by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 21, 2025
Being the first to go in a nine-horse jump-off at a $350,000 grand prix is hardly an ideal starting position, but Christian Kukuk of Germany made it pay off Thursday night at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
Christian Kukuk and Just be Gentle on their way to the win. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“It’s always quite difficult,” he reflected, but in the Lugano-sponsored fixture, he set a catch-me-if-you can pace of 40.61 seconds with Just Be Gentle that couldn’t be improved, even by Ireland’s intrepid Cian O’Connor, a mere 0.2 seconds behind with Iron Man. Swedish world number one Henrik von Eckermann, for his part, did no better than fifth place in 42.22 seconds with the plucky King Edward.
World number one Henrik von Eckermann plotted his jump-off route from the stands. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Although Christian, the 2024 Olympic individual gold medalist, wasn’t on his Games mount, Checker, he showed he has an equally talented number two with the sensitive mare, Just Be Gentle.
The course set by Alan Wade – who is also doing the route for Saturday’s featured Longines League of Nations — drew a stellar field of 37 with big names aplenty.
Christian believes there is more to come with his intrepid mount.
“We know each other now for quite a time but she is still only 11,” said Christian of the Dutch-bred beauty by Tyson. He had success with her at Ocala earlier in the season. Yet he found it was a different story when he traveled down to the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington for a 5-star grand prix under the lights.
“I realized okay, we were not that ready, so I had to go a step back,” he recounted about the good horseman’s strategy he employed to get her on track again.
Christian rode her in two other shows in Wellington and knew he was prepared for another big test at night in Ocala, which earned him the victor’s share, $115,000. Of his mare, he stated, “The more you ask of her, the more ability she gets.”
Cian also demonstrated the same sort of horseman’s strategy with Iron Man, who he got at the end of last summer.
“It took a while for the partnership to develop,” he said of the12-year-old Zangersheide grey by Charisma Z.
Cian O’Connor and Iron Man. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“He goes differently to some of my other horses,” Cian stated, adding he had to adjust his style to what Iron Man preferred.
“At the start, we were okay in small classes; over the last couple of weeks, he’s really clicked in. I just felt he was coming up nicely. I was so pleased. This is the first time I’ve gone a little bit more against the clock with him.”
Cian put it in perspective by noting, “Christian is obviously who he is, a champion, his horse is fantastic and very quick.”
At the same time, the pillar of the Irish team noted, “I was happy with my round. I looked up at the clock and saw it was point-2 (0.02 seconds behind) but quickly I realized it was still a pretty good result.”
These top riders have to look toward challenges from the 25 and under set. France’s Nina Mallavaey, 25, who rides Nikka vd Bisschop, finished third in a very respectable 41.14 seconds on the 12-year-old mare by top show jumper Emerald. Nikka previously was ridden by Erynn Ballard of Canada in the Olympics.
And the best American was Mimi Gochman, a mere 20 years old, who really went for it on Inclen BH and was rewarded with a fourth-place finish in 41.20 seconds.
Mimi Gochman, the top American in the grand prix, on Inclen BH. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Laura Kraut and Hunter Holloway, the only other U.S. riders to make the jump-off, each had a rail down to finish seventh and ninth respectively.
Kent Farrington, the number two ranked rider who has been on a hot streak recently, toppled a pole with Myla in the first round, and McLain Ward, world number seven, tipped two rails with his longtime partner, the 17-year-old Callas.
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by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 18, 2025
Becky Hart, who was a great force in international endurance competition, died last month at the age of 71.
After Pony Club and competing in horse shows, Becky graduated from the Potomac, Md., Horse Center’s horsemastership course in 1972. But where she hit her stride was after she became interested in endurance riding during the mid-1970s.
The Californian was the only three-time world champion endurance rider, performing the hat trick of titles in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Understandably, the 1990 American Horse Shows Association Equestrian of the Year is most closely identified with her mount for those victories, R.O. Grand Sultan, better known as Rio. Both Becky and Rio are in the American Endurance Ride Conference Hall of Fame.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation, the AHSA’s successor, annually presents the Becky Grand Hart Trophy to the outstanding competitor in international driving, endurance, reining, vaulting or para-equestrian.
Becky got Rio for free, and he proved to be worth far more than what he (didn’t) cost. Eighty miles from the end of a 100-mile ride, he’d turn on the afterburners. It was amazing.
Rio won his last race at 21 and had 10,305 miles in competition, making him a high-mileage horse. He was an AERC decade horse: competed for at least 10 years, had 10 wins, 10,000 miles and 10 best condition awards.
Becky Hart and Rio. (Bob Langrish photo)
For her part, Becky went on to serve as the U.S. chef d’equipe for her discipline. But the multidimensional horsewoman also was a certified Centered Riding instructor and shared her expertise teaching riding and horsemanship to all levels, from beginners to advanced equestrians.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 11, 2025
The 2024 eventing Olympian, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cross-country fall last August, “steadfastly keeps facing forward, even when the going is hard and frustrating,” reported her mother, Debby, who has been by her side during rehab, along with a host of family and friends..
“She is unfailingly kind and gracious to all the staff who interact with her. Everyone knows her and loves her beautiful smile. I am very proud of how Liz is handling an extremely difficult situation. Her progress has been on a steady upward track, and she keeps improving every day,” Debby said in a report of Liz’s progress from the U.S. Eventing Association.
Six months after the rider and the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Shanroe Cooley had their accident at the American Eventing Championships in Lexington, Ky., “She’s back to being Liz,” Chris Desino of Ocala Horse Properties said.
Liz Halliday has always been upbeat, a trait that serves her well in rehab.
He and his brother, Rob Desino, have always been very active and involved owners in Halliday’s program, but their relationship is more than just a professional one. Those strong bonds have been a crucial part of her recovery process. Others supporting Liz incude her boyfriend, Mark William and the Ocala Horse Properties team,
“The support Liz and I have received and continue to receive from Liz’s wonderful group of friends has made a huge difference to both of us,” said Debby. “We will be forever grateful for their kindness and dedication. They have been beside us from the beginning and continue to show up.”
With Liz, 46, focusing on her rehab, her horses are receiving top-notch care at various facilities around the country, including her long-time five-star partner, Deniro Z, the 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding who is enjoying his retirement at her winter farm in Ocala, Florida.
“I showed Liz a video where Rob recently decided he was going to start hacking Deniro around the farm, and she got the biggest thrill out of seeing Deniro carting one of us around,” said Chris with a laugh.
“She is very trusting that we are doing the right thing by the horses so that she can be solely focused on her recovery now. The same way that she was so laser-focused on her training, she is just that focused on her therapies.”
Chris noted that even when her room is full of visitors, the minute a therapist steps into the room, Liz is at attention, ready to tackle whatever challenge lies ahead of her next in true form.
Liz Halliday in action on cross-country.(Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Liz has always been known for her grit, determination, and powerful work ethic,” explained Debby. “Those qualities are being tested as never before. She has shown a stoic tenacity that has served her well in the extraordinary effort required for recovery.
It’s that same energy and dedication that Liz channeled into her 2024 eventing season prior to her accident that helped her earn the title of the 2024 Bates USEA Lady Rider of the Year based on her impressive competition results for the second year in a row.
“She was really blown away with winning both the Lady Rider of the Year and the (USEF)International Equestrian of the Year, which is decided upon by a majority vote,” Chris said. “I told her, ‘You are one special person.’ I can’t wait for her to be able to pick up all of the magazines and articles and the thousands of text messages and emails she has received for herself and just see the amazing support she has gotten from everybody all over the world.
“Liz is the person that just puts her head down and works really hard,” he continued. “She didn’t ever really pay attention to everything that was going on around her. I think when she has a moment to focus on all of that, she is really going to enjoy seeing it.”
Looking back at where the year started, Chris and Debby shared just how impactful the 2024 season was for Liz and all of her owners and supporters.
“The craziest thing about last year was that it was the first time that we as owners and also Liz as a five-star rider had four horses who could be vying for a possible Olympic spot,” Chris shared.
“In years past, it was always just Deniro, and then it was ‘Monster’ [Cooley Quicksilver], so it was a massive change for us to go to these events and watch four of them go, because you had so many highs, and then the lows, but then the next horse would give you another high.”
At the beginning of the year, the whole team behind Liz sat down with her coaches Erik Duvander and Peter Wylde to discuss each horse and their plan for the year.
“We are very involved, but Liz has always controlled the future. She has great mentors around her that will guide her the right way,” Chris said.
Seeing the culmination of Halliday’s hard work over the past several years as she’s ridden and trained the majority of her horses from young ages to where they are now was nothing short of a thrill for everyone involved, especially after seeing it culminate with Halliday getting a spot on the U.S. Eventing Team at the Paris Olympics.
“Of course the highpoint for all of us was her competing at the Olympics in Paris,” said Debby. “It was a fabulous event in an amazing venue. Paris will surely be remembered as a top Olympics experience for all the equestrians who participated. The crowds were huge and enthusiastic and Liz rode beautifully on the wonderful Cooley Nutcracker. I remain so grateful that she got to have her Olympic experience. It was a goal she first stated at age 12, and so painfully missed in Tokyo 2021.”
“We were thrilled that she was on the team,” Chris observed, “and looking back on everything, we are very fortunate that she was able to compete there.”
Progress has been so great that she’s anticipated to graduate from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, considered the number one rehab hospital in the U.S. for stroke, spinal cord injury and brain injury, and make a move to her next rehabilitative facility. There she will continue to focus on her ultimate goal: going home and back to her horses.
“She misses the horses dearly,” said Chris, “but I know all of the support she has received helps her realize how much she is loved.”
As this phase of Liz’s recovery concludes and the next step begins, Debby is still eternally grateful for all of the love and support they have received along the way and continue to receive daily.
“The eventing community’s interest and outpouring of thoughtful messages has been quite overwhelming,” she reflected.
“I was very touched by how many people at all levels reached out to give us their support. Most of the top competitors at the AEC came to see her in the hospital, and we still have the winner’s check (from the Advanced Final) with the message to Liz handwritten on the back. Her room is decorated with cards and posters from riders from every level. We read many of the messages to Liz to let her know her community cares.
“I particularly loved the messages which began with. ‘You won’t remember me, but…,’ followed by a story of a lesson or other interaction some aspiring eventer had with Liz that especially helped or inspired them. It warms my heart to know how many people’s lives she has touched in a very positive way.”
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.”
