‘Sean’ Connory leads at Morven
Jennie Brannigan leads the way. Emily Mastervich Beshear is one to watch ahead of the speed test.
The first phase of the first US Equestrian Open qualifier is complete and we prepare now for the influential Morven Park cross country course. Jennie Brannigan leads with Connory (Stable name: Sean). Our Prediction Center had them as the pre-event favourites and they maintain that position after the first phase but it’s worth noting that this will be only their second international run after an injury at Boekelo this time last year. The time penalties tomorrow are going to have a huge impact on the leaderboard – 101 combinations have set out on the cross-country track and only three have made the time.
Hannah Sue Hollberg and Business Ben are in second place, 0.3 points (less than a second) behind. Allison Springer rode Business Ben until the end of last year so tomorrow will be first time we them as a combination at this level.
Given the challenge that this course is going to present, it is unusual to be drawn to a 15 year old horse who has only one run at the level – at Stable View this year. Rio de Janeiro for Emily Mastervich Beshear has two wins already this season at CCI3*-S but most importantly, is fast. On our ratings, using a concept called TSP (Top Speed Percentage), we track every horse that they have taken on in their last ten runs, and track how many they have been faster than. On that metric, Rio de Janeiro is the fastest horse in the field – outpacing 90% of opponents.
There are points available for the top 8 horses (qualifiers with more than 25 starters give place points all the way to 10th place). Mia Farley has Invictus and BGS Calculated Chaos both in the class and both well placed. Both are reliable horses and with points available for each horse, a good Saturday will leave her well placed after the opening leg in the Series.
Tune into the USEF Network, powered by ClipMyHorse.TV or through our streaming partner ESPN3 to catch all the excitement in real-time.
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Get the live Morven Park 4*-S results here and be in the know by the fan guide.
For media inquiries about the US Equestrian Open Series, please contact Carly Weilminster at cweilminster@usef.org . For sponsorship opportunities, contact Layson Griffin at lgriffin@usef.org.
