It was another stellar day for Oliver Townend (GBR) and his seasoned campaigner Ballaghmor Class at the 2024 MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. The longtime partners came out on top after the cross-country phase of the CCI5* competition and were one of only eight combinations out of 21 to finish the course this afternoon.
Townend’s fellow Brit David Doel (GBR) and Galileo Nieuwmoed came in second on the leaderboard following cross country and were the only pair to jump within the time allowed. Tim Price (NZL) and powerhouse gelding Falco took third.

Less than a rail separate the top three riders going into Sunday’s show-jumping course. Townend sits on a score of 31.3, Doel is at 34.5 and Price follows closely at 34.6.
Longtime, renowned course designer Ian Stark’s swan-song CCI5* cross-country course proved to be a tough track for more than half of today’s combinations. The course included several tricky water jumps, ditches, combinations and, of course, Maryland’s famously formidable crab water jump.
While Stark is known for courses that demand bravery and accuracy and constantly presenting horse-and-rider pairs with challenging questions, he also cares about how the horses fare on his courses. He and his team of course builders put an incredible amount of thought into this course to make it exciting while also being safe and fair.
Townend and “Thomas” Do It Again
“You know he is who he is, but he’s gone and done it again,” said Townend of his ever indefatigable 17-year-old Ballaghmor Class. The pair jumped clear with 4.8 time penalties. “I was told that if I was ahead of schedule on my minutes to take the longer route after the skinny brush over the corner of the water [Fence 17], because horses weren’t seeing that all day. I think he’d have jumped it easily. But I’m also just trying to look after him because, you know, that’s the secret.”
Townend actually received this advice from Stark. “He was in the warm-up with a lot of us, so it wasn’t just me getting English or Scottish advice. He was there helping everyone around. But it’s been a tough day,” he noted. “I thought last year’s Maryland was plenty tough enough. But it’s Ian’s last year, so why shouldn’t he let his imagination go a little? He built a true, fair five-star course. But we haven’t got 80 runners here, so when 21 set off and only 10 or so come home, it’s just the field and the way it panned out. It has nothing to do with it being an unfair track.”
Townend jokingly acknowledged that after his first few rides on “Thomas,” he didn’t anticipate the gray gelding would become a personal horse of a lifetime.
“I’ve never had an event horse who is possibly only an event horse. He’s a pain in the ass at home. He’s just not that straightforward and you have to know him,” he said. “Right now, we’re just trying to get through tomorrow. Then, we shall see. It’s not been a smooth ride, but he’s come across the finish line feeling better than he’s ever felt.”
Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed Cruise Into Second After Cross Country
Finishing well under the optimal time of 11:15 at 10:51, Doel said Galileo Nieuwmoed is a consistently phenomenal galloper and that at the seven-minute mark today, he was 10 seconds up and still cruising. The pair jumped clean with no time penalties.
“We’re always pushing the limits and boundaries a little bit, and I think the hills here at Maryland may have taken a little bit out of him, and it probably wasn’t the prettiest at the end,” he laughed. “But there were such narrow fences, and I’ve got big old feet on a big old horse, so those are always a bit tricky for us.”

He noted there were a few surprises including the formidable crab water jump toward the end of the course.
“He didn’t take any notice of the waterfall jump [Fence 9AB] everyone was worried about, but he got up to the crab at the top and jumped the first part in [Fence 20ABC] and then he went a little ‘Oh my God,’ and suddenly his head and shoulders sort of disappeared in front of me,” Doel said. “I did have a split second where I thought I might be getting a bit of a dunking.”
While Doel noted that Maryland doesn’t yet have fields as big as other CCI5* competitions, he felt like Stark’s last course before retirement was one requiring tremendous effort. “He certainly didn’t dumb it down,” he said. “That course was one hell of an effort.”
Price and the Mighty Falco Sit in Third
Making it around the cross-country course without any jumping penalties and 7.2 time penalties, Price and 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding Falco landed in third place going into Sunday’s show jumping. “It was quite a lot for him to achieve today and a big ask of a 15-year-old, who’s only done one five star before,” he said. “But we thought Maryland would be a really good step in his progression in another five star.”
Even more impressive after such an intense course over hilly terrain, Falco’s heart rate registered at 96 [best per minute] in the vet box. “Look at him,” Price laughed. “He’s one fit animal. And what’s even crazier is that he’s only around 20-percent blood, so he’s just a freak one-off. I’m incredibly proud of him, especially because of how small he is compared to some of the others. He does things out of pure will and desire and enjoyment.”

To achieve such a high level of fitness in a horse with little blood, Price and his team implement a comprehensive fitness program to keep Falco in peak condition. In addition to utilizing a water treadmill at home, Falco also gallops at least once a week.
“We always make sure that he shows up for his fitness work. And with Falco, we’ve always had a bit of a system where we start out quiet, build speed through the middle and then push at the end,” he explained. “I also try to give him good distances so he can jump clean, and then I ask a little more as he goes. It’s a bit of a rinse and repeat. So, he knows he can do it. He believes in himself and has the fitness to do it.”
Price also conceded that Stark’s final course was a tough, true five-star track. “Ian’s a brave man,” he laughed when asked about the course-designer’s final track. “This course was a bit meatier than I was expecting, but I was glad that the ground was quick. It was real decent track and not terribly surprising that good combinations struggled—whether it was with the time or a combination here and there.”
Today’s MD5* Cross-Country Efforts
Of the eight pairs that completed the cross-country course, in addition to Doel’s fast round and Townend’s round with only time penalties, only two other riders—Price and Buck Davidson (USA) on Sorocaima—made it around the course with only time penalties. Price had 7.2 time penalties and Davidson had 5.2. Bubby Upton (GBR) and Cola had a breakable device penalty at Fence 12A. Jennie Brannigan (USA) and Twighlightslastgleam and Lillian Heard Wood (USA) and LCC Barnaby incurred missed flag penalties. These were at Fences 17 and 18A (the corners over the ditch), respectively. Emily Hamel (USA) and Corvett had a refusal at Fence 25D, a narrow chevron following the Fair Hill drop.

Seven riders retired on course. This included 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event winners Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, who had a runout at Fence 17. And six horse-and-rider pairs were eliminated. The eliminations included two rider falls. They were Harry Meade (GBR) from Et Hop du Matz and Grace Taylor (USA) from Game Changer. It also included one horse fall—Boyd Martin’s Commando 3. Martin said in an Instagram post that “Conner” caught his legs on the backside of Fence 3A, a water jump. But he said Conner is horse is “a-okay.”
The original field following dressage included 23 horses and riders. Two horses were withdrawn before cross country—Jessica Phoenix’s Fluorescent Adolescent (CAN) and Boyd Martin’s Tsetserleg TSF (USA).
Stark’s Swan-Song Cross-Country Course
While Stark was disappointed that more combinations didn’t complete his final course today, he was confident that he’d designed a quality, five-star track following cross-country competition. “There was some really good quality riding and maybe there were some greener riders and horses who were maybe barely ready for it. And it was a difficult one,” Stark said following Saturday’s unusually short list of cross-country finishers.
Another factor, he noted, was rider confidence. “When the first horse doesn’t get around it sort of makes other riders begin to question things, so maybe some greener ones weren’t quite confident enough. But, in truth, very little actually changed from last year. It’s unfortunate, but it happens,” Stark said. “But both the riders who got around and ones that didn’t said they thought it was great and really enjoyed it and would come back. Some even told me it wasn’t as tough as they expected. Beforehand, I only got complaints about the picture frame and the waterfall and maybe the keyholes, and none those caused an issue the entire day.”
For More:
For complete results, click here. To look at photos of the eight riders who completed the CCI5* course, click here.
The Second Horse Inspection will begin at 9:30 a.m. EST Sunday. The show-jumping phase will begin at 3 p.m. EST (tentatively).
Thanks to Mane ‘n Tail for our coverage of the 2024 Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. It includes rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more!