by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 20, 2025
Explosion W, British show jumper Ben Maher’s “horse of a lifetime,” will retire next month in a ceremony that is sure to bring more than a few tears as the special horse says goodbye to his fans and amazing career.
“I always knew he had something special, an incredible will to win and a presence that captured everyone’s attention,” Ben said about the son of Chacco Blue.
“We have shared unforgettable moments together, and it feels right to celebrate his retirement in front of a home crowd at the London International Horse Show.”
Ben Maher and Explosion W.
The Dutch-bred gelding won individual gold with Ben at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the European Championships’ individual silver and team bronze in 2019. He earned many other honors, among them the Super Grand Prix in Prague and the IJRC top 10 final.
The 16-year-old horse belongs to Ben, Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.
Discussing the Dec. 21 ceremony, London International Show Chairman Simon Brooks-Ward commented: “Explosion W is one of the greatest showjumping horses and his achievements with Ben have been a privilege for us all to witness on a global stage. We are honoured that Ben, Charlotte, and Pamela have chosen London International Horse Show as the place to celebrate this remarkable horse’s career. It promises to be an emotional and historic occasion for everyone who loves the sport.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 22, 2025
For the second year in a row, Jessie Springsteen won the $40,000 1.5 meter grand prix at Santa Anita Saturday afternoon, clicking around the jump-off course in 43.93 seconds on Naomi van het Kaisershof, her 2024 victor.
Jessie Springsteen and Naomi van het Keisershof
At the Split Rock 5-star show, Jessie had a good margin over runner-up Natalie Dean and Pedro van d Bariebuis, timed in 46.03 seconds.
Naomi, a 12-year-old Belgian warmblood by Cardento, is in her element at 1.5 meters.
“I went early on in the course so I was really able to stick to my plan,” Jessie explained.
“Sometimes it’s a little bit easier when you just walk in and go with your gut instinct straightaway. She jumps great here. So excited to be back, it’s such a beautiful show, the view is unbelievable,” said Jessie, referring to the moody backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains, which changed color as the sun sank lower.
Jessie pats Naomi for a job well done.
Jessie revealed she has a new horse, an eight-year-old named Rock Star, which is so appropriate, considering her father is Bruce Springsteen. And the horse came with that name, so it obviously was karma.
In 2021, Jessie was on the U.S. silver medal Olympic team in Tokyo, and she would like to try for the podium again when the 2028 Games come to Los Angeles, where she was born.
“That’s something I’m always thinking about and working toward. I’m rebuilding my string right now. It would be a dream come true to compete here,” said Jessie, referring to LA28.
“The venue here is really unbelievable,” she commented.
“It would be so special to have my family and friends come out. They were all cheering at home last time,” she said, referring to the fact that the Tokyo Games were held during Covid, and spectators couldn’t attend..
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 22, 2025
With stars such as Karl Cook and Laura Kraut competing, the $25,000 National Welcome Grand Prix at Santa Anita took on importance greater than the amount of prize money it offered Friday night.
So topping a 62-horse field was a thrill for Della White, who guided Gucci to the win in 31.967 seconds. The runner-up in the class at the Split Rock 5-star show was U.S. team veteran Natalie Dean with Mr. Bombastic in 32.108.
“I was super nervous coming in, because obviously it was against some of best riders here,” said Della.
Della White and Gucci
“My goal was always to go fast, and I had a super smooth round,” she said of her trip on the 11-year-old Holsteiner by Casall.
“Gucci is truly a unicorn – she’s the best horse ever and she tries her heart out every time,” observed Della.
“I love that Split Rock makes every class so special, especially with the victory gallops, and they do an amazing job, especially here at Santa Anita.”
Laura had three horses in the class; her best finish was sixth on Una Mariposa. Karl did not ride in the tiebreaker despite a clean round with Foxy de la Roque because his time did not qualify him for the top 15 format.
The big excitement at the show will be Saturday night in the $400,000 Longines FEI World Cup qualifier that has attracted European Champion Richie Vogel and world number one Kent Farrington and Mclain Ward of the U.S., as well as Ireland’s Conor Swail, who won the World Cup qualifier at Toronto last weekend.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 15, 2025
| Cashew CR, the reliable mount of U.S. rider Alex Matz, delivered one final win Friday night at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair as he took his last bow before retirement.
The 17-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Cassini II x Quinar Z) is owned by Alex’s mother, D.D. Matz, who was on hand with Alex’s father, U.S. Olympic medalist Michael Matz, to watch their son top the field in the $90,000 Winning Round class at the 5-star show in Toronto.
Cashew’s nine-year partnership with Alex included 47 international podium finishes, including two wins at last year’s Royal.
“To have him go out on such a high note is really special; he’s a champion and he should go out with a win,” said Alex.
Alex Matz and Cashew CR at the Royal. (Ben Radvanyi Photography) “We decided a couple of months ago that at the end of this year, he would be retired. He’s given so much to me, the best that we can do for him is to give him a happy retirement where he’s sound and healthy. I’m sure he would do more for us, but he doesn’t owe me anything.”
The 10 top entries from the starting field returned in reverse order of standing for the jump-off. Continuing his Royal streak and staying true to his goal of finishing in the top five in every event, Colombia’s Mark Bluman set a pace of 39.37 seconds as the penultimate rider aboard Phelina de Septon. Alex, however, beat Mark’s clocking by nearly three seconds.
Almost a decade together means Alex and Cashew CR have the advantage of a close partnership.
“He knows all my moves; he knows when I’m going to lean too much one way or the other way, and he figures it out,” Alex said.
“It’s a credit to how smart a horse he is.”
Cashew will spend his retirement on the Matz family farm in Pennsylvania.
$90,000 Royal Winning Round
Friday, November 14, 2025
Rider / Nation / Horse / Faults / Time
1. Alex Matz / USA / Cashew CR / 0 / 36.96
2. Mark Bluman / COL / Phelina de Septon / 0 / 39.37
3. Rene Dittmer / GER / Echo vh Gerendal Z / 0 / 41.06
4. Skylar Wireman / USA / Citoki / 0 / 41.26
5. Vaclav Stanek / CZE / Calippo 57 / 0 / 41.99
6. Adrienne Sternlicht / USA / Los Angeles de la Cense / 0 / 43.15
7. Aaron Vale / USA / Helios du Moulin / 0 / 43.20
8.Kaitlin Campbell / USA / Cosm Hesed / 4 / 39.96
9. Daniel Coyle / IRL / Farrel / 4 / 39.97
10. Daniel Bluman / ISR / Gemma W / withdrawn |
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 10, 2025
The president of the Austrian Equestrian Federation (OEPS) called the change in the blood rule for show jumping enacted by the FEI last week “a clear step backwards.
Elisabeth Max-Theurer, who won Olympic dressage gold in 1980, stated that “blood — especially in the area of mouth or flanks — must never be considered acceptable in equestrian sport. If a horse is bleeding through the influence of a rider, it is a sign that something is wrong. Then the protection of the horse must take precedence — and not the continuation of the competition.”
Austria joins Britain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and other strong equestrian countries inI rejecting the rule change for their national shows.
(Click here to read the story about the change).
The jumping blood rule applies only to that discipline, although there will be future consideration of standardizing the blood rule among the disciplines.
The dressage rule, meanwhile, was broadened somewhat to mandate that the steward shall inform the judge at C if fresh blood is found in the area of the mouth as well as the area of the spurs at the end of the test. Meanwhile, if the judge at C suspects fresh blood from the moment the horse enters the area around the arena until the end of the test, they can stop the test to check for blood. If there is blood, the horse is eliminated; if there is none, the horse may continued.
“The welfare of the horse is above everything,” said Elisabeth, a prominent dressage judge. who is looking at the big picture of the sport beyond her own discipline.
“And we will communicate that way. I think it is our duty to make a mark here. Equestrian sport must not move away from its ethical basis. We must show that sporting success and animal welfare are not a contradiction. Only in this way can we remain credible — to the public, the sponsors and, above all, to the horses themselves.”
She believes, “This regulation puts an additional burden on all parties involved – for the ground jury, for the stewards, for the organizers and the riders. It does not create clarity, but grey areas. Instead of an immediate exclusion, there will be warnings, entries in the “FEI Warning Register” and suspensions and fines for repetition.
“This sounds strict, but is hardly controllable in practice and distracts from the actual question: Why is a horse even seen with blood on the body in the competition? It’s a bad signal to the outside world. Equestrian sport is constantly in the public eye. If the impression arises that blood is tolerated `to a certain extent,’ this massively jeopardizes the confidence in our sport.”
The fact that the change was decided by 56 votes, with 20 nations against it, is “a clear sign that the democratic balance within the FEI has been out of balance. In the FEI today, every member country – whether France with 11,204 registered tournament horses and 5,391 registered athletes or, for example, Angola or Ethiopia with zero registered horses and athletes – has exactly one vote. That’s absurd. Countries without significant equestrian activity decide on regulations that affect the core of our sport,” Elisabeth pointed out.
“We urgently need reform of the voting system,” she emphasized.
“The international ski association (FIS) has demonstrated this: There, the voices are weighted according to the size and importance of the associations. The European equestrian nations bear the responsibility, finance large parts of the system: The entire EEF has 59,096 registered horses and 28,136 athletes but only 42 votes. All other groups in the world have a total of 18,541 registered horses and 13,785 athletes. That is a third of all active people and a quarter of all horses, but they come together to 92 votes.”
As long as the system remains skewed, she said, “one cannot speak of `democratic decisions’ in the true sense. This puts the credibility of the FEI at a lasting risk. Moreover, in Europe, animal welfare is a very important factor. In many voting countries, human rights are not of high importance – and animal welfare is unlikely to be important at all or all the less so.”
She maintains the situation “endangers the acceptance of our sport in the long term — and thus also its Olympic future. If the World Federation takes decisions that weaken animal welfare, it provides all those arguments that want to push equestrian sport out of the Olympic program anyway. We must be aware that equestrian sport can only survive if society sees that the horse is our partner — not a means to an end. Any rule that dilutes this principle is dangerous.”
She is concerned that “if the FEI continues like this, we will eventually lose the Olympic status for show jumping, dressage and eventing — and at the Paralympics for the Para-dressage. The pressure on the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is growing to critically examine sports with animal participation. That is why any weakening of animal welfare is a step in the wrong direction.”
Show jumping is no longer a part of modern pentathlon in the Olympics after headlines screamed about a horse who refused being punched at the 2020 Games.
Elisabeth stated that “One cannot, on the one hand, preach in every sentence ‘Horse Welfare,’ and at the same time, adopt rules that do just the opposite. We call for a uniform, cross-disciplinary regulation that applies in all FEI sports and which generally does not tolerate blood on the mouth and flank.
“In addition, a fairer weighting of votes must be seriously discussed. Only in this way can the professional competence regain weight. Europe is the center of equestrian sport…organizational and ethical. If our voice no longer counts, then something is fundamentally wrong.”
She feels “the foundation is crumbling. Without clear ethical guidelines, the best systems are of no use to us.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 6, 2025
Going beyond equine microchips for horse ID, Equipass addresses the need for accurate health records, regulatory compliance and improved disease control with a streamlined approach. Its first phase will roll out beginning Jan. 26, 2026, according to the FEI (the international equestrian federation),.
It is designed to handle documentation and facilitate smooth international movement of horses, reducing administrative complexities while strengthening biosecurity across borders. The FEI views Equipass as a complement to horses’ physical passports by providing a single platform for a horse’s identification, medical history, vaccination records, location and travel documentation.
The system enables owners, athletes, grooms, veterinarians, officials and authorities to access all essential data in one app. The idea is to make it easier and faster to manage multiple horses, track vaccinations and handle cross-border travel, while keeping the information secure and readily available.
“This is the first platform of its kind to integrate horse identification, health records, vaccination tracking, travel documentation and microchip scanning in a single, unified system, for lifetime traceability,” FEI Director of Technology Operations Gaspard Dufour said.
Thermal microchip scanning enables simultaneous verification of horse’s identity, location and body temperature. That is an innovation in equestrian sport. Dufour points out the potential for automated biosecurity monitoring and real-time welfare oversight.
“This project is a perfect example of technical expertise meeting the real-world demands of the equestrian industry, all in the service of improving the welfare of horses worldwide. With multi-device access and real-time updates, Equipass is both practical and scalable. This is a tool that we believe will make a genuine difference for everyone who works with horses,” according to Dufour.
By the end of 2027, or in early 2028, Equipass will expand to involve horses at the national level, if national federations are interested. The third phase, for which no potential start date was given, will open the system to studbooks and other potential partners.
