Abigail

Named as the traveling reserve for Team Ireland for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, five-star eventer Tim Bourke is a popular clinician whose systematic approach leads to sustainable results for both horse and rider.

Raised in Ireland, Bourke rode in Pony Club and became interested in eventing while studying Equine Studies and Business at Gurteen Agricultural College. Upon graduation, Bourke moved stateside to work for Olympic gold and silver medalist Bruce Davidson. After two years in Davidson’s program, Bourke went on to work for five-star rider Sharon White until he and his wife, Advanced eventer Marley Stone Bourke, opened the doors of their own Stone’s Throw Farm in the heart of Area II.

Lauren Nicholson (née Kieffer) began riding at the age of six and competed in her first horse trials at the age of 12. As a high school graduation present, Kieffer participated in a week-long eventing summer camp with Olympians David and Karen O’Connor, which led to a six-year working student position. Her talent and work ethic helped her reach the top levels of the sport and represent her country in international championships.

Nicholson was a member of the U.S. Eventing Team at the 2016 Olympic Games with the Dutch Warmblood mare, Veronica, and the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games with her Anglo-Arabian gelding, Vermiculus. In 2015, she won team gold at the Pan American Games in Toronto riding Meadowbrook’s Scarlett.

Nicholson won team bronze in 2005 and team silver in 2007 at the North American Youth Championship with her Anglo-Arabian gelding, Snooze Alarm, a full brother to her future WEG partner, Vermiculus. She made her debut at the CCI5*-L level in 2010, when she and Snooze Alarm completed the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Since then, Nicholson has had numerous top finishes at the five-star level, including finishing in second place overall and as the highest-placed U.S. athlete at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2014 and 2016 with Veronica, where she won the title of USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Champion. The pair also had top-ten finishes at the CCI5*-L level at Pau in 2014 and in Badminton in 2018. With Vermiculus, Nicholson finished in the top ten in the CCI5* events at Kentucky in 2018 and 2019, Burghley in 2019, and at Lumühlen in 2022. She finished in the top ten with Landmark’s Monte Carlo at the inaugural Maryland 5 Star CCI5* in 2021.

Jennie Brannigan is a successful alumna of the Young Riders program, having won team and individual gold at the 2008 NAYC for eventing with her KWPN gelding, Cooper. She had her first completion at the top level of the sport in 2015 at the Kentucky Three-Day Event with Cambalda. In 2021, she finished in fourth place overall at the Maryland 5 Star CCI5* with Stella Artois.

Brannigan has represented the U.S. Eventing Team at Boekelo, The Netherlands, competing in the CCIO3* in 2012 with Cambalda, the CCIO4-L with Stella Artois in 2019, and the CCIO4-L in 2021 with FE Lifestyle. Recent top results for Brannigan include a third-place finish in the CCI4-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm in 2021, a second place at the CCI4-S at Stable View in 2022, and a win in the CCI4*-L at Bromont in June of 2022, all with her own Thoroughbred gelding, Twilightslastgleam.

Allison Springer is a veteran fiver-star event rider, trainer, and coach who aspires to represent the United States in Olympic and International competitions. She has been named multiple times to the United States Equestrian Team’s High Performance List and she was an alternate for both an Olympic and World Equestrian Games Team. She is a Pony Club Graduate and an ICP Level IV instructor. Allison actively competes across the country and internationally, trains and shows horses for clients, and teaches professional and amateur riders. Allison’s commitment to the sport of Eventing is impressive as well. She is a founding member and former President of the Professional Riders Organization and saw the organization’s evolution into the Event Riders Association of North America (ERAofNA.org). Allison was a member of the USEA’s Board of Governors for many years and sits on numerous committees for both the USEF and USEA. Allison graduated from Bowdoin College in 1997.