by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 3, 2026
The USA’s Kent Farrington has been supplanted from the number one spot in the Longines Show Jumping Rankings by Germany’s Richie Vogel, who is in that illustrious spot for the first time in his career. Yet the spotlight may get even brighter for the European champion this Sunday, if he can win the world’s richest grand prix, the $5 Million CPKC ‘International’, presented by Rolex, at the Spruce Meadows Masters in Calgary, Canada.
Beyond that prize, such a victory means he would become only the second rider in history to take the Rolex Grand Slam, awarded for a series of wins in the Rolex series. More than the distinction, that achievement also carries a bonus of 1 million Euros.
And the number one rider definitely is on a roll. Even Kent’s victory in the $400,000 Longines Hampton Classic Grand Prix with Greya at the end of August wasn’t enough to hold off Richie, a member of Germany’s gold medal team at the FEI World Championships last month.
His performance in Aachen gave him an edge over Kent, who did not go to the championships. And then Richie won the 5-star Brussels Grand Prix with Gangster Montdesir on the same day that Kent triumphed at the Classic. As a result, he gained a 73-point edge over his American rival.
“It still feels very surreal to hear that I am world number one,” Richie said.
“It is a huge achievement and makes me incredibly proud of what we have been able to achieve together as a team. As a rider, I am certainly far from being the best in the world, but I believe this title is a pretty good indication that I have the very best team around me.
Richie Vogel and Ganster Montdesir.
“Both the people and, of course, the horses, by my side have made this possible. There are countless people I am grateful to who have supported the young boy with big dreams and helped me get to where I am today. Every single one of you is part of this achievement.
“A very special thank you goes to the whole VW team, especially to my grooms, Felicia and Gigi. The passion, dedication and care you give our horses every single day is the foundation of everything we achieve.
“And the biggest thank you, of course, goes to our horses. Having superstars like United, Cloudio and Gangster under my saddle is a true honor, but this achievement belongs just as much to the many other horses who stand slightly in their shadows, as well as those I have had in the past who taught me so much along the way. They are what drive and motivate us every single day.”
Scott Brash, part of the British bronze medal team in Aachen and a three-time former Longines Rankings leader, has moved up a place to third on 3,274, with new world champion Steve Guerdat of Switzerland going from sixteenth to fourth.
After Kent, the next-highest-ranked American is McLain Ward, ninth. Laura Kraut is twelfth on the roster.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 8, 2026
Equine pain management — that’s always a hot topic. It’s something that’s too often the subject of rumors and gossip, with facts going by the wayside.
For what you really need to know about the subject, listen via Zoom to the latest episode in Cornell University’s Equine Seminar Series.
“Equine Pain Management: From the Farm to the Operating Room to the ICU” will be the subject Sept. 15 from 6-7 p.m.
Dr. Jordyn Boesch will discuss strategies, from systemic medications to advanced regional anesthetic techniques used to manage acute pain in horses
The event is free and open to the public, but it requires registration at this link.
Dr. Jordyn Boesch is an associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cornell. She is also an adjunct associate professor at New York University, where she collaborated on research on the neurobiology of pain. She established the multidisciplinary, collaborative Cornell University comparative pain program to further clinical service, research, and education in pain management.
When on duty in the equine hospital, she leads a team of staff in the provision of anesthesia and analgesia to equine patients, including continuous infusion of analgesic medications, epidural injection/ catheterization, peripheral nerve blocks, and neurolytic procedures. She also coordinates an elective course for third-year veterinary students entitled Animal Pain.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 8, 2026
Air vests have grown exponentially popular among riders, seeking a way to protect themselves if — or rather, when — they fall off.
Trainer Jimmy Torano began wearing one after his friend and client, Daryl Portela, was badly injured in a 2020 fall.
A year after Daryl’s accident, Jimmy recounted, “We had talked about her wearing a vest and it never materialized and she had that bad fall and I said, `We’re ordering them.’ From that day forward we wear them in every class.
“In the old days, we didn’t wear seat belts, we didn’t wear helmets,” Jimmy pointed out.
Now, of course, we can’t imagine life without those items.
“Change is hard. This is my choice. Everyone’s got to make their own decision, and this is mine,” Jimmy said.
It also has been the decision of many others. A prominent example is Laura Kraut, an Olympic medalist and high-profile regular on the U.S. show jumping team, whose omnipresent vest is visible in the way it blends with her jacket.
While some riders may feel safer with a vest, U.S. team physician Mark Hart pointed out there are pertinent questions about them that have yet to be answered.
Every rider can fall, even the world’s best.
He chairs the Equestrian Safety Vest Working Group, which is doing much-needed research on the subject.
Dr. Hart spoke recently during a U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Town Hall, along with Dr. Michele Hollis, chair of USHJA’s safety committee.
Many are “wondering what data is behind this? Are they (the vests) really safe? What injuries do they prevent?” Hart said.
The working group wants to create something similar to the Virginia Tech helmet rating system, which would help people make educated judgments about buying a vest. At present, there are no international certification standards for safety vests, unlike the situation with helmets.
“We need real science, we need real data. It does not exist,” said Hart.
“We have to go back to square one.”
However, as he noted, “It soon became apparent this wasn’t a U.S. problem; it was a worldwide problem.”
For that reason, he pointed out, it made sense to think internationally and have the FEI create the Equestrian Safety Vest Working Group.
Jimmy Torano’s son, JJ, wears an air vest.
The 12-member scientific panel of international experts includes not only physicians, but also biomechanical engineers and representatives from other disciplines and sports, such as horse racing, downhill skiing and motocross, along with some biomechanical experts involved in automotive safety.
There are several focus groups; for instance, a rider advisory panel surveys why riders wear a vest, or why they don’t, and deals with their concerns. As Hart noted, issues with the vests could be that they don’t allow a sufficient range of motion, or that those wearing them can’t tuck and roll in a fall because the vests inflate (which is the point of any protection they provide).
The manufacturers’ focus advisory group includes people who have technical expertise as to what they can produce, and what they can’t.
Hart noted different national federations around the world are helping obtain vital information. The scientific panel had input from other advisory panels about what knowledge will be needed.
Laura Kraut’s safety vest is visible in this photo.
A first step for research is “getting a very comprehensive video analysis of falls and what actual injuries are happening worldwide,” according to Hart.
Eventing, a discipline in which cross-country falls are a regular occurrence, has the best data base; the hunter/jumper sport doesn’t have it to the same degree, Hart pointed out. The videos are vital because they can be used to create computer models showing the forces involved in falls and what particular injuries result.
Serious falls are a rare event, so researchers have to learn as much as they can with data from those incidents. A drop box is being established where videos depicting falls can be deposited. All information will be kept anonymous. Hart urged widespread participation.
“We all as members can contribute to this project to make everybody safer and help our sport.”
That’s especially crucial in the atmosphere of social license to operate that has the public’s eye firmly fixed on what happens in equestrian sport.
Hart notes several research papers about the effects of vests are contradictory or did not reach a conclusion. An independent audit from the FEI found fence-related factors account for less than 10 percent of the variability in horse falls.
A wider analysis from the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney found that riders wearing air jackets had 1.7 times the odds of serious or fatal injury — with the authors explicit that causation was not established and confounders were likely.
According to a 2016 crash study, air jackets reduced predicted severe chest injury risk from 94 percent to 81 percent, while still concluding fatal injury remains highly likely when a horse lands on a rider.
“When we’re dealing with a 1,000 kilogram animal at speed, at heights, we are not going to make this 100 percent safe; just like we drive cars every day, there’s going to be accidents,” Hart pointed out.
“But can we reduce the severity of the injuries when a fall inevitably happens?”
It is not only air vests being examined, but also traditional foam body protectors, which eventers wear under their air vests.
“It’s going to be an incremental process. We’re always going to be working to make riding safer for the horses and the athletes. Are safety vests going to help everything? No,” Hart said.
But there are other things that can be done in the interests of safety. In terms of decreasing severe injuries, with more than protective gear to be considered. Hart noted a number of factors involved with prioritizing prevention, including Minimum Eligibility Requirements for riders and horses before moving on to the next level, as well as focused training and in eventing, frangible fences that fall when struck by a horse’s hooves or legs.
Questions or comments on the subject can be directed to medical@fei.org
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 31, 2026
An FEI Tribunal panel has determined that Australian dressage Olympian Heath Ryan committed abuse by whipping a horse 42 times in a row during a training session, then delivering blows nine more times, as seen in a May 2023 video.
Ryan, also a three-time Australian three-day event champion, had been provisionally suspended by the FEI in June 2025. A decision in the matter that was released last week stated the suspension would end on Dec. 12, 2026, 18 months after its inception.
The punishment also included a fine of 3,000 Swiss francs, as well as 3,000 Swiss francs in court costs.
Another whipping case that drew attention was the suspension of British dressage multi-gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin, who was suspended for striking a horse with a longe whip in a private training session. She missed the 2024 Olympics as a result.
Calling the Ryan whipping process “constant and consistent,” this month’s FEI decision stated “each strike followed the last with no pause and no hesitation, leaving the horse no opportunity to respond. Even a single whip may be excessive if applied with too much force.”
In his response, Ryan contended the use of the whip was justified because “the horse had developed extremely dangerous behavior. It had attacked and severely injured its owner and placed her in intensive care. The owner had decided the horse should be euthanized unless it could be re-educated.”
The videotaped session was the first occasion on which Ryan rode the horse, describing the animal as being “on the verge of extreme aggression.”
According to an expert report presented to the FEI by Dr. Rachel Murray, the first video shows at least 41 whip strikes, delivered at an average
of 1.3 strikes per second, with only about 0.75 seconds between impacts, “applied with high power by a large rider to the same location, continuously and without allowing the horse time to respond, such that the whipping had no rational training value.”
Dr Murray concluded that the whip was used excessively and as punishment, without release and contrary to recognized learning theory. She also identified “signs of stress, pain and conflict in the horse.”
Ryan responded that he had applied recognized Equitation Science principles, including negative reinforcement with progressive escalation of aids and immediate release upon response. The videos showed only the escalation phase after lighter aids had been given and ignored, and that the assertion in the FEI claim of “no interruption” was inaccurate.
Ryan added the whip was “applied carefully with close attention to timing, duration and release,” and he was “careful not to cross into a fear-state.”
The whip was in his left hand. Ryan noted he was right-handed, contending if he had been trying to hit the horse with strength, the whip would have been in his right hand.
Denying the charges, Ryan maintained the conduct alleged did not meet the threshold of abuse under Article 142 of the FEI’s general regulations, “whether assessed legally, scientifically, or by reference to accepted equine-welfare principles.”
Calling the penalty disproportionate and punitive, he maintained it failed to account for the substantial punishment already suffered through
reputational, professional and financial losses arising from the interim suspension.
Noting he had produced 15 Grand Prix dressage horses over his career, Ryan calculated he had spent a minimum of 1,930,500 minutes training and
competing Grand Prix dressage horses, during which time he had never been accused of abuse, abusive training methods, misuse of aids, horse welfare
issues, or bringing the FEI or the sport into disrepute. The 60 seconds of video represented 0.0000518 percent of the time he had spent riding, training and caring for horses.
Some prominent people in the sport submitted comments in support of Ryan.
Among them was U.S. eventing star Boyd Martin, who trained with Ryan before coming to America from Australia. He made the point that the footage omitted “30 minutes of patient work beforehand and the horse’s compliance at the end. There was no pattern, history or prior complaint.”
Australian Wayne Roycroft, a four-time Olympian and a former chair of the FEI Eventing Committee, stated that he was initially concerned by the video. However, he pointed out the context was a horse that had seriously injured its owner and faced euthanasia. In his view, the video shows Ryan asking the horse forward with consistent aids and no conflicting signals. He noted the horse has since been ridden without incident.
Roycroft, who has known Ryan for 45 to 50 years, was troubled that testimony may have been sought to support a predetermined narrative. He stated that he would trust Ryan with his own horses.
The FEI Tribunal panel that issued the ruling was composed of Canadian Brian Ward, the chairman; Armand Leone of the US. and Yuri Yagi of Japan.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 3, 2026
GRAND PRIX Group, the company that bought the Chronicle of the Horse a year ago, has purchased the World of Show Jumping website. The site has been in existence since 2011.
Vincent Goehrs, president of GRANDPRIX Group. stated, “World of Showjumping has been built patiently on the quality of its editorial work alone, and it is followed today by the world’s best riders and by enthusiasts alike. This is exactly the kind of media outlet whose development we want to support.
“Following The Chronicle of the Horse in the United States, this acquisition allows us to cover international showjumping with a global English-language voice, and to better serve our advertising partners seeking a consistent presence across all the major equestrian markets.”
Only one member of The Chronicle’s editorial staff remains from the time of GRAND PRIX’s purchase. Goehrs said with the website acquisition, however, “The editorial line of World of Showjumping remains unchanged.”
In addition to the Chronicle, the group’s media division now covers French-speaking Europe with GRANDPRIX.info and Studforlife.com, and The Netherlands with Horseman.nl, and international showjumping with World of Showjumping.
“The online media landscape has changed significantly since we started the website,” said World of Show Jumping’s founders, Jannicke Naustdal and Jenny Abrahamsson, as they commented on the sale.
“Over the past couple of years, we have increasingly recognized the need for additional resources to ensure that the website can continue to develop, evolve, and grow.
“We believe this acquisition will provide World of Showjumping with what it needs to reach its full potential, while simultaneously safeguarding the values that have always been at the heart of the website for all the experience and knowledge we have gained along the way.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 6, 2026
The honor and self-confidence of Gemma Stevens were reaffirmed in dramatic fashion with a fault-free show jumping effort Sunday aboard Chilli Knight at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials, capitalizing on her cross-country lead to claim top honors.
The victory was special for more than just the obvious reason, which is having a British rider win a British event — one that is regarded as the world’s most difficult 5-star.
But it also came just three weeks after Gemma was eliminated at the FEI World Championships in Aachen following three cross-country refusals with Flash Cooley.
Gemma, 41, was a member of the British squad that won gold at August’s title meet, but her effort was the drop score under the formula where only the best three totals count. She called the experience, understandably, one of the lowest points in her career. Although she was able to stand on the podium at Aachen with her teammates, she felt “horrendous” guilt at her personal outcome.
The new champion, who won her first 5-star at Bicton in 2021, proudly was able to finish Burghley on her dressage score of 29.6 penalties. Just one percent of competitors in the last 20 years have finished on their dressage score at Burghley, according to EquiRatings, and Gemma’s winning margin was the biggest since Blyth Tait’s in 1998.
Gemma wound up with a huge distance between her and her compatriot, second-place Katie Magee and Treworra, who added a rail and time penalties in the final phase, to end on 43 penalties.
That edge would have enabled Gemma to topple three rails and incur time penalties if required to gain the victory. But she needed nothing of the kind as she wrapped up a stellar competition for herself and “Alfie,” a son of the great Chilli Morning. Alfie is out of King’s Gem, the mare on whom Gemma started her 5-star career in earnest.
Gemma and Alfie were popular winners.
Considering her achievement, Gemma said, “This represents 25 years of work and finally I have managed to win a ‘big B,’ ” meaning Burghley or Badminton.
“We so nearly won Badminton a couple of years ago, and I have just known in my heart of hearts that there was a big win in this horse. We just needed our stars to align, and everything has aligned this week.”
She received her trophy in a presentation from the 1971 winner, Princess Anne.
New Zealand’s Tim Price, number one in the world, toppled from second after cross-country to eleventh overall on Global Quest after dropping a rail at the second fence on course, then incurring knockdowns in the double and triple combinations. His 12 faults put him on a score of 48.9 penalties.
The top U.S. rider was Caroline Pamukcu, third with HSH Blake after dropping a rail at the first fence in the show jumping to wind up with a score of 44, one penalty more than Katie. Caroline was the best-placed Burghley first-timer in the competition, and the first American to make the Burghley podium since 2012.
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. (Libby Law Photo)
She also enjoyed a reclamation of her own, because she had been in a similar position to Gemma at Burghley, since Blake stumbled at a fence during the cross-country at the world championships and her subsequent fall eliminated her. But she still was able to stand on the podium in Aachen with her country’s bronze medal contingent.
The only other U.S. rider to complete Burghley was another world championships bronze medal team member Will Coleman, fault-free in jumping with Very Dignified, but slow on cross-country to end in a very respectable seventh place (47.2).
“For me, Burghley is the ultimate in our sport, the crown jewel of 5-star eventing. It’s the ultimate test. It’s a wonderful place. It’s like riding in a fairy tale and I can’t wait to come back,” said Will, adding, “But 2026 has treated me well.”
He won the Avebury trophy for the best cross-country round, as judged by two-time Burghley winner Pippa Funnell. That’s pretty special, especially considering it was the mare’s first 5-star.
Rosemary Barlow presents Will Coleman with the Avebury trophy, named in honor of her three-time Burghley winner, ridden by Andrew Nicholson.
Jennie Brannigan had been in twelfth place after cross-country with FE Lifestyle, but the horse was held, then spun, at the final horse inspection.
“Unfortunately, he pulled his bell boot off before the Trout Hatchery (obstacle 19 on cross-country) and has an over-reach on the inside and outside of his right front,” said Jennie.
While the ground jury did not pass him, Jennie emphasized the bright side: “most importantly, he is just fine.”
A total of 26 horses finished the event, from a starting field of 48. The other horse who didn’t make it to the end on Sunday was Benedict Radau, ridden by Matthew Heath of Great Britain, who was eliminated after knockdowns and a refusal in show jumping.
Switzerland’s Nadja Minder, the leader after dressage with 19-year-old Toblerone, finished fifth with a single knockdown atop the oldest horse in the competition.
Was this his last 5-star? The rider won’t commit, giving an “age is just a number”-type reply to the question. She explained any such decision should be made on what the horse wants to do, as opposed to making it based only on age.
A highlight of the day was the retirement ceremony for 19-year-old Ballaghmor Class, who got a standing ovation from the crowd. Many tears were shed at his farewell.
The Irish-bred gelding made Burghley the first of his four 5-star wins in 2017, and went on to win it again in 2023. He also was on the 2021 gold medal Olympic team.
“Kids have dreams and because of him, my dreams came true,” said rider Oliver Townend, who considers the horse he calls Thomas his best friend.
“Burghley is part of me. I first went there as a two-year-old when my dad competed as an amateur in 1984. It is something that has been a very important part of my life, the most special event you can win,” noted an emotional Oliver.
Click here for final results
