by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 23, 2026
Will Coleman is going for the Defender Kentucky eventing double.
Two years ago, he won the 4-Star Short at the Kentucky Horse Park with Diabolo, a Holsteiner by Diarado who was imported from Australia. The partnership was on track for the U.S. team at the 2024 Olympics when the horse came up with a hoof problem and couldn’t compete in Paris.
This year, Will is back with Diabolo at the USA’s top competition in his discipline, but in the 5-Star section, where he led the field on Thursday after the first day of dressage.
Will and his slick black gelding were marked at 27.3 penalties, equivalent to a dressage score of 72.69 percent.
An understandably upbeat Will noted, “The first time you do a 5-Star test in that arena with any horse, there’s a certain amount of, `What am I going to get today?’
“He’s a really eager horse, he wants to always do the right thing. But sometimes, his nerves can get the better of him. I’m just so proud of him. He came up here and he was a little bit on edge, even in these final warm-ups, I didn’t feel like I totally had him. But he went in there and he just did it for me and tried his absolute best. That’s all you can ask for.”
Saturday’s cross-country course, laid out as usual by Tokyo Olympic designer Derek Di Grazia, is a “completely different” level than the route Diabolo handled in the 4-Star.
That, Will pointed out, was “nothing compared to what Diabolo has to do this weekend.
“The 5-star is the ultimate test in all equestrian sports. I’m going to have to ride my best and Diabolo is going to have to be at his best for us to do it well, but I think he can. And that’s what we are going to try to do.”
Very veteran Phillip Dutton, who won the 5-Star in 2008, is aboard Possante for that horse’s 5-Star debut. He’s less than one penalty back of Will on a mount produced by Great Britain’s Emily King.
In turn, New Zealander Tim Price — always a threat at the highest level — is third with Global Quest, another 5-star debutante. The horse was brought along by the late Georgie Campbell, a British eventer who died after a fall while riding that mount at the Bicton International Horse Trials two years ago.
World Number One Harry Meade of Great Britain is fourth with his veteran, Superstition, marked at 30.2 penalties.
“I would have hoped to be scored better than that,” said Harry, who seeks to make up the difference on cross-country where there is “going to be plenty to do.”
When Boyd Martin rode into the arena on Cooley Nutcracker, it was an emotional moment for those who spotted the horse’s former rider, Liz Halliday, watching intently from the grandstand. Liz competed on the horse in the 2024 Olympics, only to suffer a traumatic brain injury in a fall a month later at the American Eventing Championships.
Boyd Martin and Cooley Nutcracker.
Boyd took over the ride as Liz, his Olympic teammate, went through hospitalization and rehabilitation (she now hopes to compete in Para Dressage). Nutcracker earned 30.7 penalties to stand fifth as Liz cheered him on.
“I finished the test and looked up in the stands and she was there with her team,” Boyd recounted after his ride.
“It was cool, I haven’t seen her for a good bit.”
After the competition, Liz got on social media to say, “There really aren’t words to express what today meant to me. To finally be back at an event for the first time since my accident … to watch my gorgeous Cooley Nutcracker go down centerline with Boyd Martin… to hug friends I haven’t seen in so long and catch up about everything I’ve missed … I am overjoyed and so grateful to finally be back in the sport I love.”
She added, “Things are a bit different now, of course. I’m now here as an owner supporting Boyd and Bali alongside the rest of the Liz’s Nutcrackers crew. And yes, I did give Boyd a hard time for flubbing that first flying change. But in all seriousness, I am so grateful to Boyd for everything he has done with the horse who made my Olympic dreams come true and am so excited to cheer them on this weekend.”
Liz Halliday was thrilled about being able to watch in person as Boyd Martin rode her Olympic horse, Cooley Nutcracker.
Of his test, Boyd assessed that it was “not too bad; it’s pretty intimidating to try to follow Liz’s performances, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. It’s still not the finished product yet. He’s a legend. He’s a champion horse.”
Discussing the “juicy” course, he noted, “it starts off a little nicer than usual, then he sticks it to you.”
Ever the entrepreneur, Boyd suggested that after the competition, spectators should “go to my merch shop and get a T-shirt.”
The world number two-ranked rider also will be on last year’s 5-Star runner-up, Commando 3, but he had to leave another of Liz’s horses, Miks Master C. at home after the gelding pulled up sore from an outing at the Fair Hill 4-Star Short last weekend.
Boyd’s hair was looking rather shaggy, because the Pennsylvanian is waiting to cut it in a show of support for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team as it seeks the Stanley Cup.
Boyd Martin looking a little shaggy as he grows his hair to keep his favorite hockey team in the Stanley Cup game.
In the 4-Star Short, which ran during the morning, Californian Tamie Smith came East to take the lead with Danito, who at age 17 is back in the big time after recovering from some injuries.
Tamie has the distinction of being the last U.S. rider to win the 5-star at Kentucky, having done it with the now-retired Mai Baum in 2023.
click here for 5-star results
click on this link for 4-star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 19, 2026
The remarkable black Rheinlander stallion Zonik Plus has set another personal best for his rider, Belgium’s Justin Verboomen, earning a stratospheric 91.855 percent in the Fontainebleu, France 5-star Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle this weekend.
One judge had the 10-year-old son of Zonik marked at 93.850 percent. The scores put runner-up Lottie Fry of Great Britain in the shade with Glamourdale, another black stallion, doing their usual Glamourdale Airlines routine.
The world champion, who will defend her title this August in Aachen, was marked at 88.225, although one judge did give her more than 90 percent, with a 90.150. Frederic Wandres of Germany finished third on Bluetooth Old with 81.085.
Justin, the number one-ranked dressage rider in the world, said “The setting at Fontainebleau is exceptional. I was really looking forward to taking Zonik out to compete outdoors again, because I feel that in this environment, he really wants to show off, to put on a show.
Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus.
“For our return to outdoor competition, we delivered the two finest tests of our career. (He received 83.500 for the Grand Prix.)
“I am truly delighted. Before the class, I stay completely focused and in my own bubble; however, once we leave the arena and during the prize-giving ceremony, it is incredibly gratifying to see so many people lining the ring.”
In the Grand Prix Special, Isabell Werth of Germany, the world’s most decorated dressage rider, was the winner with Wendy de Fontaine.
“I’m really happy with my mare this weekend, even though we still need to do a bit of work on the Special test.,” Isabell conceded after receiving a mark of 79.893 percent.
“The competition was exceptional: a mini-Paris 2024. I came to Fontainebleau two years ago and it was already amazing at the time. But the competition has really gone from strength to strength. I say this with a smile, but we’re really looking forward to a World Championship stage being held here.”
Isabell was part of the German team that won the Nations Cup earlier in the week, with Britain second and Belgium, led by Verboomen, third.
Second in the Special was Carl Hester of Great Britain with Fame.
“Today, I really felt my horse was with me,” he said.
“And we undoubtedly performed one of our best Grand Prix Special tests ever. The horse was relaxed, easy to ride and in good spirits. Since this was the first outdoor competition of the season,”
Click here for Freestyle results
Click here for the Special results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 17, 2026
There’s a long way to go before the FEI World Championships this August in Aachen, but the candidates for the U.S. show jumping squad were announced today.
There are 10 riders on the short list, but plans call for prospects to compete over five different observation events in Europe.
Those on the list include Olympic silver medal teammates Laura Kraut, Karl Cook and McLain Ward, who has been out of action for a month due to a fall when his horse refused a fence in March.
As expected, Kent Farrington — winner of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final last weekend — is part of the group. He is ranked number two in the world and in March, won the $1 million Rolex US Open.
Katie Dinan, who appeared on the podium with Kent at the World Cup, where she placed third, is also on the list, along with Aaron Vale, seventh in the Cup and Lillie Keenan, who was tenth. Others named were Natalie Dean, Marilyn Little and Callie Schott.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 17, 2026
There was much speculation about why Great Britain’s multi-gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin dropped out of last weekend’s Zen Elite FEI World Cup Dressage Final after accepting a place for the contest in Fort Worth, Texas.
But the answer, revealed by Eurodressage, is that her mount, Alive and Kicking, was sold to five-time Olympian Kristy Oatley, who rides for Australia. The actual transaction was made to Rosalind Oatley, Kristy’s mother, and Bollmoor Partner GmbH & Co.
Charlotte was second with the mare at the London International Horse Show last December, and seemed a likely pick for the British team that will be competing in Aachen this summer at the FEI world championships. She discovered the Westfalian, now 12, as a four-year-old.
Alive and Kicking appeared to be the perfect comeback vehicle for Charlotte to resurrect her career after serving a year-long suspension for a whipping incident that left her open to a storm of criticism.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 14, 2026
You’ve seen top show jumpers, such as Laura Kraut and Jimmy Torano, wearing safety vests in competition. They believe the vests protect them in case of a fall — but research has been insufficient to determine the extent of the protection they provide.
This photo shows the built-in safety vest in Laura Kraut’s jacket.
To continue the research and arrive at a definitive answer, more funding is required. The U.S. Equestrian Federation now is putting $100,000 toward that procwess, part of its commitment to horse and rider welfare.
Although riding helmets have a standardized system for testing and rating products, there is far less standardization of rating safety vests. Many international ratings systems are based on motorcycle vests, which may not be absorbing the same kinds of impact as equestrian safety vests.
The research effort will have an academic partner to establish testing standards, then test existing products against those standards, similar to the helmet ratings work that took place at Virginia Tech. The unknown aspects of safety vest protection don’t mean that equestrians shouldn’t be wearing them, but it does mean there’s a gap in the understanding of their strength and limitations.
Noting that fall injuries can be catastrophic on relatively rare occasions, Dr. Mark Hart, chair of the FEI Equestrian Safety Vest Working Group and former chair of the US Equestrian Human and Equine Safety & Welfare Committee, said. “We feel it’s our duty as an organization to take a leadership role to evaluate and improve riders’ personal protective equipment. A lot of our USEF members have been requesting that this research be done to enhance rider safety.”
Funding for the project also is coming from a number of national and international governing bodies and affiliates, as well as private donors.
USEF also is directing another $100,000 to the Chromatic Fund, in addition to the $100,000 already allocated to research projects beginning in 2026.
This year marks the first series of projects made possible by the fFund, a collaboration with the American Association of Equine Practitioners; Chromatic BF’s breeder, KC Branscomb, and The Foundation for the Horse. The first year’s projects include a study on the effects of vitamin E supplementation on vitamin K in healthy horses, and another examining the safety of high-dose versus repeated low-dose steroid use.
The fund was started in memory of a show jumper who died after being administered a cocktail of several pharmaceuticals after a competition at the 2024 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Finals in Saudi Arabia.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 3, 2026
Thursday is when admission tickets for the Los Angeles Games first go on sale to the public, though a presale already is on for residents in eligible areas of Los Angeles and Oklahoma City (which hosts softball and canoe slalom).
LA28’s program will include 1 million tickets priced at $28, the lowest price point. About 5 percent of tickets will cost more than $1,000 , but more than 75 percent will be under $400 and nearly half will be under $200.
“Tickets are comparable to,and in many cases well under, what we see for other professional sporting and major entertainment events in the US,” explained Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28’s senior vice-president of Games delivery.
Fans in eligible counties who registered for the LA28 ticket draw will automatically be entered into the local presale draw. During the first general sales round, known as Drop 1, tickets placed in a cart must be purchased within 30 minutes, and buyers can make multiple transactions up to their ticket limit. For more information, go to https://la28.org/en/ticketing.html
