Temecula, CA — Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda (46.0) jumped faultlessly throughout the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event to top the inaugural CCI3* and then return to West Grove, Pa., with the winner’s check of $7,000. She edged Alexandra Slusher on Last Call (49.2) and James Alliston on Jumbo’s Jake (55.8).

This was the first time an FEI-sanctioned CCI3* had ever been held west of the Mississippi River in North America, and five East Coast riders—including Brannigan—flew their horses from Baltimore three days before the event started to compete in the 19-horse field.

Still, it didn’t turn out to be an entirely East vs. West affair, as Brannigan grew up in California and used to live in Temecula. Slusher lives in Auburn, Calif., while Alliston is from Great Britain but lives in Castro Valley, Calif. Alliston, 26, also finished seventh in the CCI3* on Parker II.

For Slusher, 23, Galway Downs was a weekend to remember forever. In addition to claiming the runner-up slot in the CCI3*, she won the CCI2* on Juicy Couture (53.2), defeating Jolie Wentworth on Good Knight (58.1) and Amber Levine on Nantucket Red (58.2).

The Galway Downs International Three-Day Event featured five three-day events—the only competition in the United States or the world to offer so many levels. Maxance McManamy won the modern-format CCI1* on Project Runway; Katherine Groesbeck claimed first and second places in the classic-format CCI1* on Oz The Tin Man and Oz Proof Of Purchase; and Erin Kellerhouse, on Roxabelle, and Sierra Mathias, on Regal Exit, claimed divisions of the training three-day event.

“I’m in shock right now,” said an ecstatic Brannigan, 23, after the awards ceremony.

Cambalda, an Irish Sport Horse gelding, is owned by Margaret Gardner. He placed second in dressage and moved into the first place when dressage leader Arthur, ridden by Alison Springer, of Marshall, Va., galloped past fence 14, the Orca, after stumbling off the Normandy Bank only four strides before it. Springer would wind up in sixth place.

“He’s only 8, and I can’t imagine what he’ll be like next year, because of how much he’s improved this year,” said Brannigan. “He’s won four FEI events this year. He proved he’s a good horse.”

Slusher moved into top contention after Tamra Smith didn’t present second-placed Corner Street at Sunday morning’s final horse inspection. Slusher and Last Call put in a lovely double-clear show jumping round to take home the red ribbon and a check for $5,250.

“I’ve got a good vibe going with this place,” said Slusher of the Southern California Equestrian Center. “I have a lot of confidence here, and I couldn’t have asked for my year to end any better.

“To finish in the 40s in a three-star—I couldn’t have dreamed this week could go so smoothly,” she added.

Brannigan and Slusher are each students of Hawley Bennett-Awad, the Canadian rider who earned the team silver medal in the Eventing World Championships at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in September. Bennett-Awad’s barn is across the street from the Southern California Equestrian Center, and she finished third in the modern-format CCI1* aboard Five O’clock Somewhere.

“To me this is huge. These are my first two advanced students, and I’m so proud of them,” Bennett-Awad said with tears in her eyes. “Having the three-star here has now changed the game for the West Coast. Now we don’t have to spend $10,000 to go to Fair Hill [Md.], and all the young riders can come here and see that they have a chance, that riding in a three-star is doable. I think we are all very, very lucky to have the three-star here at Galway Downs.”

Brannigan had high praise for the competition she’d come across the country to win. “Galway Downs is just as good—or better—as any place else,” she said. “I think this three-star is going to show that eventing is not all about the East Coast. I think the West Coast deserves more credit than it gets.”

For Max McManamy, winner of the modern-format CCI1* with her own Project Runway, Galway Downs was a dramatic comeback. She fractured three vertebrae in her spine falling from advanced horse Beacon Hill at a competition in July, but she and Project Runway looked confident as they cruised to faultless cross-country and show jumping rounds.

Slusher kept McManamy’s horses fit while she recovered from her injuries for about five weeks.

“This weekend was such a big learning curve for him,” said, McManamy, 18, of her pinto Trakehner. “He’s grown up quite a bit. He’s only 6, and he really proved himself to me this weekend and felt like a big horse. I felt a little nervous today, because he’s my baby. My goal was to finish on his dressage score, and he did that.

“I love everything about Galway Downs,” she continued. “It’s my favorite event. It’s just such a fantastic experience every time I come here.”

Katherine Groesbeck was in the enviable position of standing first and second with her two horses in the classic-format CC1* before show jumping began. Her dressage scores and clean cross-country rounds had given her a considerable lead, and although her horses (Oz The Tin Man and OZ Proof Of Purchase), swapped places, they still carried her to the blue and red ribbons.

Groesbeck, of Wilton, Calif., and the two full brothers are a distinctly family affair—the geldings were bred by her mother Teresa, started by her father Jim, and have competed in a variety of disciplines, including pure dressage and endurance. The Anglo-Arabs found the final phase challenging, with Oz Proof of Purchase (58.2) lowering three rails, while Oz The Tin Man (51.2) dropped one, giving him the victory over his over his brother.

“I get pretty nervous in the show jumping, which I’m sure carries over to the horses,” Groesbeck said.

Groesbeck, 21, is in her fourth year at UCLA, studying linguistics and anthropology.

“What a great day,” she said with a smile. “It’s a great way to end a great year.”

Lauren LoPiccolo, a professional trainer from Auburn, Calif., moved up steadily all weekend to finish third aboard former racehorse Venado (63.6). The pair has been together for three years, and they’ve been competing at preliminary level since last fall. “I’ve been working toward this all season,” she said. “I feel like doing it gave me and my horse confidence to run down to big fences. Steeplechase helped me to let him go and do his job.”

Erin Kellerhouse, of Temecula, Calif., and Roxabelle jumped faultlessly to grab division A of the training three-day event (26.8). Kellerhouse has had the 7-year-old mare in training since she was 3.

“I thought it would be good for her education,” said Kellerhouse, 33. “She’s a little bit of a lazy horse so I thought it would be good for her, and it worked.”

Tory Smith, of Camarillo, Calif., and Bantry Bay V (29.0) finished second. Smith and Bantry Bay were the 2008 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced champions, but in the fall of 2008 Bantry Bay was injured, and in 2008 Smith, 23, also graduated from UCLA and joined the working world.

“[Working my horses] is harder than it was when I was in school,” she said ruefully.

Time constraints and her horse’s return from injury led Smith to choose the training three-day event as a way to build his confidence and fitness. “We’ve definitely got our mojo back,” said Smith. Still, “it was a bittersweet weekend, because I would have loved to have ridden in the three-star.”

In division B, Sierra Mathias, of Castro Valley, Calif., and Regal Exit finished on their winning dressage score of 30.4.

“There was so much pressure!” said Mathias, 16. “He usually does well, so I was hoping to be first. I came to Galway Downs because of the training three-day event. It’s such a great facility, and the footing is super. It’s a really fun cross-country course, and the whole three-day experience was great.”

Mathias hopes to move up to contest the classic-format CCI* next year, although the gray Thoroughbred is for sale.

Tristen Hooks, of San Louis Obispo, Calif., and Learning To Fly were just decimal points behind in second (30.7). Like Mathias, Hooks, 48, competed in the 2009 training three-ay event, finishing third. “It was such an amazing experience that I thought I better do it again this year,” she said. “It was better this time, because I knew what to expect. I was a deer in the headlights last year.”

The Galway Downs International Three-Day Event had more starters in the classic-format CCI1* (nine) and in the training three-day event (45) than any other U.S. event in 2010. Three other competitions offered the classic-format CCI1*, and nine other competitions offered the training three-day event, this year.

The winners of the classic-format CCI1* and the modern-format CC1* each received $1,000 in prize money, with second place earning $750. The winner of training-level three-day division A received a Revere Custom Dressage Saddle, and the winner of division B received a Revere Custom Jumping Saddle.

All told, the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event offered $33,000 in prize money and more than $50,000 in total prizes.

The generous presenting sponsorship of Professional’s Choice equine products, Point Two Air Jackets USA, and the Professional Riders Organization help make the prize money and other prizes possible.

Additional sponsors provide further support to the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event. Those sponsors include: Auburn Laboratories Inc., Big Horse Feed, CWD Saddlery, Doug Hannum Equine Therapy, Equine Insurance of California, Revere Saddlery, Riding’s Publications Inc., SmartPak Equine, and Sonoma Saddle Shop.

For more information on the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event, visit www.galwaydowns.com or call 951-303-0405. To learn more about eventing, visit the U.S. Eventing Association’s website, www.useventing.com.