United States Eventing Association

Millbrook, N.Y.—July 27—With one of only three clear rounds in the final phase of competition, Olympic veteran Boyd Martin, Cochranville, Pennsylvania, claimed victory in the Advanced division of the of the Millbrook Horse Trials riding Bonnie Stedt’s 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 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 Dutch Warmblood gelding Cooley Space Gray (by Harley VDL) to finish second overall (45.4), with Lichten finishing third (49.1) on Hickstead Musterd as well as fifth with her Irish Sport Horse gelding HTS Jensen (by Tolan R) who also had one rail down (74.7). Caitlin Silliman and her big, athletic Trakehner mare Ally KGO (Hirtentanz *E* x Annabelle Lee) had one rail down to finish fourth (55.0).

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 4-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.

“She’s an energetic chestnut mare, and she sort of pranced out of the stables this morning," he added. "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.”

Stedt has owned horses for Martin since he first moved to the United States from Australia more than 15 years ago. “Millbrook is my second home, and Bonnie was one of my first supporters when I arrived off the boat and has been very generous during my career, helping me along with horses like Neville Bardos and Shamwari,” he said. “She was right there from the beginning. I wish her well; she’s a bit crook at the moment and is currently down in Aiken, South Carolina, but I’m thrilled to win this event on her horse, in her hometown.”

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, placed third on Valkyrie.

Savannah Fulton won Open Intermediate B riding Cash and Carry, a Holsteiner gelding owned by Nelson Warnell. Spencer placed second with David and Karie Thompson’s Marvel, and Millbrook local Booli Selmayr finished third riding Quality Touchdown. Selmayr also won the Open Modified division riding Uptown Girl. The Modified Rider division was won by Julie Crispin riding Magnific C'Imagination.

This was the first year that the Modified division was added to Millbrook Horse Trials, and the new cross-country course was built after a great fundraising effort. The title sponsor was Millbrook Equine, who also hosted a cooling station for horses and riders after cross country. Numerous farms and individuals also stepped up to sponsor fences and make financial contributions to support the addition of the Modified level to the Millbrook Horse Trials. A total of 35 horse and rider combinations competed in the two Modified divisions.

Live scores can be found here.