by Nancy Jaffer | May 1, 2026
Horse show manager, competitor and author Marnye Langer views the equestrian world from a multi-dimensional vantagepoint. She is involved on a personal basis with running the Hansen Dam Horse Park in Los Angeles and staging eight U.S. Equestrian Federation Channel II Gold Coast shows there every year.
Her knowledge of what are often termed “local” shows — whether affiliated with USEF, breed organizations, state and county associations or run independently — is both personal and broad-based. She warns that these shows are in danger of disappearing; indeed, too many already have gone that route, while others are hanging on by a thread. That isn’t just in California; it’s true across the country.
Since many people get their start with equestrian competition at these fixtures, losing them further imperils a future already threatened by high costs, horse farms lost to development and the draw of other activities and sports.
While a great deal of attention is paid to the top levels of equestrian competition, including this spring’s World Cup Final and August’s world championships, the ranks of those competing at such highlights eventually will need to be replenished by athletes who got their start somewhere. The Olympics is not anyone’s first show.
But expectations these days often are unrealistically elevated at every level — do riders jumping cross-rails at their first or second show need to do it on expensive state-of-the-art footing? And will they decline to attend shows that don’t offer it, or other luxe amenities?
Marnye, CEO of the Langer Equestrian Group, has thought a great deal about what can be done to improve the situation. She outlines her ideas in an essay that should have as wide an audience as it can get, and although she mentions the hunter/jumper world, the thoughts expressed apply to all breeds and disciplines. Pay particular attention to the message of personal responsibility — the more people who can find a role to play in broadening the base of the sport, the better. Here are her thoughts:
“They say variety is the spice of life.” In the hunter/jumper world, we repeat that idea often. We want options, flexibility and a full calendar of competitions to choose from. But if we’re honest, our actions don’t always match that sentiment.
Because when it comes time to enter a show, too many of us make the same decision: we go where it’s biggest, most convenient or most prestigious. And in doing so, we quietly undermine the very ecosystem that makes those choices possible in the first place.
If we want a future with options, we have to start acting like it.
SUPPORTING LOCAL SHOWS ISN’T CHARITY — IT’S SURVIVAL
Local shows are not just “starter” venues, stepping stones or landing pads for those tired of the financial and time demands of larger shows. They are the foundation of the sport.
Marnye Langer greets a happy young competitor. (Equine Clicks Photography)
They create true access for new riders. They give young horses the mileage they need. They allow amateurs, juniors and professionals to compete without the constant financial and logistical strain of travel. Most importantly, they build the pipeline of horses, riders, trainers and owners that sustains the sport at every level. And let’s be honest — not everyone is chasing the Big Eq or a national final. Some riders simply want a place to put their weekly work to the test.
When local shows struggle, the pipeline narrows. And when it narrows enough, it eventually breaks.
This isn’t theoretical. It’s already happening.
THE DISAPPEARING HORSE SHOW FACILITY
At the same time participation patterns are shifting, the physical places where we can even hold horse shows are disappearing. Rapidly.
Urban sprawl, rising land values and competing development pressures are pushing equestrian venues out of existence. What remains is a shrinking, fragile network of facilities—many of which are operating on thin margins, complex ownership structures or borrowed time.
Look at California. One of the largest equestrian markets in the country, yet viable horse show venues are increasingly scarce.
Many of the remaining facilities exist only because of:
- Land owned by municipalities, the state or universities
- Nonprofit operators barely holding things together
- Private ownership with uncertain long-term plans
- Major investment groups backing mega-facilities
Historically, fairgrounds supported a broad base of competition. But as the sport specialized, those venues fell out of favor and faded away through the 1990s and early 2000s. What replaced them? A handful of purpose-built facilities.
However, the only significant new facility that has emerged in the last decade (in California) is the Desert International Horse Park in Thermal. The rest of the facilities exist with infrastructure and design from several (or longer) decades ago. Some have been able to adapt to changing needs, the rest do their best.
Thinking about the California horse shows themselves, Del Mar National, Santa Barbara Horse & Flower Show and Grand National (aka Cow Palace), all once were central to the sport. Now they’re shells of their former grandeur or outright memories.
And their disappearance didn’t spark widespread alarm. No collective pause. No meaningful intervention.
That should concern all of us.
A FRAGILE ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Here’s the part that’s easy to overlook: most local show managers are not operating with large margins. Their businesses are highly sensitive to participation. A loss of even 15–20 entries can be the difference between breaking even and losing money.
Now layer that reality onto a broader ecosystem:
- Many facilities rely on show rentals to survive
- Show managers rely on entries to operate
- Trainers and riders rely on shows to justify keeping horses in work
- Third parties—vets, feed stores, farriers, tack stores, grooms – all rely on shows as an important part of their income
Remove one piece, and the rest begin to wobble.
In many cases, a single show series supports a significant portion of a facility’s annual operating income. If that series disappears, the facility may not be far behind. When a facility goes, it doesn’t come back. And it’s even worse for those who also have horses boarded there.
Land doesn’t revert to horse use. It gets developed. Permanently.
THE RISK OF CONSOLIDATION
As smaller operators struggle, larger, better-capitalized entities inevitably step in. On the surface, this can look like progress. There’s more investment, more polish and more visibility.
But there’s a trade-off.
When competition among show organizers disappears, so does balance. Pricing power shifts. Opportunities consolidate. And the sport becomes less accessible, not more.
We have to ask ourselves a hard question: Do we want a system defined by broad participation and opportunity or one dictated by a small number of dominant players? Because if current trends continue, that choice may be made for us.
YOU CAN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT LOSING CHOICES IF YOU DIDN’T SUPPORT THEM
This is where the “paradox of choice” becomes real in our world. We say we want options. We say we value local shows. We say we worry about the future of the sport. But if we consistently choose not to support those shows by bypassing them for perceived convenience or prestige, then we are actively contributing to their disappearance.
And once they’re gone, they’re gone.
There is no quick rebuild. No easy replacement. No developer waiting to turn a housing project, golf course or soccer field back into a horse park. It’s just not going to happen.
A CALL TO ACTION
Supporting local shows isn’t about nostalgia. It’s not about resisting progress. It’s about recognizing that the health of the sport depends on a functional, layered ecosystem that includes entry-level opportunities, mid-tier competition, top-level events and the facilities that make all of it possible.
If we want more people to enter the sport—and more importantly, stay in it—we need places for them to go. A variety of places and shows that meet riders where they are in terms of their ability, time and finances. If we want to preserve opportunity, we need to support it where it lives.
That means:
- Entering local shows, even when it’s not the most glamorous option
- Valuing proximity and sustainability alongside prestige
- Understanding that every entry is a vote for what survives
Because in the end, the future of horse showing won’t be decided by what we say we want. It will be decided by where we show up.”
Those who wish to contact Marnye may reach her at this email: marnye@langershows.com.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 30, 2026
Nina Bonnie, a pillar of the Kentucky Horse Park who served as its chairman and founded the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation in 1985, was voted into this year’s class of the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. She was a foxhunter and also highly successful with hunters in the show ring.
The others selected by voters are California hunter/jumper trainer Archie Cox, who is also a steward, judge and clinician, and New Yorker Andre Dignelli, perhaps best known for his successful equitation students, but also skilled in training hunters and jumpers. He won the U.S. Equestrian Team Talent Search finals, and was a Pan American Games medalist.
The historical committee voted to induct the Rigan and Frances McKinney family of Lexington. Ky. The two horse inductees are Catch Me and Lone Star. The Horse Show Of The Year is Devon and the Derby Of The Year is Derby Finals.
The Hall of Fame dinner is May 27 at the Merion, Pa., Cricket Club.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 28, 2026
Canada’s longtime show jumping Olympic medalist and chef d’equipe, Tom Gayford, died over the weekend at age 97.
He rode on Canadian teams for nearly 30 years, beginning in the 1940s until the 1970s. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, he was on the show jumping squad that won Canada’s first gold medal in the sport’s most important competition.
Ten years later, he became the Canadian team’s chef d’equipe, continuing in that role until 1996. He was inducted into both Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, as well as the Jump Canada Hall of Fame, as both a coach and rider.
Michel Vaillancourt, a former Canadian team member and 1976 Olympic individual silver medalist now best known as a course designer, offered this tribute:
“Coach Tom, as we called him, was the chef d’equipe when I came on the scene in the mid-’70s. I will always remember the way he embraced me as a newcomer. He was always willing to share his knowledge with anyone who cared to listen. We certainty had great successes together, including the Pan Ams in 1975 and 1979, many indoors, Olympic and the alternate games in 1980, where as a team, we won the gold.
“All of us riders had tremendous respect for the man. To me, he was a legend, someone I looked up to. Tommy and his dear friend, Jimmy Elder, who was my captain for most of my team appearances, had a unique way of creating a bond between us. Tommy understood the importance of team spirit. All for one and one for all was the motto.
“Tommy was my coach for most of my biggest riding accomplishments, and I am proud and honored to say he was a close friend of mine. RIP my dear friend, I’ll see you on the other side.”
Visitation will be Friday May 1 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Humphrey Funeral Home, 1403 Bayview Ave., Toronto. Everyone is invited to attend and bring their photos and stories.
A private family funeral will be held at a later date.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 27, 2026
The big winners at last weekend’s Defender Kentucky 5-Star appropriately dominated headlines about the historic three-day event, but it’s important to recognize there are many other under-the-radar feel-good stories that also deserve your attention.
One of the most inspiring is the tale of Corvett, better known as Barry, who took his final bow at the level with an impressive ninth-place finish on 40.9 penalties, up from twenty-first in dressage.
Barry enjoys the distinction of having completed a 5-star at every venue in the Northern Hemisphere. Pretty special for a horse that couldn’t get sold, who no one but Emily Hamel could ride properly when the Holsteiner first came on the scene.
The Kentucky Horse Park is where the unicorn started his 5-star career, in 2021. His best 5-Star finish was a very respectable seventh place at Maryland in 2024.
He earned his final 5-star ribbon on his nineteenth birthday at the Horse Park’s biggest competition. While you won’t see him in any more three-days, perhaps he’ll be coming out as a show jumper or in arena eventing. After all, he demonstrated he’s still very fit.
Emily Hamel and Corvett at the Owl Hole. (USEA Photo)
His devoted rider said before cross-country (where he collected only four time penalties) “I really want his last one to be good” — and it was.
Afterwards, she noted, “I did hear some people cheering us on. I know you’re supposed to be focused, but I did hear some cheers, which helps,” Emily said.
Her feisty mount also was free of jumping faults in the final phase, collecting just 0.4 penalties for going slightly over the time allowed.
The Kentucky competition, presented by MARS Equestrian, was the 5-Star debut for another grey gelding and 21-year-old Braden Speck, the youngest rider in the competition. He finished a proud twentieth on his Connemara cross, BSF Liam, moving up from twenty-seventh in dressage.
Braden Speck and HSF Liam. (USEA Photo)
“We made a couple of mistakes along the way, but you know what? We persevered, we got through and that’s what matters.,” he said.
After he lost three horses – one to an aneurysm, another to colic and the third to a tendon injury — Braden became inspired by the veterinarians who cared for them and decided to become a veterinarian himself. He will attend vet school at the University of Pennsylvania.
He got his horse through Annie Goodwin, who died in 2021 after a cross-country schooling accident, yet another tragedy he endured in his short life.
Asked how Annie would have reacted to him finishing in the top 20 with Liam, Braden said, “I think she’d be laughing right now. It means so much that she’s looking out for me. I’m sure she’d be loving every second of watching us go around. I’m glad we were able to do it for her.”
The Wofford award, given to an up-and-coming rider in memory of the late, great Jimmy Wofford, went to Alexander Conrad who rode the thoroughbred Malibu Preacher to nineteenth place, moving up from twenty-eighth after a very lively dressage test.
As always at a big competition, Alexander was wearing his grandfather’s World War II dog tags. The rider believes they have kept him safe, just as they kept his grandfather safe. His grandfather, with whom he was very close, passed away when Alexander was in college. But prior to that, he helped his grandson buy “MP” six years ago.
The dog tags also keep Alexander’s grandfather with the rider during competition, and after finishing cross-country with no jumping penalties, Alexander said, “I bet he’s pretty happy.”
Caroline Martin Pamukcu, second in the 5-Star on HSH Blake, revealed her interesting backstory while discussing her decision to make horses her career, even before she had finished high school. Her parents had put down a non-refundable deposit for her junior year at boarding school ,just before she made a life-changing trip to the North American Young Riders Championships in 2013.
Caroline Martin Pamukcu and HSH Blake. (USEA Photo)
After winning team and individual gold, “I was enjoying it so much,” she said, that she decided not to go back to school but take classes on line instead.
“I remember my dad was absolutely furious,” she mentioned.
“But I told him,`I promise you I’ll do horses and be good at it and make your money back.’”
Instead, the 2024 Olympian noted cheerfully, she has just spent money, whether it belongs to her father, the owners of her horses or her husband. However, she has a successful sales business, so she is paying her way.
She called Young Riders a “turning point” after learning there that “Eventing was such a team sport…it’s bigger than just me, it’s representing your country. That was the day I decided to do this as a career. Thank God it kind of worked out.”
Five-Star winner Will Coleman took a different role on the ground during the dressage competition, having been “suckered” into working with the dedicated Pony Clubbers who march in synchronized style to open and close the white gate to the ring.
Will Coleman in gate-closing mode.
“Give those Pony Club girls credit; that job is not easy,” Will revealed.
“It’s a lot of choreography and really carrying yourselves well out there,” he continued, citing the need for “military precision” in the process.
“I was pretty impressed. That was kind of fun. The girls were great coaches, they knew their jobs. They were able to cover up for my, uh…I think I felt more nervous about moving the board out of the entrance than I did about actually riding my tests. It was fun, they were cute kids.”
And their leader “was not afraid to tell me what to do.”
Liz Halliday watching the action at the Kentucky Horse Park.
One of the most feel-good stories was the return of Liz Halliday to the arena. While she did it on foot, rather than on a horse, everyone was so happy to see her on the scene once more.
“I am overjoyed and so grateful to finally be back in the sport I love,’ she stated.
Liz, you’ll remember, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cross-country fall at the Kentucky Horse Park a month after riding on the U.S. team in the Olympics. She has spent the time since then in hospitals and rehab facilities.
Liz, who just sold her Ocala farm, has others riding her horses as she continues working at getting stronger, with an eye on competing in Para Dressage.
At Kentucky, she watched Boyd Martin guide her Olympic mount, Cooley Nutcracker, to eleventh place, finishing with a double-clear in show jumping.
All our coverage of Defender Kentucky is on this website. Find stories on the main page and in the On the Rail section, or go to the Previous Columns link on the front page to find others.
Click here for the 5-star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 26, 2026
Moments after winning the Defender Kentucky 5-Star Three-Day Event on Diabolo Sunday afternoon, Will Coleman said “I wake up most days and I feel like a pretty lucky guy, but I feel extraordinarily blessed today, not just for this horse, but for the opportunity to ride here at this event and to represent all the people who made something like this happen for a rider like myself.”
Still a bit stunned at how his efforts of many years paid off in big way before a stadium packed with thousands of fans, he observed, “It’s an incredible moment, I’ve dreamed about it, but now that it’s here, it still feels a little bit surreal. Today, I feel a little bit extra lucky, I guess.”
Will obviously is humble as well as hard-working, so it’s important to emphasize it was more than luck that earned him the top honor at the USA’s only 5-star eventing competition this year. The key ingredients were skill, dedication and determination to achieve something that – in hindsight — seemed destined to be. At some point.
He had been hovering on the brink of victory with Diabolo, who was competing in his first 5-Star. Will describes the mount he imported from Australia three years ago as a horse who “has a real conscience. I always feel like Diabolo wants to do his best.”
That gives Will “tremendous peace of mind, knowing he will come in and really try for you.”
The pairing wasn’t quite fault-free in the show jumping that wrapped up the competition at the Kentucky Horse, adding 0.8 time penalties over the Guilherme Jorge-designed course to their dressage score of 27.3 penalties, which had held up through a double-clear trip on cross-country.
As he left the Rolex arena, with a score of 28.1 penalties, Will took his feet out of the stirrups and seemed relaxed, despite waiting to see how things would go for the leader in the standings, New Zealand’s Monica Spencer on Artist.
She had been in the same position last October at the Maryland 5-Star, but had two rails down in show jumping there, which put her in second place at that competition.
This time, it didn’t go as well. She enjoyed only a one-rail margin and the option of a time penalty or two over Will, but in the end, she didn’t come close to the podium. Her “spare” fence vanished at the fourth obstacle, the horsehead oxer, and it was downhill from there, with toppled poles at the liverpool and the B element of the triple combination. She wound up seventh with 36.7 penalties on her thoroughbred, a star in dressage and cross-country. Show jumping needs work.
Will got not only a sterling silver trophy, but also the $130,000 victor’s share of the $400,000 prize money as the payoff for his faith in Diabolo.
“I knew he’d get there, his route was unique,” mused Will, noting his last 4-Star Long was two years ago.
He and his wife, Katie; the horse’s owners “and all people involved all had a high opinion of this horse and felt like he had a high ceiling,” Will reported.
“He struck me as a winner the first time I laid eyes on him. The horse has a real eagerness to him.”
Will knew he was capable of big things “if we could channel it the right way.”
There were many disappointments along that way, not the least of which was the possibility of being on the 2024 Olympic team which didn’t happen when the horse came up with a hoof abcess before the Games. Obviously, they bounced back.
“Every time I’ve been in a rough patch, I’ve always found a way to become a better person and a better horseman,” said Will. “Those kind of down spells have been what helped me become a better version of myself. I always look back on those with a tremendous amount of gratitude.”
He also observed that “Winning a 5 -Star is one of the hardest things to do, if not the hardest, in equestrian sports. I feel like we all deserve the win.”
Just as the weekend’s 4-Star Short winner Tamie Smith enjoyed a unique double, also having been victorious in the 5-star in 2023, Will achieved a similar feat but with the same horse. Diabolo took the 4-star in 2024, while Tamie rode two different horses to her record. So we had a double-double at this event. (Read about the 4-star at this link, or go to the second feature on this page.) Or depending on how you look at it, we could say Will had a triple at Kentucky, because he won the 4-Star in 2025 as well with Off the Record.
It’s worth noting that prior to Tamie’s win three years ago, the last U.S. rider to take the 5-star at Kentucky was Phillip Dutton on Connaught. in 2008. This year, at age 62, he finished eighth with a double-clear in the show jumping on Possante.
Will had only a half-penalty margin over second-place finisher Caroline Pamukcu, who did make the U.S. Olympic team with HSH Blake, her best friend and the namesake of her baby daughter.
Third place went to Great Britain’s David Doel, like Caroline, double clear in the show jumping. He rode the speedy Galileo Nieuwmoed, who, like Will’s horse, made the time on cross-country. His total was 30.8, so everything was close at the top, with less than a one-rail penalty separating the three best.
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 17, 2026
Kevin L Hennessy, Patricia Diamond Hennessey, Stacy Hennessy and Gerry Rushton are inviting friends and admirers of Judy Hennessey to attend a celebration of life for the late 4-H leader July 26 at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J.
Everyone who considered Judy a friend or family is invited to the 2:30 p.m. gathering. Organizers need to get a rough count of who will be on hand, so those who are coming should email judycelebrationoflife@aol.com to let organizers know the number of people in their party.
Judy, who died in December at age 89, was a dedicated 4-H leader in Somerset County, N.J., for 45 years, She passed on her knowledge of horse care to so many children who, as a result, grew up learning the right way to do the best for their animals. In 2016, she was named New Jersey Horseperson of the Year.
Judy had a varied work life. She was the first female groom to go overseas with the U.S. Equestrian Team (her favorite team horse was the tall and impressive San Lucas, Frank Chapot’s Pan Am Games medal mount).
The Bridgewater resident helped Jim Wiebe when his saddlery business was in Oldwick, assisted veterinarian Dr. John Walsh and until shortly before she passed away, worked alongside her dog, Mollie, at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in Hunterdon County.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 21, 2026
Acting on guidance from the U.S. Equestrian Federation and the Virginia State Veterinarian regarding horses that competed at HITS Culpeper this month, the Virginia Horse Center Foundation Board of Directors and Hunter Jumper Committee decided to cancel their facility’s Lexington Spring Premiere Horse Show.
The panels cited “horse welfare as our top priority—and an abundance of caution guiding every decision. We remain steadfast in prioritizing horses’ safety above all else.
A horse that competed at the Culpeper, Va., show was euthanized after contracting the neurological form of EHV-1. Originally, VHC wanted to ban all horses that competed at Culpeper, but USEF said that was against the rules. So VHC took the cancellation action instead.
Meanwhile, the Lexington Spring Encore Horse Show will be held at VHC in Lexington, Va., as planned with enhanced, industry-leading biosecurity protocols. In partnership with Merck Animal Health, VHC is implementing additional preventative measures designed to support horse health and give exhibitors confidence as we return to competition.
VHC stated, “We look forward to welcoming the community back next week.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 26, 2026
Victory in the Cosequin 4-Star Short was well-deserved for Tamie Smith on Sunday at the Kentucky Horse Park, where she was the lone competitor among 31 starters to go clear in the show jumping phase and clinch the title after leading through every segment of the event.
Tamie Smith and Lillet 3 were elated over their Cosequin 4-Star victory.
The Californian became the only rider ever to win both the 4- and 5-Star on what is known as “The best weekend all year,” having topped the 5-Star in 2023 with the now-retired Mai Baum. Tamie has had only one rail down in 23 show jumping starts with Lillet 3, the lone horse to make the elusive 75-second time allowed on the course designed by Guillherme Jorge in the Rolex Arena.
Tamie didn’t think the time was achievable, but she and her coach, Scott Keach, were inspired to go for it. Then Lillet beat the clock.
“She was super I couldn’t have asked for her to be better, ” said Tamie, who ended on Saturday’s cross-country score of 31.3 penalties. Will Coleman moved up with only 1.6 time penalties on Very Dignified to be second with 37.4 time penalties. Next-best timewise, with only 0.4 penalties against the clock was Mia Farley and Invictus, owned by eventing legends Karen and David O’Connor. Invictus had a 38.3 total.
The show jumping was a milestone for Mia, who often has had trouble in that phase.
“I felt normal today,” said Mia,
“I just decided I wanted to ride the best I could. Sammy answered everything, he jumped really well and high. I was impressed with him. It was also nice to hear myself also answer those questions.”
Of Lillet, Tamie noted, “She didn’t get too tense or tight. She just keeps going from strength to strength she was so rideable and tried her heart out I don’t think she touched a rail, she jumped so well.”
What’s next for Lillet, the Holsteiner who came from Germany more than two years ago as an 8-year-old from Andreas Dibowski?
As Tamie noted about the Kentucky 4-star, “everyone considers it like a 5 (Star) Short (format). She’s already done two four longs (4-Star Longs) so i think she’s ready for a 5-star.”
A 5-star certainly looks like the natural step up for the mare, owned by Molly Duda.
After dressage, Tamie led with the 17-yeer-old Danito, but retired him on the cross-country course Saturday when things didn’t go as planned at the fifteenth fence. But Lillet moved right into the top spot after cross-country to take her stablemate’s place on the leaderboard.
Tamie was emotional when fellow eventer and friend Liz Halliday came out to the ring to present an award to her for being the top-placed U.S. competitor in the 4-Star division.
“We always had this thing, we were going to win medals together on teams,” Tamie recounted wistfully about the 2024 Olympian who suffered a traumatic brain injury in an August 2024 fall in Kentucky and has been dedicated to recovering ever since.
“It really was awesome to see how far she’s come. It’s virtually a miracle,” Tamie said.
Liz already has her sights set on competing in Para Dressage, but as Tamie noted “it’s bittersweet,” thinking what might have been.
Click here for 4-Star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 25, 2026
The amazing Kent Farrington did it again: In less than a month, he has won the Rolex US Open $1 million Grand Prix, the Longines FEI World Cup Final and Saturday night, the $340,000 Major League Show Jumping International 5-Star at the Kentucky Horse Park.
He’s number two in the world, but it looks as if he may well be back at number one next month with his amazing record. While the spectacular mare Greya was involved in his last two big victories, this time he rode a new addition to his string, the 9-year-old Mexican-bred Descartes SR, a gelding he began showing in February.
Kent and Descartes SR.
A field of 41 was tested by Guilherme Jorge’s course under the lights in the Rolex arena, with seven managing to qualify for the tiebreaker in the class presented by the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Kent was the only rider to break the 40-second barrier in the jump-off, finishing in 39.92 seconds. His friend and frequent U.S. teammate, McLain Ward, was second with High Star Hero in 40.42 seconds. That’s a significant achievement, because he has been out of action for seven weeks after hitting the ground hard at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla.
Third went to Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz in 40.71 seconds.
Kent called Descartes “a very special horse. This is his first 5-star grand prix. He started out the right way. He’s been an exceptional talent since I started with him. I think he’s an unbelievable horse.”
He rode him twice last fall before deciding to buy him, and began showing him in February. Prior to that, Descartes was ridden by Nicolaj Hein Ruus of Denmark.
Kent couldn’t say enough on behalf of Descartes, who was sent his way by the Pasquel family.
The winner “has so much power for a small horse. He has an incredible stride to the last fence,” commented Kent.
“He’s almost like a racehorse, he really covers the ground and still has the power to give a lofty jump at the final fence, which is a rare contribution of attributes in a horse.”
McLain was enthusiastic about his horse, too.
“I was thrilled with Hero. He jumped brilliant,” said McLain, who noted he had returned to the ring against doctor’s orders.
“I have to be a little bit careful,” said McLain, who injured both his hand and his back in the mishap.”
Kentucky was his first show back, but as usual, he had high expectations.
“I’m always a little disappointed to lose, but to lose to who i consider the best in the world right now in the sport, I guess there’s some salvation in that.”
Shane said his horse’s results “speak for themselves. I’m very lucky to have him. He’s a brilliant jumper.”
A regular team member for his homeland, he’s hoping to ride on the Irish squad for August’s world championships in Aachen, Germany, where he once again is likely to be competing against Kent and McLain.
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 21, 2026
An application by Select Event Group to run the Maryland 5-star in October 2027 is “actively” being prepared, with Paris Olympics 2024 cross-country course designer Pierre Le Goupil on board for the eventing competition, as he was for the 2025 edition.
David O’Connor, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s chief of sport, said the group in May will be presenting a proposal to the organization for resumption of the event next year. The FEI also would have to approve it.
The 2026 competition was cancelled after key personnel departed the organization and the state of Maryland indicated funding would not be available for it.
The event, the first autumn 5-star held in the U.S., ran for five years at a new facility, the Fair Hill Special Event Zone, which also hosts horse racing. The organizing team now is headed by Marissa Melzer, who was the number two person in charge of presenting the 5-star previously.
Boyd Martin, Felix Vogg and Monica Spencer on the podium at the 2025 Maryland 5-star.
“Select is eager to build on the momentum created over the past several years and to thoughtfully broaden what this event can be,” said Alex Corgan, president of Select Event Group, which is the lead organizer for the effort to “reimagine” the event. Select has been involved with the Preakness Stakes, Maryland’s leg of racing’s Triple Crown.
“Our goal is to expand the aperture of supporters and participants — from longtime equestrian fans to new community partners — creating more opportunities for people to engage, contribute, and feel invested in the event’s success. By bringing together a strong team and welcoming all those willing to help make this a success, we believe that we can deliver at Fair Hill an experience that is both world-class in sport and deeply rooted in community.”
He added, “Select intends to expand opportunities for participation from other regional jurisdictions, partners, and organizations both within and beyond Maryland.”
Select already has submitted to USEF an application for presenting the 3-star and Young Event Horse competition that ran with the 5-star. If approved, those fixtures would be held this October as Select partners with Cecil County on the project.
The iconic crab fence has become a symbol of the Maryland 5-star.
County Executive Adam Streight said, “Cecil County is pleased to see the 3-star event continue this year, ensuring the tradition of world-class eventing at Fair Hill remains strong.
“We look forward to working with Select Event Group, who understand the importance of including Cecil Countians and local businesses, along with our partners, to deliver a successful 2026 competition and welcome the return of the Maryland 5 Star in 2027.”
Tim Gardner, a member of the organizing team, said Select is “very motivated to keep this event as an asset for Maryland and believes in it as a business opportunity.”
He noted Corgan “sort of rallied some of the other Maryalnd vendors.”
His involvement, “gets it into the hand of a professional event producer and gives us a really bright future not dependent on state money. It’s a great solution. We’re pretty optimistic.”
