Cushing’s veteran still improving to post personal best on Burghley debut despite dressage error

Hannah Sue Hollberg is no stranger to the top level, but it’s been five years since she last competed at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials. In 2024, she’s back on British soil for the first time in five years, riding 17-year-old Capitol H I M. The bay scored a personal best at the CCI5* level of 30.7 in the dressage phase – despite a blip where Hannah Sue lost her way.

“He was awesome, and did his first change so well, that I suddenly realised, ‘I don’t know where I’m going!’” says US rider Hannah Sue, 38. “That hasn’t happened to me in 20 years – where I’ve completely forgotten. I thought I need to go to the judge and ask where to go. Hopefully the cross-country will go smoothly after I made such a mistake today.”

A rocky road to Burghley Horse Trials for Hannah Sue Hollberg

Capitol H I M is a grand old performer, with a win at CCI4*-S this year and fourth at Maryland 5 Star last autumn. But he has really come into his own in his mid teens after being diagnosed with Cushing’s.

“I had him at Maryland three-star in 2022 and he was winning after dressage and cross-country and he had three rails,” says Hannah Sue. “He’d already done the five-star at Kentucky that year, but I fell late on the course, and I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong but something was. He was never lame, but he was fat and I couldn’t train him well. I didn’t want to push him as he’s such a trier so I was banging my head against the wall.

“When we had those three fences down and went from first to 40th, I thought I rode well and he tried but just couldn’t do it,” she continues. “My vet said, ‘Let’s test him for Cushing’s, and he was positive, he was insulin resistant. You just wouldn’t think it – he’s beautiful and tall and not a pony.”

The improvement was dramatic once he was treated and the following season they finished fourth at Maryland.

“He immediately felt better, lighter in himself and his way of going,” says Hannah Sue. “Everything came together relatively quickly.”

It’s still not straightforward as the horse has to come off his medication seven days before FEI competitions.

“That is so hard on their metabolism,” Hannah Sue says. “The first couple of days he’s a bit low, but he perks back up. I try not to do it often because it changes his metabolism but he’s getting used to it. I will never ask him to do something if he doesn’t feel right.”

And with his improved health, Hannah Sue has been able to bring out the best of this gelding by Con Air 7 between the white boards.

“He wants to be low naturally, so it’s about getting the strength behind and not asking too much,” she says. “I just work away on it but I don’t do a tonne of dressage with him – I do flat work and strength work, and work on my own riding and with my bodyworker Megan Wicks. I like my horses to enjoy their job and want to do it for me. But it feels like he really understands what he’s supposed to do and that’s the best part – when they realise, ‘Oh this is important’.

“I never expected him to go all the way to five-star but he’s an amazing horse – I just wish he was younger.”

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