A total of 25 horses were presented to the ground jury on Wednesday for the second edition of the Maryland 5 Star three-day eventing competition, to be held this weekend at Fair Hill in Elkton, Md. Following Wednesday's first horse inspection, 24 horses will proceed to the first phase of the competition.
A 5 Star event (CCI5*-L) is the pinnacle of the sport of eventing. It consists of the most advanced form of competition as it pertains to the skill level executed in the field of dressage, as well as tougher terrain and obstacles in both cross-country and stadium jumping. There are only seven 5 Star events in the world, with two being in the United States.
The CCI5* event takes place over four days. The first two days of competition taking place on Thursday and Friday will feature dressage tests completed in the main arena. The third day of competition on Saturday is the cross-country test, where riders jump up to 45 obstacles over almost 4 miles of varying terrain. The final day of competition on Sunday is show jumping, where riders jump over fragile obstacles in the main arena.
Last year's top-placed Thoroughbred was Tight Lines, ridden by Will Coleman to a fifth-place finish in the event's inaugural running. This year, five Thoroughbreds will attempt to better that result.
Here's a brief summary of each Thoroughbred entered:
Campground (Forest Camp x Kneel)
Ridden by Erin Kanara
15-year-old TB gelding
Unraced
Owned by Marnie Kelly
Groom: Amy Faison
This will be the 5* debut for 15-year-old Campground, who in his spare time also goes out eventing at the lower levels with his owner, Marnie Kelly.
It was Marnie who purchased “Gideon” as a 3-year-old during a trip to the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, after he'd turned out not to have the chops for racing.
Campground was bred in Kentucky by Churchill Downs Inc. chairman Alex Rankin, and entered race training at a local training center but was too slow to make it to the racetrack. Campground began his eventing career in 2012 with Erin in the irons and eventually moved up to Advanced in 2019. He won his first 4*-L at Ocala Jockey Club in 2019 and was 10th in the tough Lexington 4*-S last April.
For more about Campground, check out this Paulick Report feature from earlier this year: 'I'll Be Cheering For Him': CDI Chairman Bred One Of Land Rover's 'Very Unique' Four-Star OTTBs.
Wabbit (Line of Departure x No Kissing)
Ridden by Jessica Phoenix
12-year-old TB gelding
Race name: Molinaro Kissing
Race record: 5 starts, 0-0-0, earnings $2,217
Owned by Rider & Jim Phillips
Groom: Lisa Barry
12-year-old Wabbit will seek his first 5* completion this weekend after his debut at Kentucky ended earlier than planned.
Bred to race in Ontario, Canada, Wabbit did race five times at Woodbine Racetrack and eventually began his eventing career with Momo Laframboise. In 2018, he made his debut with Jessica in the irons and has steadily ticked up the levels since then.
Wabbit has shown himself to be a reliable cross country horse, and those skills could come into serious play as the weekend progresses. Multi Olympian Jessie is also a fierce competitor, capable of throwing down on cross country day, and she's got some true 5* help in her corner with #supergroom and fellow 5* rider Lisa Barry as her groom this weekend.
Sorocaima (Rock Hard Ten x Sankobasi)
Ridden by Buck Davidson
11-year-old TB gelding
Race name: Sorocaima
Race record: 43 starts, 4-8-2, earnings $82,396
Owned by Rider & Carl Segal
Groom: Jackie Slagle
“He's a pure American Thoroughbred,” Buck describes the 11-year-old Sorocaima, who raced 43 times and earned just over $80,000. “Cam” then began his eventing career in 2018, originally with Brazilian rider Nilson Moreira da Silva and then with young rider Karli Wright.
Jill Henneberg made the connection to Buck, recommending he buy the horse to add to his string. After joining Buck's program in 2020, the gelding has taken to the sport like a natural.
Sorocaima made his 5* debut at Kentucky last April, though Buck will look to make improvements on that performance this weekend.
Twilightslastgleam (National Anthem x Royal Child) –
Ridden by Jennie Brannigan
12-year-old TB gelding
Unraced
Owned by Nina & Tim Gardner
Groom: Tyler Held
“As I get older it's not always about being perfect. It is about enjoying when it goes your way.”
Jennie had wise words after taking the 4*-L win at Bromont last June aboard the Gardners' homebred Thoroughbred, Twilightslastgleam.
“Comic” actually competed at this venue early on in his career with Jennie, who has done nearly all of his events since day one. He competed in both the 4- and 5-Year-Old Young Event Horse Championships at Fair Hill in 2014 and 2015, respectively, finishing in the top 10 both times.
Dunedin Black Watch (Dylan Thomas x Love First)
Hayley Frielick
12-year-old TB gelding
Race name: Storm in Africa
Race Record: 7-0-0-1 $1,200
Owned by Kathryn Robertson
Groom: Rider
Hayley Frielick bought a ticket to the U.S. to compete at the Maryland 5 Star — her first 5* in the Northern Hemisphere — and hasn't bought her return ticket just yet.
Hayley hails from New South Wales, Australia, where she runs Dunedin Sport Horses and competes a wide range of developing event horses.
Dunedin Black Watch, or “Nelson” as he's known at home, has a wealth of 4* experience in Australia and will step up to the 5* level as a debutant this weekend.
For her part, Hayley has competed at the Adelaide 5* three times previously, finishing 5th in 2018 and 10th in 2019 with Class Action LP.
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