by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 9, 2025
The multi-dimensional Brian Flynn, who excelled as a rider, trainer, instructor, judge, television commentator, horse show manager and announcer, died on Saturday. He was 77.
“He did everything. In our world, he touched all the bases and he hit a home run,” said Jimmy Lee, the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame president and Brian’s longtime friend, recounting how much Brian had done for the sport he loved.
As a rider, Brian was aboard national champions in 1981 and 1984. He ran numerous show, including St. Clement’s, the Pennsylvania National and the Arizona circuit.
Brian Flynn was a star competitor on the hunter circuit.
While Brian was known for his sense of humor, he had his serious side too. The native of New England, the son of top rider Alice Stuart Flynn, was active in governance of his sport since the days of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s forerunner, the American Horse Shows Association. He, served as chairman of the AHSA’s hunter committee.
“A lot of his ideas are part of his sport right now,” said Jimmy.
“We can’t thank him enough for what he did. He was a very, very special guy.”
He judged more than 1,000 shows across the U.S. and Canada, including some of the most prestigious. Along the way, he created many friendships that he held dear. He also designed courses for and managed hundreds of shows. Closest to his heart were the St. Clements Horse Show, the Children Services Horse Show, the Arizona Circuit, and the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
Brian received recognition from the sport he loved, with an induction into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame in 2013 and receiving the New England Equitation Championships’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In 2019, he was honored with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy; a daughter, Ashley Flynn Coressel (Paige) and a grandson, Graham.
His family will make arrangements to honor his life privately. Should friends desire, memorials may be made to Danny & Ron’s Rescue, Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center or the ASPCA.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 27, 2025
In an order clearing an athlete’s criminal record, a judge in Florida accused the U.S. Center for Safe Sport of acting in bad faith, intentionally and with malice in proceedings involving a female high school water polo player, violating “her constitutional right to due process.”
The saga began when the athlete filed a complaint in 2022 with SafeSport about several teammates, saying they bullied her, distracting the teen from focusing on the sport for which she already had been named to a college team.
But SafeSport flipped the narrative, making her into the defendant rather than the plaintiff in two different cases, with the teammates accusing her of sexual assault. As a result, she was humiliated, marched out of school in handcuffs.
When the Florida States Attorney looked into the matter, however, no cause for action was found, and the case was dropped. As a result, the original complainant sought to have her name expunged from court records.
In granting that request, Seminole County Court Judge John Woodard stated in his decision filed Tuesday that SafeSport “provided an incomplete file, withholding exculpatory information and withholding witness statements potentially favorable to the defendant.”
He noted, “the court, the State, and the defendant operated in good faith, but was repeatedly blocked for over two years. SafeSport repeatedly and knowingly interfered with the investigation.”
SafeSport is a non-profit Center authorized by Congress in 2017 with the goal of ending sexual, physical and emotional abuse involving athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic movement. The Center did not reply to a request for comment on the situation.
The organization has been under duress recently. The judge’s decision comes in the wake of a letter to SafeSport from U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) asking the Center to explain how it hired an investigator who faces criminal charges, including rape and theft. That investigator was not involved in the Florida case.
Steve Silvey, an attorney for Athletes for Equity in Sport –- which seeks reform of inequity in SafeSport policy and procedures – said of SafeSport, “They’ve lost their way.”
He added “to our knowledge, what’s reflected in that order (from the Seminole County judge) is the first public outing of standard practice for SafeSport.”
He said it follows “last year’s ruling by an Olympic arbitration panel suggesting that it was not a question of if SafeSport violates due process, but when a court will find the operation defective.”
There are 76 equestrians on SafeSport’s centralized disciplinary database, with most offenses listed including sexual misconduct.
Discussing the way SafeSport operates, Silvey contended, “On a day-to-day basis, they don’t do anything even remotely close to what their core mission is. If their core mission is protecting amateur athletes from sexual abuse in Olympic sports according to some concept of due process, they’re not doing that.”
He maintained “SafeSport is built upon a defective and unconstitutional foundation.They get away with it because no one is holding the organization accountable, and the organization openly says it is immune and persists in that position.”
The attorney said that of the nearly 6,000 files opened by SafeSport last year, “the overwhelming majority had nothing to do with sexual misconduct in Olympic or amateur sports. The overwhelming majority of cases are exactly what (SafeSport CEO Ju’Riese) Colón speaks to in public: `This is a culture change.’
“No, Silvey continued, “that’s not your job. They’re misguided, spending their limited resources trying to get involved in children wrestling in a locker room or coaches yelling at their charges. And that’s where they’re lost. They’re not even close to protecting abuse victims. At this point, they are an abject failure for everyone; victims, the sporting community, the NGBs (National Governing Bodies) and the USOPC (U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.”
He noted the water polo player “was a victim. She was the one who called SafeSport and said, `My teammates are bullying me, distracting me from focusing on my sport’. They flipped the script and Safe Sport participated in flipping that script and turned (the water polo player) into the respondent, rather than the victim.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 10, 2025
Scrutiny on horse welfare, with social license to operate gaining traction, is prompting Denmark’s Blue Hors Stud to temporarily pause participation in dressage competition
In a social media post, Blue Hors noted, “Danish dressage sport is in a breaking time, when horse welfare, training methods and animal ethics are up for debate. The development is taking place from a deeply serious background, and it is decisive for the future of the sport.
“The debate has started a long-awaited effort to make clearer guidelines for the ethical correct use of horses in sport. The initiative is part of the Dansk (Danish) Riding Association’s new strategy “Sammen om Hestewelfærd” (Together on Horse Welfare, an update of the guidelines for the professional and ethically correct use of horses in sport), which also focuses on better education and changed competition ratings. We support the work of the association, so that together we can create a better and clearer framework for the future — in terms of horses, riders and sport.”
The new guidelines will cover how sport horses are trained and evaluated going forward.
The decision has no impact on Blue Hors’ daily activities and stallion shows will continue March 29. The only senior rider competing on behalf of Blue Hors is Nanna Skodborg Merrald. The stud recently downsized and moved its facilities.
Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Blue Hors Zepter. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Explaining its decision, Blue Hors’ statement elaborated, “As long as there is so much ambiguity as to what the correct ethical use of horses is, we have temporarily chosen to pause Blue Hors’ participation in dressage events.”
The post added that in three months, the stud will “assess whether a greater common understanding of horse ethics and sporting guidelines has been achieved, or whether we should extend the break from the event further.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 14, 2025
Global Medics, whose product Relax Pro was given to an Olympic eventing horse at the Paris Games, contends in a public statement that the supplement was contaminated with Trazodone at the production level,
Relax Pro was found to be responsible for a positive doping test on the horse Dia van het Lichterveld Z, ridden by Tine Magnus during the 2024 Olympics. Her disqualification led to the loss of the Belgian team’s fourth-place finish. The rider had been told by the team vet to use Relax Pro.
Trazodone is an anti-depressant that is sometimes prescribed as a sleep aid for humans.
“We deeply regret this incident—for Tine Magnus, for the entire Belgian eventing team, and for the equestrian sport as a whole,” the company noted, adding that the situation “is beyond our control.”
“This is not a case of deliberate doping aimed at enhancing performance but rather an unfortunate case of contamination. As soon as thorough research confirmed that a batch of Relax Pro contained traces of Trazodone, Global Medics transparently communicated this objective information on its official website, pending further in-depth investigation.
The affected batches (24D02CA and CA/23J31) were immediately withdrawn from the market. Those who have the supplement with those numbers should contact Global Medics. The company emphasized that in terms of health issues, the supplement contained “a clinically irrelevant dose of Trazodone,” adding, “We can also confirm with certainty that all newly produced products are completely free of this contamination.
“Current findings indicate that the contamination occurred at the production level, resulting from a contaminated magnesium raw material sourced from Spain.” Investigations into the situation are continuing.
“While Tine Magnus is undoubtedly the greatest victim of this situation, Global Medics has also suffered significant reputational and business damage. We emphatically state that Trazodone was never intentionally added to our products, contrary to some insinuations in equestrian media and on social platforms. This contamination occurred entirely outside of our control, at the raw material supplier level,” the company maintained.
It noted, “This incident raises an important question: how can supplement distributors and riders protect themselves from unforeseen contamination of this nature? It is concerning and disappointing that, in such crisis situations, there is not more unity and understanding within the industry to support Tine Magnus and collectively seek solutions for the future.”
When the investigation is complete, the company promised to share the whole story.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 13, 2025
A celebration of Rodney Jenkins’ life June 1 will offer a chance to reminisce about the Red Rider and meet with friends to recall what made him so special. The gathering will be held from 3-5 p.m. at the Upperville, Va., horse show grounds in the 1853 Club on the jumper side.
Rodney, considered the greatest U.S. show jumping rider of all time by many, died last December at age 80. In addition to his achievements in the show ring, Rodney went on to become a successful trainer of thoroughbred racehorses.
Rodney in action with his most famous horse, Idle Dice.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 6, 2025
Talented writer, website designer and book publisher Michelle Bloch died Monday March 3 of breast cancer. She was 55.
Michelle had been a pillar of the Capital Challenge Horse Show since 1996, designing the program and prizelist and writing its daily update during the show.
Michelle Bloch at the Capital Challenge Horse Show. (Tricia Booker photo)
“It’s a big loss,” said Oliver Kennedy, the show’s manager and co-founder, said of her passing.
He noted that whenever Michelle was presented with a concept, “she ran with it and made it amazing. Whatever you asked her to do, she figured it out and did it,” he added, saying she always gave “150 percent.”
She was the “keeper of knowledge” for the show with statistics, figures, photos and winners from the past 31 years.
A successful competitor during her time in the junior ranks, Michelle taught riding and kept horses at her Branchville, N.J., farm, but eventually focused on writing and designing.
Tricia Booker, co-founder of the Ink Horse book publishing venture with Michelle, noted her friend loved nature and hiking, but was “as comfortable in a city as in the middle of nowhere.”
Michelle was an intern at the Chronicle of the Horse in 1991 when Tricia was an editor there, and went on to write many freelance articles.
“Throughout my 25-plus years at the Chronicle, Michelle was one of the writers I counted on to always provide accurate and well-written articles,” Tricia remembered.
“When they arrived in my inbox, I’d sigh with relief knowing I could relax and just enjoy the story rather than having to do a rewrite. Michelle always met the tight deadlines of our weekly magazine, and her creativity and beautiful way with words made her work stand out among the rest.”
The two went on to work together at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s In Stride magazine.
“She became much more than a freelancer to me; she was my collaborator,” said Tricia, who admired Michelle’s fashion sense that was part of her flair.
At In Stride, “Although she didn’t have a title on the masthead, she should have had one,” Tricia observed.
“We spent countless hours on the phone discussing article ideas, people to interview, industry trends, horse care topics, the importance of continuing education and so much more. I lost count of the number of American Horse Publications Awards her articles received, but it has to be in the double digits.”
Public relations executive Jennifer Wood, who worked with Michelle at Capital Challenge, noted how helpful her friend was when she launched Equestrian Businesswomen and played a major role in making it successful.
“From the start, she provided her design services and her creative eye to design the logo, build the website, make all the graphics, and bounce around all the ideas for the original 2019 Summit,” Jennifer recalled.
“She continued to support EQBW through the founding of the Equestrian B2B podcast, of which she was guest on the 26th episode about “How to Be Creative and Keep Creativity Consistent” and on Episodes 63 and 51, when she helped recap the 2024 EQBW Networking Brunch and 2023 Saratoga Women In Business Spectacular.
Michelle’s written work can be seen at her website, Writersbloch.com, and on Substack.
In one piece, she elaborated on the painstaking process of putting words together to achieve what she wanted them to mean.
“And then, when it is finally complete,” she stated, “the sun shines and the birds sing and voila, I have written… Past tense.”
Michelle is survived by her parents, Phyllis and Wolf Gstattenbauer; her husband, David Bloch, and their daughter, Abigail. Those wishing to make a donation in Michelle’s memory should contribute to the charity of their choice that most reminds them of her, orThe National Parks Foundation (nationalparks.org)
A celebration of life for Michelle will be held on March 30 from 2-4 p.m. at The Conservatory at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.fergusonfuneralhomesnj.com
