
Rerouting from Burghley after retiring on cross-country, O’Connor made the decision to come to Maryland with “Salty” and give it his all to try and capture his first CCI5*-L victory.
“Maryland (5 Star) committee member, Tim Gardner, who when I was having a little bit of a down moment at Burghley, put his arm around me and said, ‘You gotta bring Salty to Maryland.’ He was the man that convinced us to come here and I believed him and I’m delighted.”
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Connor led from start to finish in the 2023 USEF Eventing CCI3*-L National Championship, completing on their first-phase score of 25.4. HSH Connor, an impressive 2016 Irish Sport horse gelding owned by Pamukcu, Sherrie Martin, and Luann McElduff, has won three consecutive FEI events during the 2023 season, beginning in April. This is the eleventh international win this year for Pamukcu, the most of any rider in the world. Strong in all three phases, HSH Connor is one for the future for Pamukcu, who heads off to represent the United States at the 2023 Pan American Games this week, and she is excited to have such a talented string of horses coming up through the ranks.
“It’s so emotional because I’ve had the horse since he was a four-year-old, and it’s one of those things where there’s such a big community behind me,” said Pamukcu. “It’s emotional because you remember his first jump school, his first flat school, and then all the way to this moment. We were so close to winning the Young Horse World Championships in Le Lion d’Angers last year, that for him to win the USEF CCI3* National Championship is amazing.”
Lauren Nicholson (The Plains, Va.) and Larcot Z, a Zangersheide gelding owned by Jacqueline Mars, finished in second on a 28.6, just adding .4 time penalties from cross-country to their dressage score, but jumping clean in the main arena on Sunday. Local competitor Savannah Fulton (Finksburg, Md.) and Cash Point, a 2015 Holsteiner gelding owned by Nelson Warnell, jumped up the leaderboard after a strong cross-country round on Saturday and a clear effort on Sunday in the final phase to capture third place on a 31.4.
The MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill presented by Brown Advisory, one of only two 5 Star level equestrian events of its kind in the United States and just the seventh worldwide, is being held at the Fair Hill Special Event Zone in Cecil County, MD, October 18-22. The event’s prestigious 5 Star (CCI5*-L) designation is the pinnacle of the Olympic sport of eventing, often described as an equestrian triathlon.
In addition to the five-star competition (CCI5-L), the event also features a three-star competition (CCI3-L), which serves as the USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship, and The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships presented by Dubarry of Ireland. The four days of eventing competition feature dressage (Thu-Fri), cross-country (Sat) showcasing Ian Stark-designed courses, and jumping (Sun).
“Thank you to all of our fine sponsors for making the Maryland 5 Star possible again this year, especially MARS Equestrian™ and Brown Advisory,” said Jeff Newman, President & CEO of the Maryland 5 Star Committee. “We had terrific weather, and enthusiastic crowds throughout the weekend and a course (by designer Ian Stark) that proved to be beautiful and challenging enough to give these world-class riders and their horses the ultimate test. Thank you to the FEI riders and officials for coming from around the world to help lay the ground work for this event, to the staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to get it off the ground, and our fans who continue to show us amazing support every year. We look forward to seeing everyone back out at Fair Hill and in Cecil County in 2024.”
The 3 Star and 5 Star awards ceremonies were presented by Korbel California Champagne. Full Results
The entire CCI5* was available via livestream through USEF Network for domestic viewers, Horse & Country TV for viewers outside of North America, and via Maryland Public Television. USEF Network also provided exclusive coverage of the CCI3*. Links to these on-demand livestreams, including information on a discount for USEF memberships, are available on the event’s website via How to Watch.
— Maryland 5 Star press release
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland 5 Star