by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 29, 2025
Heartbeat is a character.
The Dutchbred son of Charmeur doesn’t like other horses, wears a hood with sound-dulling earpieces so he can sleep and has been a “bit of a project,” over the last three years, revealed his rider, Kasey Perry-Glass.
But it has all come together, as demonstrated Friday night when he won his second Grand Prix Freestyle of the season at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla., with a score of 75.915 percent. He danced to an original score by Tom Hunt that featured the sound of a heartbeat.
Kasey got help from Ali Brock, who rode with her on the 2016 Olympic bronze medal team.
“I can’t thank Ali enough; she knows how to coach. And she doesn’t ruffle feathers…making sure everyone’s on the same page. She’s been with Heart since the moment I got him,” said Kasey, who enjoys working with a “teammate.”
Adrienne Lyle, who rode with Kasey on the 2018 silver medal World Equestrian Games team, helped design her Freestyle. The riders have been working together since Debbie McDonald stepped away from teaching.
Heart previously was ridden by Dutch competitor Thamar Zweistra, which meant “he was crank and pull, so just to make him a small person ride has been a lot,” Kasey commented.
She rose to fame with Dublet, now happily retired to her family’s California farm, where he shares his pasture with a pony and a mini-donkey.
There were multiple times that Kasey was supposed to go to Europe to look for Dublet’s successor, but her mother-in-law, Jill Glass, kept getting sick.
Although she was in hospice, Jill didn’t want Kasey to cancel her trip.
“You have to go,” Jill told Kasey, who was reluctant to be away at such a difficult time.
“The day I left, she passed away, so to find a horse named Heartbeat…” Kasey said, noting she feels very close to the family of her husband, Dana Glass.
Heartbeat wasn’t a slam-dunk.
“Everything about him was a bit hot. His trot was so mechanical,” Kasey recalled.
But “I tried him and we just clicked.”
The 12-year-old continues to develop, and his freestyle was a testament to how far he has come in his transformation.
Kasey Perry-Glass thanks Heartbeat for his winning effort. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“There was a lot of power and a lot to contain, but I’m starting to be able to manage it,” said Kasey.
“Sometimes Heart tries to overpower me, but tonight he proved that he can keep the power underneath me. It’s about figuring out what works for him, but once I get in the ring, he’s a true showman and he stepped up.”
Kasey is hoping to go to Europe later this spring with a U.S. team tour.
She was second Thursday to Marcus Orlob and Jane in the Grand Prix qualifier, but Marcus opted to do the Special instead of the Freestyle. (to read story, click this link.)
The Freestyle runner-up by a little more than a point, scoring 74.840 for her ride to a Neil Diamond medley, was veteran Ashley Holzer on Hawtins San Floriana. The Hanoverian mare was developed in Britain by Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin.
There was a period of adjustment with a “made” horse for Ashley, who usually brings her mounts through the levels herself.
Ashley Holzer and Hawtins San Floriana. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I took her to Carl’s last summer and worked on trying to create a partnership. It’s really just in the last few weeks that I’ve started to feel that she’s speaking my language. She really tries so hard, and it’s special when you feel a horse start to become your teammate,” she reported.
Third in the field of 10 was Canadian Camille Carier Bergeron, an Olympic veteran like the others on the podium. She said of her ride aboard the Oldenburg mare Finnländerin, “That test was one of the times she’s felt the most relaxed and most connected with me; very accessible. The trot tour felt like a win to me, and the piaffe/passage.”
Despite some hiccups in the lead changes as her test drew to a close, Camille said, “I was really happy with her.” She was marked at 73.370 percent.
Janet Foy, head of the ground jury for the class, said of the officiating experience, “That was really fun for the judges. I’m a dancer (she competes in ballroom dancing), so there was a lot of great stuff going on in there. The top five or six horses were really special and did a great job.”
Click here for Freestyle results
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 27, 2025
As he drove his golf cart around the Wellington International showgrounds this week, Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Murray Kessler spotted a piece of rubbish in the stabling area. He stopped the cart, retrieved the stray plastic bottle and some crumpled pieces of paper, carrying them away for later deposit in a trash can.
“Lead by example,” Murray explained, heading for said can and dusting it off with a rag before throwing away the litter he had picked up.
What he was doing could be compared to the foreman walking the shop floor. At any company, the foreman is engaged in coordinating the efforts of multiple workers, ensuring productivity and maintaining quality standards. That’s just what Murray aims to do.
He recalled when the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival got under way 12 weeks ago, people were still throwing trash out of the car windows as they drove off. Since then, there’s been a culture change at the landmark Florida facility 40 minutes from Palm Beach.
Wellington Lifestyle Partners, the new owner of the showgrounds, is committed to its long-term viability. The partnership took over just five weeks before the start of the circuit, with maintenance revving up as much as possible in a short time frame.
“We made a lot of substantive change, but there will be a lot more next year,” Murray promised.
“We’re keeping it clean and people are noticing it. Now you go there at the end of the day, and there’s nothing,” he observed about the absence of debris, aside from the few strays he found. But there are plenty of other issues at the showgrounds, as the original venue is being melded into new territory, “Pod F,” to expand the facility to 100 acres.
The new showgrounds at Pod F, with the grass ring in green to the right at the bottom of the photo, and the new main stadium to the lelft.
Four rings built on Pod F are used for schooling at the moment, which gives horses and riders room to spread out. The merger of the properties, which is going to take several years to complete, will not only alleviate crowded conditions, but means a big refresh for a venue that hosts 28 weeks of shows in addition to WEF, and frankly, was rundown.
“The bones of this place are old, it’s time for a makeover,” said trainer Lauren Hough.
“I want there to be a world class faciilty here. I think they have a limited space to do it, so they’re going to have to be quite clever about it,” the Olympic rider continued.
“I want the best for this, of course, because this is our home. My family is here. I do have the utmost faith in Murray. He’s taken on much bigger things than this. So we’ll hold our breath and hope for the best.”
Great Britain’s Ben Maher, the 2021 individual Olympic show jumping gold medalist, noted when he won the season’s final WEF Challenge Cup on Thursday, that “bigger prize money and updating the facilities here are making a difference.”
The International Arena is the focal point of the current showgrounds. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Murray understands the difficulties inherent in the showgrounds equation.
“I knew the problems because of years of showing here, and I knew exactly what I was getting into,” he said, explaining he was realistic when he took the job. His presence was what gave immediate credibility to the project.
Challenges don’t daunt the former president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, who also had CEO credentials at three major corporations before retiring.
However, he noted about the showgrounds situation, “I didn’t know the reasons behind a lot of the problems.”
Expectations for shows are higher today in every way than they were in the era decades ago when WEF emerged on the scene as a new concept. In recent years, improvements didn’t proceed as they should have. Murray pointed out the previous owner of the facility, Global Equestrian Group, was a private equity firm, and he maintained the entity based in Denmark only cared about making money.
“They had to think of every dollar of return they could get out of it,” he said.
To get the full picture of what was needed, Murray talked to 100 trainers, riders and other influences in the community, along with ESP’s leadership team, headed by president Michael Stone and competitions manager and chief operating officer David Burton Jr.
“They knew everything that needed to be done but they weren’t allowed to do it,” under the previous regime.
“I said, `Well, go do it,” Murray recalled.
With such sparkling facilities as the World Equestrian Center in Ocala and TerraNova near Sarasota emerging in the last few years, Wellington is not the only game in the state. Though the number of horses showing in Florida can easily support several show complexes, since exhibitors have real choices now, Wellington International needs to meet their expectations. That underlines the importance of a massive showgrounds re-do.
Stands are filled at Wellington International for such major competitions as the Nations Cup. (Sportfot photo)
WLP will build The Wellington golf community at Equestrian Village, the home of dressage half a mile from the main showgrounds. Serious work on that project cannot begin until the newly configured showgrounds is up and running, with dressage moved down the street, presenting a big incentive to get things done.
Dressage, which at the moment is offered only during WEF, will be rehomed at what is now the main showgrounds. It is going to have its own rings, while sharing that area with the hunters. Jumpers will be located on Pod F.
Dressage, which is in its own enclave at Equestrian Village, will be held in what is now the Grand Hunter Ring when it moves to Wellington International in a few years. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
After WEF wraps up on Sunday, more extensive efforts can begin. It’s tough to get everything done during circuit because, “you have to deal with the reality you have 2,800 horses,” said Murray, citing statistics from week 11 of the show. With lighter entries during the spring, summer and fall shows, the entire property does not need to be used, offering flexibility that enables work to continue on other areas of the facility.
A grass field at Wellington International to replace the one at Equestrian Village is ready for planting. Although the new grass ring will be a little smaller by the numbers, Murray thinks it may well have more usable space because it lacks the berm and water jump complex of its predecessor. It will serve as a stadium with a VIP section.
The grass field is ready for planting. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Next door will be another stadium, with artificial footing, more VIP and skyboxes. The open area in the middle will be reserved for vendors and food concessions. Parking for 3,000 or 4,000 cars will be around the perimeter of the property. If necessary, overflow parking can go in the rings that are not being used on grand prix night. Also in the plans are a covered arena and new FEI stabling for the jumpers.
There’s a different spirit in the air on the eve of this weekend’s featured $750,000 Rolex grand prix, the WEF finale that has attracted six of the top 10-ranked jumpers in the world. Production values for the grand prix have been raised for maximum drama, with 40 lasers around the ring and video rider intros produced by the team that does the Indy 500.
Murray gave 500 employees a pep talk before the circuit began, using a slide show on the jumbotron in the international arena.
He told them that “we had changed the place, that this is the prominent horse show in America. We have a unique position, different than any horse show in the world. A lot of people rely on us, people have their homes here and there are blacksmiths and vets and they all depend on us. This place is going to get cleaned up and we’re going to have the best service.”
Since then, he found, “I’ve never worked with a group of people who worked harder than this. They’re incredible.”
Former Fortune 500 CEO Murray Kessler doesn’t have a fancy office at the showgrounds, but he’s always on the move anyway and never far from a trash can. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Expanding on his guiding philosophy, Murray observed, “We are the premier horse sport destination in the world. We are not the best horse show in the world. I am not going to say we are Aachen, but there’s nowhere else in the world that has what Wellington has. You go to Aachen, it’s six days long, with the best pros (professionals). You come here and it’s three months long and it’s from short stirrup to the Olympic Games riders.”
Noting that while Devon is where champions meet, as the sign over the Pennsylvania show’s main ring states, “Wellington is where champions are made and grow up,” Murray emphasized. He cited the example of his daughter, Reed, who started in short stirrup at the showgrounds and went on to the 2012 Olympic team. Lillie Keenan, he mentioned, began on ponies in Wellington and last week was part of the winning U.S. Longines League of Nations squad in Ocala.
Murray added “75 percent of the Olympic team either lives here full-time or has a home here. What makes us special and what makes Wellington, Wellington, is that we service all levels and they all matter.”
He cited the “virtuous circle” theory that he often used when he headed USEF.
“The best experience attracts the best riders in world,” he stated, and it follows that if a facility has “the best infrastructure and the best customer service, everything else will take care of itself.”
He added, “WLP’s business interests are aligned with the sport being fantastic because this is the anchor of the community. It needs to be the best it can be to inspire kids to ride and (families to) buy houses in the area. That’s how the business model works.”
World number seven-ranked show jumper McLain Ward, never shy about bringing issues to Murray’s attention, said he’s a big fan of the CEO.
“I think he’s made a commitment not only to the facility and the ownership group, but also to a lot of long-term relationships that he has within the sport and within business. There were some improvements that were made quickly that were noticed,” said McLain. Those included LED lighting in the International Arena and attention to footing.
“Obviously, the place was in a pretty big hole, so like anything, it’s scratching the surface. I’m optimistic it’s going in a positive direction,” McLain added.
Footing samples are taken every day and sent to the FEI, “which sends back a report with where we are on density. On grand prix day, I do it three times,” said Murray, who noted samples, which also track moisture content, are taken from 35 locations in the main ring,
Murray Kessler at the international arena. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Murray’s wife, Sarah Davis Kessler, is part of the showgrounds team. Her affinity for hospitality and design is reflected in the VIP area, where the settings have been upgraded. Crystal glasses, bottles of wine and a charcuterie board are on the tables.
“I’m getting rid of all the plastic,” Murray promised.
He also has plans for dealing with the dust that has been omnipresent in the stable area by putting down rubber on some paths, asphalt millings elsewhere and footing on the pathway that ends at Pony Island, so horses don’t get muddy as they make their way up from the stables.
The CEO is keeping tabs on everyone and everything, pointing out, “I crack the whip.”
He warned a restaurant owner, whose eatery in a vendor area had a messy appearance, “if I ever walk in here again and it looks like this, you’re out the next day. He’s like, `It will never look like that again,’ and it never has.”
Before WLP took over, street sweepers came in once a week. Now they come five days a week at night. Lack of bathroom cleanliness was “always a pet peeve of everybody,”
The remedy for that is in high gear, with cleaning going on at night Wednesdays through Sundays. “Cleaning during the day couldn’t keep up,” Murray pointed out.
Hunter judges Robin Rost Brown and her husband, Otis “Brownie” Brown, took note that the judges’ booths were clean and the air conditioning worked.
“The whole place is pumped up,” said Brownie, while his wife observed, “Everyone seems still happy on Week 12.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 15, 2025
It’s been more than five very long years since show jumper Kevin Babington had a life-changing accident when his horse fell with him in a grand prix.
A spinal injury that paralyzed the Irish Olympian from mid-chest down has meant he can’t walk, use his hands or at this point, even cough effectively – leading to his hospitalization for pneumonia for two weeks.
As of March 25, he finally came home after a tough battle.
“His spirit is undeniably resilient,” Kevin’s wife, Dianna, said on social media.
“I have never met anyone so tough, mentally and now physically. Thank you to all for your prayers and support.”
Obviouslly, his situation has not dimmed Kevin’s spirit or determination to carry on. He is eager to be teaching lessons again at his home stable in Loxahatchee, Fla. He also has been available to do consulting work for those seeking his expertise with horses.
Dianna and Kevin on the porch of tvheir home, Kevin’s teaching vantagepoint. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
There’s always a struggle, but the bright light is that he is not alone. In addition to his wife and daughters Marielle and Gwyneth, there are many who rally for his cause time and again. They will be involved with a major event this Sunday, March 30, at Erica Hatfield’s EyeCandyland Farm in Wellington, Fla. It’s Kevin’s Rockstars Lip Sync Fundraiser, offering creative and zany entertainment that draws the equestrian community as both participants and audience.
The event benefits the Kevin Babington Foundation, which raises funds and generates support not only for Kevin, but also for other show jumpers who sustain spinal injuries. In addition to providing financial assistance the foundation’s mission includes educating riders, trainers and show organizers about safety measures designed to reduce the risk of serious injuries which can occur while riding.
For past Lip Syncs, big name riders, including Olympic gold medalist Nick Skelton of Great Britain, Ireland’s Darragh Kenny and the USA’s Heather Caristo got their acts together to show their creative side. This month’s show will feature the singing janitor, Richard Goodall, who won the 2024 season of America’s Got Talent.
“His heart, humility, and spirit perfectly represent our foundation. I knew we had to get him to perform,” said Foundation Chairman Jeff Papows.
Commenting on Kevin’s condition, Jeff said, “We have seen the incredible support and love pouring in at this time. The doctors have been doing a great job in managing Kevin’s condition and are working to get him back home as soon as possible.”
While Kevin can’t have visitors at this time, click here to get a form on which you can send a note to Kevin wishing him well. Jeff noted Kevin is determined to see the Lip Sync, always a highlight for him.
“We try to make sure people want to come every year, because they’re getting something for their money,” Dianna noted about the event.
Kevin and Mark Q after victory at Devon nine years ago. (Photo © 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Last year, Kevin suffered a setback when the ramp to his van failed, his wheelchair crashed to the ground and he hit the back of his head. He will need spinal surgery, as well as having a hip replaced.
“This is a stark reminder that this is not something that gets fixed,” Dianna observed, noting other equestrians have problems with which the foundation is helping.
“This is an ongoing medical tragedy. There’s always another shoe that’s about to drop, and it’s not just him. This is not something where we throw money at it and fix it and walk away. This is ongoing. There will be future recipients.”
Dianna said if she outlives Kevin, she will continue working with the foundation. She is one step removed right now, wanting to make sure there is no conflict of interest, but is involved in the Lip Sync and other events.
“I want people to come and participate, if not this year, next year. It is for Kevin and everybody who has come after him, and will come again after him,” said Dianna, noting “It’s a constant battle.”
Kevin is a good teacher who understands show jumping from a variety of perspectives. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
People can purchase a table to be part of the evening, or simply donate to the foundation. The need continues.
“This is never over,” is the way Dianna put it.
Click on this link to purchase tickets or tables for a very special cause.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 20, 2025
The high-profile Longines Global Champions Tour is coming to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, bringing top level show jumpers from around the world to a new venue for the series.
They’re calling the Sept. 19-21 competition the Longines Global Champions Tour & GCL (Global Champions League) of New York, naturally — because New Jersey too often gets no respect. But the closest the show jumpers will get to New York is looking at the impressive view, which includes the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan.
The tour’s previous location in the area was Governors Island, which involved a lot of maneuvering. The only access to the venue was by boats and ferries, which was a logistical nightmare.
The Longines Global Champions Tour had a great view of Manhattan when it was on Governors Island. Photo © 2019 by Lawrence J. Nagy
Ben Maher competing on the Global Champions Tour when it was at Governors Island.
The tour last landed there in 2022, but GCT “always wanted to go back to New York. It’s a key city,” said the tour’s public relations manager, Floss Bish-Jones.
She explained that the tour, which has stops in London, Europe and the Middle East, is designed to offer people in the cities a chance to attend a sport they normally wouldn’t have a chance to see, and features dramatic backdrops for the competition.
The park hosted the Veuve Cliquot Polo Classic and is in horse-friendly surroundings, an important element because of the tour’s concern for horse welfare, said Floss.
Polo at Liberty State Park.
This will be the tour’s only location in the U.S. this year, since its Miami Beach leg had to be cancelled because it clashed with next month’s FEI World Cup Finals in Switzerland.
Tickets will be available in April, and announcements of events around the competition will be forthcoming in the effort to involve people in the region.
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.
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 23, 2025
When McLain Ward was making his entrance into the arena for the second round of the Longines League of Nations Saturday night, the crowd welcomed him with a booming roar of appreciation. But they might as well have been silent; McLain didn’t hear them.
The anchor rider for the U.S. team was tasked with having to produce a clear round on the plucky Ilex, a Dutchbred gelding who likes to buck after the first jump. (Mclain attributes that to a bit of competition nerves.)
Nothing but perfection would do, since the German squad was a mere one penalty behind the Americans at that point. If McLain had a single time fault; there would be a jump-off. Should he topple a rail, Germany would be on the podium. So the noise didn’t register.
“In the moment of competition, you try to block it out and honestly, if I’m focused, I don’t hear much of anything,” he explained about his reaction to the clamor from the stands at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
But after turning in the clean round that brought victory to the U.S., he then welcomed the recognition from fans for what he had done as he raised his right arm in triumph.
McLain Ward celebrates the clean round that brought the U.S. victory. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“You appreciate the crowds and support and you try your best not to disappoint and give them an inspirational performance. It’s always nice to jump a clear, it went right down to the wire, it was great sport,” he said.
The U.S. team on the podium: McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Lillie Keenan and Aaron Vale. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
His trip followed a fault-free effort by Germany’s Sophie Hinners on Iron Dames Signclair.
“She’s a very good friend of mine, so I knew she was going to deliver a good round,” McLain said.
“So it was game on and that’s what you live for.”
McLain Ward can always be counted on as the anchor rider for the U.S. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
It was a friendly rivalry. McLain and his family vacation with Sophie and her boyfriend, Richie Vogel, who was also on the German team but had 16 faults in the first round and didn’t ride the second round.
Mclain was out for a month this season with a back injury following a fall, and Ilex then had a “hiccup” that kept him out of the ring for a week, so it was nice to see them both back in such good form. Now that he’s back in action, McLain will be debuting his newest ride, Imperial HBF, in national classes to get acquainted before moving him up to international classes. The horse previously was ridden by British team member Tim Gredley.
The League format includes 10 squads of four, but only the top eight countries come back for another go over the same course, in this case, a route designed by Alan Wade and his team. While in the first round each country has a drop score, that’s not the case in the second round, where only three riders are allowed to come back for each nation and every score counts.
“I love the format the League of Nations has, specifically for the excitement,” said U.S. coach Robert Ridland.
“Of course, it’s always nice to be on the right end of the excitement. But how things can so change in that second round! We had a veteran team here, these are horses that have done it before. There was a reason why that we picked the team here, it’s our home Nations’ Cup (actually League of Nations is different from Nations Cup) and we had some incredible competition that we had to beat.”
Team member Aaron Vale, who is from the Ocala area and a WEC regular, said, “it’s really special when you get an opportunity to jump against the world’s best in your backyard.” He had a rail in the first round with Carissimo, which was the U.S. drop score, and he did not ride in the second round.
Laura Kraut was aboard her 2023 Pan American Games team gold medal mount, Dorado 212, an Oldenburg who was out for a year with an injury.
“So I’m extra proud of him for the performance he put in tonight. His first round was impeccable and the second round I was really worried about my time, because I was only 0.25 under (the time allowed),” she said.
“I thought the place to make it up was to the wall and clearly that was a bad idea,” she said with a smile, referring to knocking off a block there for a 4-fault penalty.
She apologized for putting extra pressure on McLain, who was clearly capable of handling it.
There were only four double-clears in the class; McLain and Lillie Keenan with Argan de Beliard for the U.S. along with Sophie and another German, Olympic individual gold medalist Christian Kukuk (the winner of Thursday’s grand prix) on Please Be Gentle.
Germany’s Sophie Hinners’ second clear round on Iron Dames Singclair posed a challenge for the USA’s McLain Ward. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Lillie trains with McLain and said he selected her mount, a 15-year-old Selle Francais by Mylord Cathargo, but she wasn’t impressed at first.
“I didn’t want him. I didn’t see how special he is and McLain really convinced me.”
He was right, of course. The grey gelding has amazing scope and style.
“His nickname is Mr. Consistency. To be honest, he would probably jump clear every single round if I managed to stay out of his way,” Lillie said.
Lillie Keenan and Argan de Beliard. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Luckily, I did that both rounds today. To be able to ride a horse that is so reliable is such a gift, especially when you have to jump two rounds and there’s obviously immense pressure, which is what he grows from.”
Without a major championship in 2025, the “quiet” year of the Olympic cycle, Robert said the U.S. will have a lot of team events “so that we can bring in some of the younger riders and give opportunity. We’re going to continue to try to get riders riding with the veterans and learning the ropes, so when we get back into the championships swing of things next year, we’ll have more depth.”
With two legs of the four League qualifiers to go, in Rotterdam and St. Tropez, the U.S. stands fourth with 140 points in the race to qualify for the finals in Barcelona this fall, the year’s biggest goal. Germany and Ireland are tied for the lead on 170 points, and France is third with 150.
Click here for results
