Oh my gosh, I have been scrolling past that add for how long now and I did not even realize it was an add for what this thread was about.
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Do the judges still ride to decide the hack winners? That would be epic over here.
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Thatās exactly how I learned about it, and basically stuck that same screenshot in a thread here whilst bemoaning the lack of USEF support for American breeders.
Admittedly, I did not click the ad first. Instead, I just constructed the whole ābreeder marketing ployā in my head and assumed it must be the folks that bred Brunello 
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Probably all going to be supervised unlike the early morning hours at US shows so not the normal prep. Also, many times riders hack their horses then decide if there is a longe needed. Going to make them all schedule a time then back out if not needed could mess up others. So many little quirks that are not normal routine for them.
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Well, whoever bred Brunello could certainly have a successful hunter breeding program if they could replicate him.
(In fact, if they have something similar to him right now, that could be a great horse to include in this class for Liza or her brother to ride.)
There is still a very impressive life-size cut out of him on display in the lobby of the USHJA museum at the Kentucky Horse Park.
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After I wrote that post I went down the rabbithole that is Brunelloās breeding, which revealed a minor tiff on COTH (of course) and the insight that this is likely him: https://horsetelex.com/horses/pedigree/594705/aktino-s
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Could he be almost 30 by now?
I guess itās possible, but wow, time really flies.
I believe that after he retired from the show ring, he went on to be an actual field hunter with the Towells.
Similar to Bold Minstrel back in the day, who won practically everything a horse could possibly win in multiple disciplines, and then hunted with his owner afterwards, I believe.
Iām not super familiar with the showing rules but yeah they still ride them in some of the classes. I think they ride some of the hunters too maybe the show hunters?
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Why? What about him is a surprise?
Or do you mean floored you because he is such a good horse?
I find it so interesting that he found his niche in the hunters when his dad was a shaggy-haired hardmouthed explosive jumper and his mom is from the Qerly line that pops out one 1.60 horse after another. Itās like finding a rose in a patch of hay.
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Iāve met some other Darcos that are really pretty so it doesnāt surprise me. Obviously Lafitte can jump the International Derby height very easily as well.
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Iām just glad he found his niche with a team that has done such a great job with him. He has been winning at the top level in the hunter ring for quite a long time by now.
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Brunello is USEF recorded as a 1998 model, so itās entirely possible that he was actually a 1997. So many passports flew out the window of cargo 747s somewhere over the north Atlantic at that time, that Iām surprised they donāt have a monument of them in Gander.
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Liza is not attending
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Really?
I thought she just put out a podcast about it within the last few days, although I have not had a chance to listen to it yet.
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I swear I read an interview with her going on about how excited she was to be riding on a team with her daughter and how this was going to provide lifetime memories for them. What a disaster.
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She definitely did. There was social media stuff with her and her daughter about them both going.
Hardin is going but not with Elle so it looks like a different team entirely.
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I didnāt know Hardin was still showing hunters.
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