by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 11, 2026
John Layton has been named the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s 2025 USEF Combined Driving Volunteer of the Year award, something well-deserved for the amount of time he gives to the sport.
He is president of the Gladstone Equestrian Association Gladstone Driving, and trains young drivers at his Tailspin Farm in Juliustown, part of Springfield, Burlington County, N.J.
John Layton in action; he competes when not volunteering. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
John was honored for his generosity and commitment to the discipline, according to USEF.
“His dedication has been instrumental in promoting the sport for youth drivers and the continued development of the sport in the Northeast,” the award announcement stated.
“I was kind of surprised,” said John, noting “it’s a nice award, I was happy to get it.”
He has been instrumental in giving combined driving a lift, particularly in the Northeast. One of the ideas that boosted improvement was the driving derby series he conceived. Derbies were held in five different locations last year.
He presented one at the Horse Park of New Jersey, one at Gladstone and one at the Delaware-based DelMarva driving club, (the Mar stands for Maryland, the Va for Virginia). Brandywine Valley Driving Club in Pennsylvania also staged one, and another was held at My Lady’s Manor in Maryland.
John said the derbies brought seven new people into the combined driving ranks. For what is a relatively small sport in the U.S., that constitutes a significant number.
“I think in the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, it’s growing,” said John about combined driving.
That area, once a vibrant driving region, lost drivers who moved south or passed away. Driving also is not an inexpensive discipline. But the derbies make it more affordable, in terms of money and time.
“How do you know if you like it (combined driving) until you try something small?” he asked.
“The derby is cheap, it’s fun, it’s easy access, it’s entry level — coming in where you do the cones and the obstacles together. if you want to be there for a half-hour you can leave. You’re not stuck there.”
It’s held on a cross-country course. John explained a driver goes through Cones 1 through 5, then takes on obstacle one. Next are Cones 6 though 10, with obstacle two after that.
“Then Cones 11 through 15 and then the finish. that’s your run,” John explained.
“You get two runs; the fastest score wins.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 9, 2026
He did it again. Christian Simonson earned his second Personal Best score of the week at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, taking Friday night’s World Cup freestyle qualifier with a total of 81.445 percent on the steady Indian Rock.
Christian Simonson enjoyed yet another personal best at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival.
Their performance to themes from the Rocky movies (Rocky is the stallion’s nickname for obvious reasons) wowed a packed house in Wellington, Fla., with spectators giving him a score of 83.213 percent. The victory means Christian has earned one of the three North American berths for the FEI World Cup Final to be held in Ft. Worth, Texas, during April.
Christian, 23, had a personal best of 76.043 percent in Thursday’s Grand Prix. He is coached by Olympic veteran Adrienne Lyle under the banner of Zen Elite Equestrian, which owns Rocky. The horse was ridden in the Paris Olympics for the Dutch team by Emmelie Scholtens before Christian took over the reins with incredible success.
His freestyle’s degree of difficulty was rated more than 9 by all five judges, and he earned many other 9s for choreography, music, sublime renderings of passage, two-time change and the right pirouette. After his final halt, he seemed both overwhelmed and overjoyed, putting his hands over his eyes as the glory of the moment struck him.
Christian Simonson has an emotional moment after his marvelous Grand Prix Freestyle.
“It was a really emotional day for so many different reasons,” Christian said.
“Being in Florida, I always watched Friday Night Lights and hoped one day i would get to do that,” he commented about his debut with Rocky in the arena under those lights.
“That was one part of today. Another part was the gratitude to be able to ride such an amazing horse. That in itself made me so emotional. And the other part was just thinking of Adrienne and our team and so much support. I felt so much gratitude and love for everyone. i just felt like the luckiest person ever.”
As for Rocky, Christian said, “He is the most special, special guy. i don’t have enough words to say how much gratitude I have for him.”
Californian Genay Vaughn, who rode in the World Cup Finals last year with Gino, finished second on that mount with a score of 75.790 percent. Ashley Holzer aboard Hawtins Floriano was third with 75.010 percent.
Click here for Freestyle results
In the Grand Prix Special Saturday, Marcus Orlob and his 2024 Olympic mount, Jane, seemed to have tamed her tendency to spook and delivered a smooth test marked at 74.681 percent. He also won the Grand Prix for the Special last week.
Marcus Orlob and Jane. ( Photo ©Centre Line Media)
Describing his ride, Marcus said, “On the first [extended trot] diagonal, she had her ears up and I said ‘Go!’ and then I thought, ‘Whoa, this is way too much engine.’ But she settled nicely.” He rides the mare for her owner, Alice Tarjan, and has training help from Christine Traurig, the chef d’equipe of the US Dressage Team.
“Unfortunately, we had a little bobble in the ones (one tempi changes),” he said, referring to the mishap that brought him marks of 5 across the board.
“But then the other ones on the center line were good. I’m happy for the horse to have a drama free test and hopefully it continues that way. I try to keep things really busy for her, and it’s slowly paying off. We don’t have a magic weapon, it’s just time, consistency and giving the horse trust.”
Click here for Special results
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 3, 2026
Diane Crump, the first woman to ride professionally as a jockey in U.S. pari-mutuel races, succumbed to brain cancer Jan. 1. She was 77.
Six jockeys protested and refused to ride in her 1969 racing debut, where she was protected by security guards. But she persisted.
Another of her “firsts” was being the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970, a year after her debut at the track. She finished fifteenth of 17 on Fathom, but a precedent was set. However, another woman did not ride in the derby until 14 years later. Diane would win 228 races before retiring at age 50 in 1998. The jockey went on to a new career buying and selling horses in Virginia.
Following her groundbreaking lead at the track were women who went on to great achievements as jockeys. They included Julie Krone, Rosie Napravnik and Donna Barton Brothers.
Speaking to the Thoroughbred Daily News a few years ago, Diane reflected, ” I think I rode a good race and I had the potential to be a really good rider. I never got to show it because I was never put on a top horse. I won races on horses that paid $100, horses that were 99-1. I beat top riders coming down to the wire. You need to ride a certain amount of horses to get proficient at it. It took longer for me because of how few horses I got to ride. That my biggest disappointment.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 2, 2026
The long-running legal drama connected with dressage trainer Michael Barisone continues, nearly four years after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity on an attempted second-degree murder charge involving the 2019 shooting of a tenant at his farm.
Last week, he decided to appeal a decision by the U.S. Center for SafeSport that would make him permanently ineligible to be on the grounds of U.S. Equestrian Federation licensed, endorsed or sponsored competitions. It supercedes what was previously a temporary suspension. SafeSport stated the reasons for the new sanction as “sexual harassment; emotional misconduct and violation of national governing body policies/bylaws.”
However, SafeSport’s notice of the penalty stated it was not final and subject to appeal.
Meanwhile, a November lawsuit which amended a previous complaint filed by Barisone’s lawyer, Steven Tarshis, against the U.S. Equestrian Federation contended USEF had failed in its duty to Barisone by not taking action against Kanarek when he informed the organization that she was threatening him. The lawsuit also includes information about three women, one of whom was not a USEF member, who got harassing messages from Kanarek. The lawsuit stated no investigation was undertaken by the Federation when the women reported Kanarek’s actions.
That “clearly violates USEF’s Governing Documents, including published rules and member protection standards,” Barisone alleged in his lawsuit.
“USEF failed to take appropriate action, initiate required procedures, or enforce its disciplinary mechanisms, thereby breaching its obligations to protect the Claimants (the three women) and the Plaintiff, and maintain a safe and ethical equestrian environment.”
The lawsuit contends “the inescapable fact is that had the USEF met its legal obligation under the SafeSport Act and/or its Governing Documents, the only reasonable conclusion one could reach is that Kanarek’s Temporary Suspension would have summarily been imposed upon her by the USEF and an investigation would have commenced leading to the wealth of irrefutable evidence of her habitual violation of the SafeSport Code of Conduct and the Governing Documents of the USEF which, without a doubt, would have led to a more permanent sanction or lifetime ban imposed upon her in 2018, or at the latest, early 2019.
“Such sanctions would have become public knowledge and would have prohibited, under the SafeSport Code, other USEF members, and professionals, including the Plaintiff, from engaging in any professional equestrian activities with Kanarek, including her training.”
But in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, USEF termed it, “the latest chapter in the on-going, ill-fated saga by which Plaintiff Michael Barisone seeks to hold others accountable for his attempted murder of Lauren Kanarek.”
USEF cited previous suits by Barisone against “more than one dozen disparate individuals and entities” including Kanarek and her immediate family.
A psychiatrist testified during Barisone’s 2022 trial that Barisone felt threated by Kanarek and her boyfriend, fearing he would be killed and wanting to defend himself. When Kanarek, who was also a student at Barisone’s farm in Long Valley, N.J., was asked during the trial whether she was bent on destroying him, she answered, “at some point, yes.”
The Federation termed as “pure speculation” Barisone’s contention “that the USEF’s alleged failure to refer earlier complaints about Ms. Kanarek to the U.S. Center for SafeSport would, ‘without a doubt,’ have resulted in the imposition of sanctions upon, or a lifetime ban against, Ms. Kanarek that, in turn, would have required Plaintiff to terminate his relationship with her before it reached its boiling point and he shot her.”
The USEF contended that “Because there is simply no ‘connective tissue’ between the USEF’s alleged responsibility to suspend and/or report Ms. Kanarek to the U.S. Center for SafeSport (a responsibility which did not exist) and Mr. Barisone’s decision to shoot Ms. Kanarek, this action should be swiftly dismissed with prejudice, and allowed to take its place alongside the numerous other legal challenges Plaintiff has desperately filed arising from his shooting of Ms. Kanarek.”
Tarshis, who has until Jan. 23 to file a response to the USEF motion to dismiss, noted in an interview that “the cause of the insanity seems to always be overlooked, that she drove him crazy. The campaign of terror that she wreaked upon him for well over a year that caused (him) to be insane.
“This lawsuit is very simple; under the governing documents of an NGB (national governing body of a sport), does an NGB have a responsibility to protect one of its members…(from) a known, perceived and well-documented danger that has been presented to them over and over? That is what this case is about.”
He added, “the incidents where there are confrontations between members are unfortunately not a rarity. It happens a lot. You’re telling me you as a governing body for my sport doesn’t have an obligation to protect me? Where do I go, if not to you?”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 31, 2025
As the new year gallops toward us, let’s take a little half-halt to look back on 2025 and see where we’ve been, before we turn our attention to where we’re going.
At the high end, the wealthy who want to participate in horse sports are doing just fine, as you would expect. But it’s a different story not only for those aspiring to the highest levels of sport without a bankroll, but also for almost anyone else seeking significant equestrian involvement. Where are the backyard stables, as well as facilities that cater to beginners or trail riders? They have disappeared, or often seem to be in the process of doing so.
Concerns over the cost of showing — and indeed — even of keeping horses, have dominated thoughts in 2025 as never before. The worries rose to new levels and seem destined to continue on that course unless some answers are found. Don’t expect one solution, however. There are unique ways to handle the situation for different segments of the equestrian sports population. New groups, such as the United Dressage and Jumping Club, are putting forward alternative concepts, trimming cash outlays while avoiding the sport’s governing bodies. And now there’s even a new U.S. Equestrian Trainers Association.
Thoroughbred racing also is having well-publicized troubles. It is interesting to see how a group in Florida is trying to find a way forward in that state, where the future of the state’s largest track is under threat. Whether it’s showing, horse-keeping or racing, many need to focus and contribute their thoughts.
On the controversy front, enactment of a new international rule concerning blood on show jumpers in competition will not end the conversation about this difficult subject among other disciplines. In the era of social license to operate, horse sport has to worry about public acceptance, as well as what’s right for the horses.
In September, the U.S. Equestrian Federation released a set of horse welfare guidelines under the title, “Protecting Horses.”
Some high-profile abuse cases also were resolved in 2025. U.S. dressage rider Cesar Parra was suspended for 15 years “for violating principles of horse welfare,” resolving accusations that received massive publicity and comment. In another abuse case, it was a 20-month suspension for eventer Andrew McConnon after a public outcry.
In happier news on the competition front, dressage has a deserving new number one, modest Belgian role model Justin Verboomen, who carefully brought along Zonik Plus from an untrained two-year-old to a superstar earning scores over 90 percent. He is the European Champion and has his eye on the 2026 world championships.
Justin Verboomen enjoys a special link with Zonik Plus.
Great Britain’s Scott Brash defied the odds with Hello Jefferson to win the world’s richest (and most difficult) show jumping grand prix, the $5 million (Canadian) CPKC International, on top of gaining attention for a brilliant comeback when he lost his reins for a moment in the European Championships. He went on to win the International Jumper Riders Club top 10 competition in December.
A change of venue for the 2028 Olympic equestrian competition was announced, which meant the hosting will be done by Santa Anita racetrack, where McLain Ward won the grand prix in November against the magnificent backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains.
Santa Anita
For U.S. high performance, this was a year without major international championships — the Olympics were in 2024, the world championships are in 2026 and the Pan American Games in 2027. But jumper riders distinguished themselves anyway; Kent Farrington ended the year as world number one, Laura Kraut is the world’s highest-ranked female jumper rider at number seven and Karl Cook won the grands prix of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Falsterbo, Sweden.
In the dressage rankings, Christian Simonson was the highest-ranked U.S. rider at number 15, making an enormous leap from number 151. Boyd Martin was world number two in eventing, while Cosby Green clinched the tenth spot.
A landmark of 2025 saw the new USEF Open competitions in the Olympic disciplines make their debut in Virginia, California and Florida.
As is often the case these days, children of professional equestrians took major equitation titles. JJ Torano, the 2024 Dover Saddlery/USEF Medal winner, added the ASPCA Maclay to his collection. He’s the son of show jumpers Jimmy and Danielle Torano. Olivia Sweetnam, the daughter of Irish show jumper Shane Sweetnam and his wife, Ali Sweetnam, won the Dover Saddlery/USEF Medal.
Milestones during the year included the fiftieth anniversary of Dressage at Devon, and the hundredth of Union County, N.J.’s Watchung Stables, happily bucking the trend that has closed so many lesson facilities.
Ben Ebeling gives a thumbs up during Dressage at Devon’s 50th anniversary.
The Winter Equestrian Festival showgrounds in Wellington, Fla., got new life after a complete refurbishment, with more to come, after its former owners bought it back.
Several key people left leadership positions in 2025. Karyn Malinowski, the founding director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center took a well-deserved retirement. Desert International Horse Park made headlines at the end of July with the sudden departure of CEO Steve Hankin, whose leadership had given a new identity to the former HITS Thermal, Calif., facility. And the CEO of the Maryland 5-star event departed, as did several others connected to that competition. (Read more at this link.)
Horses who retired included Explosion W, British rider Ben Maher’s 2021 Olympic individual gold medal show jumping mount, and Tamie Smith’s ride, Kentucky 5-star winner Mai Baum.
Mai Baum.
New Jersey’s Essex Horse Trials, a competition that has had plenty of ups and downs during its long history, returned as a one-day fixture with great success. Trainer and judge Marilyn Payne was determined to keep it going, despite fears it would not be held again.
Moorland Farm is a special venue for the Essex Horse Trials.
As always, we take extra time to think about the special people and horses we lost during the year. Click this link to read a story about those who passed away over the last 12 months. If you want more detail on the year gone by, click on the “previous columns” link on the masthead of this website and scroll through our coverage. You can do the same with the On the Rail archives.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 2, 2026
Ian Balding, the British trainer of the great Mill Reef among many top-class horses, has died at the age of 87.
A social media post from Park House Stables called him, “A wonderful family man, a hugely successful racehorse trainer and a brilliant sportsman.
He was champion trainer in 1971, the year when Paul Mellon’s homebred Mill Reef won the Derby, Eclipse, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
A second-generation trainer and a successful rider over jumps as an amateur, in 2002 he passed the Park House Stables license to his son, Andrew, now a multiple Classic-winning trainer in his own right.
His daughter, Clare Balding, is a broadcaster and author.
In a tribute to her father on Instagram, she said, “My Dad was one of a kind. Fearless, funny and charming, he was an all-round sportsman, a great trainer and a beautiful horseman. He loved his dogs, his horses and his family – probably in that order. He shared with me his passion for sport and taught me to be brave enough to chase a dream, even if it seemed impossible. We’ll miss him so much.”
