Page 31 - The Hunt - Spring 2024

Phillip Dutton at Fair Hill’s MARS Maryland 5 Star this past fall.
Eventing is often described as the triathlon of riding, consisting
of three equestrian events: dressage, cross-country and show jumping. It’s the one event where men and women compete as equals
for medals in all three categories.
but I take enough time to prepare when I’ve committed to doing something.”
Watching Brannigan conduct a
jumping lesson with a student is a study
in concentration. As the horse and rider approach a jump, she breaks down the movements. Then she mentally reconstructs what was done well and what wasn’t, before adjusting the jump height to go on to the next stage. Brannigan’s eyes well up with tears when she speaks of her wealthy grandfather who, once he saw her commitment to becoming a serious rider, bought her her
first horse, Cooper. “He was the one family member who believed in me,” she says. “He only got to see me ride once, in Galway.”
Fortunately, she won that event.
Before coming to Pennsylvania, Brannigan did some show jumping and long-range
endurance riding. Then, with Cooper, she entered the USDF/USEF Young Rider Graduate Program in 2008 and won her
first top-level competition in 2015 at the Kentucky Three-Day Event. Eventing is an expensive sport, and those who participate must either be independently wealthy or have affluent backers. They often supplement their income by training other riders, boarding and selling horses, and courting commercial sponsors. Brannigan’s horse trailer and tack room are plastered with the logos of sponsors who’ve signed on to Team Brannigan. “I’m really not good about asking for things,” she admits.
What she is good at is selecting horses.
A young horse at about five years of age costs $50,000-$75,000, but Brannigan prefers to breed her own. Her current main mount is
FE Lifestyle, a 13-year-old chestnut gelding. “I have a business partner in Europe who recommends horses to buy and me to sell.
I look at the videos and turn most of them down,” she says.
These days, Brannigan normally gets to work at 8:30 a.m. and leaves at 4 p.m. “I’m on a horse most of the time,” she says. “I can’t remember the last time I took a day off,”
Recently, Brannigan married Fair Hill thoroughbred trainer Niall Saville. But she quickly corrects any attempt to address
her by a new name. “My name is Jennie Brannigan,” she makes clear—which means she won’t have to repaint her racing van.
But there’s one thing that has changed. “I’m not as competitive as I used to
be,” she says. “I think that’s made me a better horseman.” TH
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