David Connors Earns Top Professional Hunter Awards During Brandywine Week II

Devon, Pa. – July 6, 2018 – The second and final week of the Brandywine Horse Shows kicked off on Wednesday, July 4. David Connors and Bieber, owned by Four Winds Farm LLC, swept the Green Conformation Hunter division to secure the championship, ultimately taking home the Grand Open Hunter Championship. Connors also received the Leading Professional Hunter Rider for his efforts in the ring.

David Connors and Bieber
David Connors and Bieber. Photo: Anne Gittins Photography

Brandywine hosted the $5,000 USHJA Green Hunter Incentive East Championships on Thursday, July 5. Sandy Ferrell and Hemingway, owned by Stephanie Bulger, took home the 3’6’’-3’9’’ win with a first round score of 85 and a second round score of 90. Ferrell also received the reserve championship on her other mount, Moonshot, also owned by Bulger.

In the 3’-3’3’’ section of the $5,000 USHJA Green Hunter Incentive, it was Laena Romond and Traveller, owned by Catherine Cowie, that claimed the championship with a score of 85 in the first round and 89 in the second round. Ferrell took home yet another award as she received the reserve championship riding Dapper, also owned by Bulger.

Laena Romond and Traveller
Laena Romond and Traveller. Photo: Anne Gittins Photography

Ferrell and Hemingway’s success did not stop there – the pair also received the Green Hunter 3’6’’-3’9’’ Regional Championship, and in the Green Hunter 3’3’’ division, Christiana Serio and Wendy Janesky’s Clairvoyant earned the championship. The Grand Children’s Hunter division also crowned its champion on Thursday, July 5, with Sydney Hamel and Sunset View Farm LLC’s O.Henry in the winner’s circle.

Christiana Serio and Clairvoyant
Christiana Serio and Clairvoyant. Photo: Anne Gittins Photography

The Lannie Lipson Riders Bonus was awarded in memory of Jared Lipson, and is given to the top three professional hunter riders that have accumulated the most points throughout the two weeks of competition at Brandywine. This year’s winners included Sandy Ferrell, Christiana Serio, and David Connors.

The $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby will take place on Saturday, July 7, and Brandywine II will conclude on Sunday, July 8. For more information on the Brandywine Horse Shows, please visit http://www.brandywinehorseshows.com/

FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE

David Connors – Grand Open Hunter Champion

On Bieber
“Bieber is awesome! I think we’ve owned Bieber for three years and he is the most easy-going, lovable, kind horse I think that we’ve ever had. He’s the sweetest. It was kind of a last minute thing we decided to do because he had been entered in the 3’3’’ Greens. He was great! He’s just so easy going and he was really good. It was exciting for me because I haven’t had a chance to do the 3’6’’ for awhile.”

On his awards
“Actually, Grand Champion was awesome because Bieber is such a great horse and we love him! To win that Leading Professional Hunter Rider award, I was like, ‘You guys, I’m approaching 60 years old and I have been doing this since I was a kid, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever won the leading rider. To win the Lannie Lipson Riders Bonus, that was awesome. That was a great thing that she did giving that award out so that was very nice.”

On showing at Brandywine
“Brandywine is the show I look forward to the most in our calendar of showing. It’s close to where we keep our horses in New Jersey and everything about this show – the staff, the jumps, the footing, the hotels, the restaurants, it’s all great. They go above and beyond at this horse show to make it nice for all of the exhibitors.”

Sandy Ferrell – $5,000 USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Champion

On the Green Hunter Incentive
“The whole Green Hunter Incentive Program is awesome, and the fact that they’re offering it now at even more levels is fantastic.”

On Hemingway
“Hemingway’s my boy. He’s an amazing animal, and he and I have a very, very special relationship. All of his talent is so God-given, there’s very little to train on him so to speak. Really, he’s probably one of the most balanced, centered horses that I’ve ridden in all the years that I’ve been riding. He has a beautiful rhythm. It shows how great of a horse he is.

He had the highest score of the horse show in his final round today. He never went in there and got complacent or bored; he just rose to the occasion, which is awesome.”

Check out more photos from Brandywine Week II – 

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