by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 2, 2025
With so many social events in the Wellington, Fla., area during the Winter Equestrian Festival, it takes a lot for one to stand out, especially at the end of an intense 12-week circuit.
Yet Kevin’s Rockstars Lip Sync Fundraiser was a spectacular sellout last weekend, an evening to remember. Despite the zany name, it’s serious business, bringing in impressive amounts of money for the Kevin Babington Foundation.
Although the paralyzed show jumper is the foundation’s namesake, the charity also gives grants to other athletes who, like Kevin, have sustained spinal injuries while show jumping.
Kevin fell with his horse in a grand prix nearly six years ago, and since then, life has been a constant battle, as he has to rely on aides and family members for nearly everything. After being treated last month for a life-threatening case of pneumonia, Kevin got out of the hospital just a few days before the party. His aides and three Intensive Care Unit nurses stood up and rightfully were acknowledged at the festivities.
In typical Kevin fashion, as soon as he was discharged, he was back teaching, passing on his knowledge to help others with their horses.
“That’s what I love,” he explained simply. His daughters Marielle and Gwyneth are also professional equestrians; Marielle works with the family’s horse business in Florida, while her sister rides with Olivier Perreau in France.
Kevin had been worried he wouldn’t be able to attend the Foundation fundraiser, but with his typical resilience, the Irish Olympian was determined to be part of it.
“They would have had to chain me down not to come here tonight,” he told me, as he sat smiling in his wheelchair and ready for what he called “a great craic,” an Irish expression signifying great fun.
The event had started four years ago as a “bit of a lark, a drag night with the Irish guys,” Kevin recalled, and grew from there into quite a production, with familiar faces from the show world transforming themselves into their favorite recording artists or characters from the songs that they lip synched.
The stage presented professional lighting and backdrops, all beneath a large tent on the picturesque Hatfield family farm. The Hatfields also made a $100,000 donation to kick off the evening, and energetic bidding overseen by emcee Jimmy Torano brought more contributions into the till.
Emcee Jimmy Torano and Dianna Babington. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Kevin’s energetic wife, Dianna, spoke of the “fantastic community of love” that has wrapped its many arms around the cause.
As Jimmy, also a show jumper, acknowledged what Kevin has gone through, he pointed out, “This could be any of us.”
Dianna mentioned that when she’s working in the VIP tent at WEF and “I hear the calamity of (falling) rails, I just feel this moment of `Oh My God’…and hold my breath for a minute.” Thankfully, there are few accidents as serious as Kevin’s, but she is always aware of what could happen.
The event is the most special night for Kevin, who got a standing ovation when he spoke to the 500-strong crowd.
Those attending the fundraiser stood and clapped for Kevin when he spoke. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I’m blown away every year. Because I’m always worried about, are we going to get enough people here? And it sells out. It’s not just supporting me, it’s supporting what the Foundation stands for,” Kevin said.
“I hope it doesn’t have to have too many other riders, but it’s there for them.”
Dianna said items paid for by the Foundation include round-the-clock aides and a special mattress for Kevin, all necessities that aren’t covered by insurance. It is used for big picture items, not the electric bill or the mortgage.
Kevin recalled the roots of the Foundation, explaining, “A group of friends got together to start a foundation for me and now look what it’s grown into,” with the subsequent involvement of Jeff Papows, its chairman.
“I never in a million years would have expected this,” said Kevin, as he looked around the crowded tent.
“I actually pinch myself all the time.”
Richard Goodall, the Indiana school janitor who won America’s Got Talent last year, kicked off the evening with his rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which could be Kevin’s anthem.
Richard Goodall sang “Don’t Stop Believin'” the theme song of the fundraiser. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Dianna told the crowd, “ `Don’t Stop Believin’ ’ is completely relevant, as it embodies everything the Foundation is about and everything that keeps each and every one of us that is involved in paralysis able to get up each and every day to carry on with their lives. We cannot stop believing that something will break in the medical community and… restore people’s mobility.”
She and others working with the foundation keep up with the latest medical advances for helping paralysis victims to someday move on their own. Jefff said he has a Google alert on his computer network that searches for anything to do with paralysis.
“One of these days, there’s going to be a breakthrough that will improve his (Kevin’s) quality of life significantly further,” Jeff predicted.
Among those Dianna cited is Onward Medical out of Switzerland. Their Arc-Ex medical device, which received FDA approval in January, is not invasive. Instead, it sends impulses to activate dormant neural pathways. As Dianna pointed out, there have been “huge strides” since actor Christopher Reeve’s accident. An amateur eventer, he was paralyzed after a 1995 cross-country fall and remained in a wheelchair until he died in 2004. He had actively lobbied for spinal injury research.
Dianna, who Kevin called, “My first and foremost advocate through this whole thing,” is nothing if not versatile. As a child, she was “Little Miss New Jersey,” went on to model, act in films during high school and college, and worked as a professional cheerleader for the Nets professional basketball team. Then she pursued her interest in horses, taking lessons with Gary Kunsman at Four Seasons Farm.
For the Lip Sync, she put her show biz background to use with a very professional performance as J Lo while Marielle (wearing a bald wig that took two hours to put on properly), played Pitbull in their convincing rendition of “On the Floor.” They were helped along by back-up “singers,” including show jumpers Schuyler Riley and Lacy Morrone-Cramer. The whole effort took quite a few rehearsals.
Dianna Babington (J Lo) with her daughter, Marielle, (Pit Bull) do their lip synch with the Sirens. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
In addition to lip sync acts, the evening included real singers, Heather Caristo Williams and Ki-Juan Minors, the first winner of American Equestrians Got Talent. It was a great opportunity to show off the non-riding abilities of people in the horse show community.
Kevin Rose of Ken Rose catering served a meal that touched all bases with barbequed brisket, mac and cheese and dumplings, as well as crème brulee and cheesecake shooters.
Mike Cruciotti worked with the production aspects of the show. Trainer Missy Clark received an award for encouraging people to put together acts featured during the evening. Others who received acknowledgement included Carol Coleman and Victoria McCullough, but there was a host of volunteers who helped things run smoothly.
Kevin Babington Foundation Chairman Jeff Papows and Missy Clark. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
The subject of air vests came up during the evening.
“I was never one to push anything on anybody,” said the guest of honor.
“I’m not sure if a vest would have saved me, there’s a very good chance it would have,” Kevin noted.
“Even if you only wear it for jumping, just think about it. I would have been one of those macho guys that would be the last person to wear the vest, which is completely stupid.”
The research on the effectiveness of the vests is not complete, but Jeff said, “I think it’s something every equestrian has got to consider very seriously.”
Kevin has aides with him around the clock every day of the year. Jeff noted “the Foundation has developed connections with the best and the brightest doctors and hospitals and labs around the world
“That said, he still lives in a very compromised state.”
Jeff added, “The financial cost of these kinds of injuries is catastrophic. It’s not just the injured athlete; it’s the entire family and their entire inner circle that’s affected.” With the aid of the foundation, the patient’s family is “going to be able to see them with a reasonable quality of life without compromising theirs.”
The event raised a record amount,
“It was a significant success and makes up a useful part of our annual operating budget,” said Jeff.
The scene at the party. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“The tragic part of it aside, I think it has unified the sport and created a closeness that is hard to describe, but it’s almost mystical,” he observed.
” We’ve got a database of 33,000 equestrians, and the open rate on that is 83 percent which is unheard of. I am constantly in awe of the love and generosity and tightness of the show jumping community. Talk about a sport and a community coming together.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 30, 2025
When show jumper Christian Kukuk said he had quite an “incredible” time on Saturday, he wasn’t exaggerating.
It started with the birth of his first child, a daughter named Lila. Then in the evening, the 2024 Olympic individual gold medalist faced and conquered a field of superstars at Florida’s Winter Equestrian Festival in the debut of the $750,000 Rolex U.S. Equestrian Grand Prix, as more than 10,000 enthusiastic spectators took it all in at the Wellington International showgrounds.
Both Christian Kukuk and the crowd at the Rolex Grand Prix enjoyed his victory gallop. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
The class, the WEF finale, was part of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s new U.S. Open series across the Olympic disciplines, and it catered to spectators in an effort to popularize the sport. Fans loved the updated intro on the jumbotron featuring videos of the top riders, and they flocked into the ring when invited at the end of the class so they could get autographs from their heroes.
“To have the quality of riders we have now: Olympic champions, world champions world number one, and to draw the crowds we have, it just shows this sport is a spectator sport and there are fans that want to be a part of this,” said Michael Stone, president of Wellington International.
“To see the kids get so excited to get autographs and photographs with athletes… is special. It’s so important that we bring the sport to everyone. We want to help in growing the sport and this event has set an incredible mark for how we can do that and the kind of people and passion we can get behind it.”
The 40 starters in the first round who tested themselves over Guillherme Jorge’s brilliant course was whittled to eight. How tough was the route set at 1.60 meters (with one fence an inch higher than that)? Those who didn’t qualify for the tiebreaker included world number one Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden with King Edward, world number two Kent Farrington with Greya and McLain Ward on his Olympic partner, Ilex. And there were plenty of other noteworthy competitors who missed the jump-off, among them Britain’s 2021 Olympic individual gold medalist Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly.
Course designer Guilherme Jorge. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
The USA’s Laura Kraut, though, was right in the thick of things, demonstrating how her eager mount, Bisquetta, has come along since last year with a bravura blazing trip in 39.49 seconds over the eight fences of the shortened course.
“She has gotten more experience and I’ve taken her to a lot of good venues. Now she sort of understands what her job is,” commented Laura, 59.
She said the Zangersheide mare has moved up to first string status with her Olympic team silver medal mount, Baloutinue, who is sidelined with a small injury. That caused him to miss this coming week’s FEI World Cup Finals in Switzerland. Laura said she is being extra careful with Baloutinue because he is 15.
Her thought process is the same as Christian’s, who said he is conserving his Paris Games mount, Checker 47, because that horse also is 15, and is pointing him toward grands prix and next year’s world championships at Aachen. For this summer’s European Championships, he plans on using Just Be Gentle, winner of the Longines Grand Prix in Ocala earlier this month.
Laura Kraut and Bisquetta. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Laura noted she had been a bit cautious in the jump-off and left the door open by adding strides in two places during her ride, and Christian took advantage of that when he and Checker followed her trip.
“I knew that Laura was really fast and I had to try everything,” he explained after his second triumph of the 2025 WEF season.
“There is something special between him and this arena here. He has an extra gear,” Christian observed about the son of Comme Il Faut 5.
The German rider did just enough with the agile grey Westfalen gelding to cut 0.29 seconds from Laura’s time, and there was his victory in 39.20 seconds. He also won the class on his first visit to WEF last year, when it wasn’t part of the Rolex series, and offered less money. But it was still impressive, and I will never forget his 2024 victory gallop with the ribbon clutched in his teeth!
Third place went to Ashlee Bond, 39, representing Israel on her always steady Donatello 141, clocked in 40.41 seconds. The Westfalen won the USA’s only $1 million grand prix last December in Thermal, Calif.
Ashlee Bond was overjoyed to turn in the first clean round (Photo © and2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Ashlee and Donny have been together for nine years and move as a unit, honed by a depth of experience. Although Donny is only 15..3 hands, smaller than most of his rivals, he makes up for it with determination and a desire to do well for his rider.
“He turned himself inside-out for me,” said Ashlee, and this despite the fact that he wasn’t as energetic as usual after an infection in his throat from an allergy. He won’t do any more championships, but she plans to prolong his career for as long as he wants to do it. After that, “he can give my daughter pony rides because he likes to do that, too.”
Christian packed a lot into the hours of March 29, and after his victory he still seemed stunned–but thrilled–about how it all turned out.
He explained everything with a big smile on his face.
Christian Kukuk was mobbed by spectators as he signed autographs after his victory. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“My wife, Veronica was pregnant and the due date was actually next week,” the 35-year-old rider recounted.
“Perfect, right after week12 (the last week of WEF). I was hoping she’d at least wait until Sunday (the day after the Rolex Grand Prix).”
However, they had to go to the hospital Friday night as the baby was on her way.
“Everything went really well. Both are healthy. I honestly can’t wait to see them again,,” said Christian.
“It’s a story you cannot really imagine,” he continued, adding he looks forward to telling the tale to Lila when she is older.
And for his part, he said, “I will always have very, very special memories of her birthday.”
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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 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.
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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
