The CEO of the organization that runs the annual Defender Kentucky CCI5*, the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Kentucky International CSI5* has accepted a new role with the Fédération Equestre Internationale. 

Molly Day, who was named CEO of Equestrian Events Inc. in January 2025, has been named director of the FEI Eventing and Driving Department, a newly created role reflecting the strategic merger of the two departments, the FEI announced Monday. 

“Throughout the recruitment process Molly has demonstrated strategic vision, operational expertise, and deep knowledge of equestrian sport at the highest level. Her extensive experience along with her trusted reputation within the community, makes her an exceptional addition to the FEI Sports and Games team,” FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said.

“Molly’s proven leadership skills and strategic approach will be invaluable as she takes the helm of our newly merged Eventing and Driving Department. We are confident that under her guidance, the disciplines will be strengthened and positioned for sustainable growth on the international stage.”

The department merger, which goes into effect this month, is designed to capitalize on shared opportunities between eventing, driving and para-driving and to support the continued growth of the disciplines. Day, who was selected following an international executive search, will officially join the FEI on Feb. 1 and will report to FEI Executive Director of Sport and Games Áine Power.

Originally from Great Britain, Day brings extensive experience in equestrian sport and major event management. Prior to her year with EEI running the Kentucky Three-Day and its associated competitions, Day held senior leadership roles with The Jockey Club in the United Kingdom, including general manager of the Haydock Park and Carlisle Racecourses. At Haydock Park, she managed a major capital investment project, strengthened stakeholder partnerships, earned national recognition for customer experience. She also successfully oversaw the reopening of the Carlisle Racecourses after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I am honored to take on the role of director of the FEI’s merged Eventing and Driving Department,” Day said. “I look forward to bringing my experience in delivering major equestrian events and managing complex operations to this role. Working with the talented team in Lausanne, I hope to strengthen connections across these two disciplines, support organizers, officials, and athletes, and help eventing and driving continue to grow sustainably at a global level.”

Day’s newly announced role with the FEI means that both U.S. CCI5* events are currently without their executive leadership, as Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill CEO Jeff Newman and other key executives are no longer employed by the state of Maryland as of late December.

However, Prim Hudgins, president of the EEI board of directors, said the organization is already engaged in finding her replacement and expects to make an announcement to that effect this week.

“In early December, Molly Day informed EEI leadership that she had accepted a position with the FEI,” Hudgins said in a statement. “The board of directors immediately began discussing plans on how best to move forward in a way that ensures the continued strength, stability, and delivery of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and EEI’s wider portfolio. We expect to have an announcement on EEI’s new leadership arrangement later this week. Meanwhile, Molly remains fully engaged with EEI as she transitions from EEI in February.”

The post Former Kentucky Three-Day CEO Named To New FEI Role appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

The recent ruling from Florida Circuit Court Judge Maxine Cheesman struck Lamaze’s pleadings and entered a final judgement of just over $1.6 million, plus attorney costs and fees, in favor of Guthrie, a family friend and former investor in Lamaze’s horses.

The two-year legal battle began in January 2023 when Guthrie and her now-deceased husband Jeffrey Brandmaier sued the Canadian Olympian for fraud, breach of contract, and breaking Florida law, claiming he owed them more than $1.4 million related to the misrepresented purchase of “Nikka” and another horse, and the subsequent sale of Nikka—who would go on to represent Canada in the Olympics and world championships—to his former clients Mark and Tara Rein. 

“It is sad that the legacy of Eric Lamaze will be his deceitful and disloyal dealing with the many friends and families who for decades supported him and his career,” Guthrie said of the verdict and the events leading up to it.

(The Reins, who later filed a cross-claim related to Guthrie’s suit, won that suit Sept. 5 when the Florida court ruled in their favor to the tune of $5.5 million—a decision Lamaze has appealed.)

While Cheesman originally ruled in favor of Guthrie and Brandmaier in November 2023, that decision was overturned by an appeals court and the case returned to Cheesman’s court in May 2025. The appellate court found that the lower court “abused its discretion” and denied Lamaze due process when, during a September 2023 hearing, Cheesman heard testimony and ruled against him after granting his then-attorney’s request to withdraw from representing him.  

The December 2025 ruling came after Lamaze apparently missed multiple hearings and case management conferences scheduled in the case since it was returned to circuit court, including a final hearing set for Nov. 13 in which the judge was to consider Guthrie’s attorneys’ motion to have Lamaze’s pleadings struck and a final judgement entered in her favor. 

“The Lamaze Defendants have failed to attend multiple duly noticed hearings in this case, including the [Nov. 13] hearing on the plaintiff’s motion to strike,” Cheesman wrote in her final judgement. “Despite clear instructions from the court requiring all parties’ attendance, and despite direct communications between the court and [Lamaze’s most recent representative in the case, publicist Pascal Renauldon] on the same day of the hearing, where it became evident that Mr. Lamaze made a conscious and deliberate decision to disregard the court and go horseback riding instead, Mr. Renauldon advised the court that Mr. Lamaze would not appear at the hearing.”

The judge also noted that, while Lamaze can represent himself in such hearings, law requires that the “corporate defendants”—his companies Torrey Pines Stables Florida, Torrey Pines Stables, Inc., and Little Creek Investments, Inc.—must have legal representation, and that they had violated multiple court orders by failing to find counsel since Lamaze first was told to do so in December 2024, when his most recent attorney withdrew from representing the rider and his businesses. 

“The court finds that the corporate Lamaze defendants have acted in deliberate and contumacious disregard of this court’s authority by failing to comply with both the January 2025 order and the August 2025 order, which cumulatively provided …  over ten (10) months to obtain counsel,” Cheesman wrote in striking all the corporate pleadings in the case.

“Rather than retaining licensed counsel as required, the court finds that the Lamaze defendants improperly relied on a nonlawyer, Mr. Renauldon, to act on their behalf in this litigation,” the document continues, noting that Renauldon’s participation in the case, which included filing various motions for Lamaze, “exceed clerical assistance and constitute the unauthorized practice of law.”

For his part, Renauldon, founder of the French public relations firm R&B Presse, had argued both to the court and to the public, via press releases, that Lamaze was caught in a “procedural trap,” saying that because the court froze his assets in 2023, he has been “stripped of the resources needed to fund a fair defense.” 

Renauldon said this week he has never acted as an attorney, only as an administrative assistant to help Lamaze. Lamaze filed an appeal to the December decision on Jan. 12, he added, noting that the December ruling was so similar to the 2023 one overturned by the appeals court that it, too, should be overturned.

Previously, in response to the September ruling in favor of the Rein family, he had written that plaintiffs’ attorneys “exploited the fact that while an individual may appear pro se, a corporate entity must be represented by an attorney—an impossibility as long as Lamaze’s assets remained frozen.”

Lamaze also argued in court, as recently as Dec. 24, that he should not be required to participate in the circuit court case until his appeal to the Reins counterclaim—filed Sept. 30 in Florida’s 4^th District Court of Appeal—has been ruled upon. 

“Compelling discovery, depositions, or execution-related proceedings at this stage risks irreparable prejudice by effectively mooting the appeal before the appellate court has ruled,” he wrote Dec. 24, objecting to an effort by Guthrie’s lawyers to force him to participate in the proceedings.

The circuit court judge, however, based her decision in part on what she called Lamaze’s “deliberate, material and pervasive fraud upon this court,” writing that his arguments in the case—including those to have his assets unfrozen—revolved around his claim of being ill and in treatment for brain cancer, documents related to which were found by a Canadian judge to be fraudulent.

“The court finds that Eric Lamaze testified under oath on February 24, 2023, that he had been receiving brain cancer treatment for five (5) years in Belgium and that he required continued treatment, including an imminent surgery date,” the judgement states. “The court later learned through competent, credible evidence that these assertions were false, that the letter he submitted was forged, and that the referenced medical provider confirmed that Eric Lamaze was not its patient. Plaintiffs had listed Mr. Lamaze as a witness in their exhibit register for the hearing and were providing him with another opportunity to explain himself, but he chose not to appear.” 

Because of that choice, law dictated that his previous testimony be entered as evidence, she wrote.

“The court concludes that the Lamaze defendants’ conduct constitutes a fraud that permeates the entirety of these proceedings,” the decision states. “Their pleadings cannot be trusted, their testimony has been shown to be false, and their submissions were deliberately fabricated. As such, striking the Lamaze defendants’ pleadings is both warranted and necessary to protect the integrity of the judicial process.”

The medical documents referenced first were presented in a different, Canadian case that lasted for 14 years, from 2010-2024, in which the Aziz family, former clients of the rider’s, sued him for misrepresenting horses he sold them. Lamaze’s Canadian attorney in that case presented the documents in an effort to delay court proceedings due to the rider’s purported ongoing cancer treatment. A U.S. attorney representing him in the Guthrie case supplied the same documents to the Florida court, also as documentation to support Lamaze not appearing in court. Both attorneys have since stopped representing Lamaze and said they were not initially aware the documents were forgeries. 

In the September 2023 hearing, in which Lamaze’s then-attorney recused himself after the forgeries were discovered, Lamaze testified without attorney representation that the letters were written by a secretary “without me knowing about it” and told the judge that his brain cancer had been in remission since 2021, but he was instead being treated for throat cancer. That hearing, and the fact that the attorney was recused before Lamaze testified, formed the basis for an appeals court to overturn Cheesman’s first judgement in the case, entered in November 2023, in favor of Guthrie and Brandmaier.

In entering her final judgement, Cheesman enumerated multiple reasons for striking Lamaze’s pleas and ruling in favor of Guthrie. It also touched on his repeated requests to have his assets unfrozen through the dissolution of writs of garnishment enforced early in the case. 

“The Lamaze defendants’ fraudulent conduct went to the heart of their arguments seeking dissolution of the writs of garnishment and other relief,” she wrote. “The court relied on Mr. Lamaze’s sworn testimony and the fabricated submissions when evaluating those issues. Because the fraud permeated the core of their defense strategy, striking their pleadings is appropriate for this reason as well.” 

Show jumper Karina Frederiks, whose family filed the Canadian lawsuit and hired the investigator who uncovered the forged medical documents that were Lamaze’s undoing in both his U.S. and Canadian cases, noted this week that both Guthrie’s husband, Brandmaier, and the Aziz family’s attorney, Jerome Morse, who worked on their case for many years, have died from cancer since court proceedings began. Guthrie had purchased Nikka around the time Brandmaier was diagnosed with cancer, “so he could enjoy his last four summers,” Fredericks wrote.

“It infuriates me that Eric faked having one of the most deadly cancers, and the good people around him were actually taken out by a much less deadly type of cancer then what he claimed to have,” she added. 

The post Florida Court Rules Lamaze Owes $1.6M To Olympic Show Jumper’s Former Co-Owners appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

According to the Fédération Équestre Internationale database, the Brazilian Olympic champion acquired the 11-year-old gelding (Vigo d’Arsouilles—La Jolie Van’t Eigenlo, Zandor) on July 30, 2025.

Prins Van’t Eigenlo enjoyed a successful partnership with “Bosty,” the 2016 Olympic team gold medalist, and most recently finished third in the 1.55-meter Canteleu CSI4* (France) in May 2025.

“This is ‘Prins,’ one of our recruits for this year,” Pessoa said in a video shared on social media. “He’s 11, he’s a very powerful jumper, he’s very careful. We’re very excited about him. We’re hoping that very quickly, he’ll be jumping the big classes. He’s also a very sweet horse. We’re looking forward to starting the season with him this year.”

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The successful candidate will work 20-25 hours a week, primarily Fridays through Mondays, contributing timely news coverage, competition reporting, and feature content across Chronicle platforms.

Some travel will be required to cover competitions and industry events.

Key Responsibilities

• Report and write news stories, competition coverage and features for the Chronicle in digital and print formats
• Provide timely weekend coverage of competitions, breaking news, and developing stories
• Conduct interviews with riders, trainers and other industry figures
• Travel to equestrian competitions and events as assigned
• File clean, accurate copy on deadline and adhere to Chronicle style and editorial standards
• Collaborate with editors and other contributors to identify story ideas and angles

Qualifications

• Prior reporting and writing experience, preferably in sports, lifestyle or niche media. (Experience covering equestrian sports is a bonus.)
• Strong news judgment and the ability to work independently on deadline
• Excellent writing, interviewing and organizational skills
• Strong familiarity with English-discipline equestrian sports, including trends, topics and major players
• Willingness and ability to work weekends (primary schedule would be Friday through Monday)
• Ability to travel occasionally for assignments
• Multimedia skills—including basic photography, videography, social media, and experience with digital publishing—are beneficial 

Compensation

• Part-time paid position; compensation commensurate with experience
• Travel expenses covered for assigned events

How To Apply

Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, and at least two published writing samples to lslade@coth.com. 

In an addendum (inside the body of your email is fine), please write two or three sentences explaining who you think is the best show jumping, eventing or dressage horse in history, and why. Applications must answer that question to be considered.

About The Chronicle Of The Horse

The Chronicle of the Horse is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.

The Chronicle of the Horse is a leading U.S. equestrian media company and the premier source of news, competition results, features and commentary for the sport horse community. Founded in 1937, it delivers authoritative coverage across major disciplines—including dressage, eventing, hunters and show jumping—through its monthly magazine and dynamic digital platforms. 

The post Job Offer: Part-Time Staff Writer & Reporter appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

The breakthrough of the young French rider—who becomes only the seventh woman to enter the world’s top 10—and the loss of six places by Harrie Smolders (Netherlands) are the most notable movements at the top of the table this month. Kent Farrington (USA) remains firmly in first place. McLain Ward (USA) moves up two spots from last month and re-enters the top 10 in ninth place.

With three riders now ranked among the top 10, the United States becomes the most represented nation at the very top of the Longines standings.

A Breakthrough Moment For Nina Mallevaey

The year 2025 was undeniably a breakthrough one for Nina Mallevaey. Just outside the top 10 in December, the rider—who continues to dominate the under-25 rankings—has now entered this exclusive circle for the first time. In doing so, she becomes only the seventh female rider to break into the world top 10 since mid-2010, when the world rankings became available online.

Only one woman has ever reached the world No. 1 position: Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (USA), who topped the rankings in 2004, more than 20 years ago.

Now ranked eighth in the world, Mallevaey is close behind Laura Kraut, the world’s highest-ranked female show jumper since October. Kraut, who celebrated her 60th birthday in November, ended a four-year absence of women in the Top 10 last autumn. However, to find two women simultaneously ranked in the Top 10 of this monthly list, one must go back to May 2016, when Pénélope Leprevost (France) stood fifth and Beezie Madden (USA) 10th. Two months earlier, in March, they were joined by Luciana Diniz (Portugal), making that period particularly exceptional.

That context underlines the magnitude of the achievement by Laura Kraut, ranked seventh this month, and Nina Mallevaey, newly installed in eighth.

Behind them, Sophie Hinners (Germany) is the next-ranked woman at 21st place. Lillie Keenan (USA), Jessica Mendoza (Great Britain), Erynn Ballard (Canada), Kristen Vanderveen (USA), Kim Emmen (Netherlands), and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann (Germany) are the only other women to appear in the top 50—representing just 18 percent of that segment of the rankings.

Kent Farrington Continues His Reign

While Nina Mallevaey’s rise has brought fresh movement near the summit, she remains one of the few notable exceptions. For the ninth consecutive month, Kent Farrington continues to lead the world rankings and retains the No. 1 armband.

In December, the Chicago native reinforced his dominance by winning the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva (Switzerland), capping off an already outstanding season. Unlike Mallevaey and others, Farrington traveled to Europe specifically for that event—a decision that paid off. Although he was beaten by Scott Brash (Great Britain) in the Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final—which does not award ranking points—Farrington remains ahead in the overall standings, where Brash holds second place. The Scottish rider, however, has shown no intention of easing the pressure. After returning to top form in 2025, he began 2026 in similar fashion, finishing second in the first four-star grand prix of the year in Doha (Qatar) on Sunday, Jan. 4.

Behind them, the upper reaches of the rankings remain unchanged from December. Olympic champion Christian Kukuk (Germany), who recently left the Beerbaum stables to establish his own operation, sits third. He is followed by triple Olympic champion Ben Maher (Great Britain)—including individual gold in 2021 with the recently retired Explosion W—and Gilles Thomas (Belgium) in fourth and fifth place. Richard Vogel (Germany) holds steady in sixth.

The entry of Nina Mallevaey and McLain Ward into the top 10 has pushed Daniel Coyle (Ireland) and, more significantly, Harrie Smolders out of the elite group. Coyle now sits 11th, while Smolders—who lost the points earned from his 2024 Geneva victory—drops from eighth to 14th.

Julien Epaillard And Donatello d’Auge Lead The Combinations Rankings

January also brings the FEI’s annual rankings for combinations in jumping. Julien Epaillard (France) and Donatello d’Auge, winners of the most recent Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final, have been awarded the honorary title of best combination of 2025, based on results recorded between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31.

Homebred and produced, jointly owned by Julien Epaillard and Hello Holdings 31 SLU, the French Saddle Horse’s performances also earned Susana Garcia Cereceda Epaillard—Julien’s wife—the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses award 2025 for best breeder.

Nina Mallevaey and Dynastie de Beaufour rank second in the combinations standings, ahead of Kristen Vanderveen and Uno 56, Gilles Thomas and Qalista DN, and Kent Farrington and Greya.

Find the Longines rankings for show jumping here.
See the combinations in jumping standings here.

The post Mallevaey Reaches Milestone As U.S. Riders Dominate The Longines Rankings appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

The ideal candidate has at least five years of sales experience with a proven record of exceeding revenue goals, deep understanding of the equestrian industry (especially the English-discipline sports), and a self-motivated and determined personality.

Job Type:

• Full-time
• Remote, with preference given to candidates based in equestrian-sports hubs, such as Wellington, Ocala, Traverse City, Tryon or Lexington.

Qualifications:

• At least three years of sales experience with a proven record of growing revenue.
• Experience in the equestrian sports world, particularly in the English disciplines, with a strong network of contacts, plus an understanding of the industry’s key players and trends.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills, with a detail-oriented personality.
• The ability to work independently and manage multiple accounts and priorities effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• The ability to interact in a professional manner with clients, fellow employees, and the management team.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• The ability to travel to competitions and trade fairs as needed.
• Proficiency in CRM software, CMS, and digital sales tools.
• Experience using the Microsoft suite of products.

Job Responsibilities:

• Identify and develop new advertising opportunities across digital and print platforms.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing and potential clients in the equestrian industry.
• Provide excellent customer service across all client relationships.
• Create and deliver compelling presentations and proposals customized for client needs.
• Deliver proposals to clients with both speed and excellence.
• Understand the problems clients need to solve and take a strategic approach to solving them.
• Maintain knowledge of our products and our features and convey these to clients accurately.
• Analyze industry data to determine ideal targets, in addition to staying up to date on new sales modalities, trends and technologies to identify new revenue targets.
• Collaborate with the editorial and marketing teams to develop effective advertising solutions for clients.
• Meet and exceed sales targets, as well as outreach targets.
• Forecast revenue to sales director monthly and quarterly.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary with performance-based commission structure
• Health, dental and vision benefits
• Flexible work arrangements
• The opportunity to work with a passionate team in the equestrian industry at a respected and growing legacy media company.

You can apply by email to eleonore.magnien@grandprixgroup.com

The Chronicle of the Horse is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.

About GRANDPRIX:

A specialist in the equestrian world, GRANDPRIX is built around three main pillars: media, audiovisual production, and events.

Historically established in the equestrian press with its monthly magazine, the GRANDPRIX Group has also become a strong digital player. GRANDPRIX.info covers daily equestrian news, STUDFORLIFE.com offers in-depth analyses of show jumping and breeding, and Horseman.be is a leading media outlet in Flanders and the Netherlands. The group also publishes the ASEP Stallion Guide, a reference tool for breeders.

In 2025, the group continues its international expansion with the acquisition of The Chronicle of the Horse, the leading American equestrian media since 1937. Each month, the publication shares equestrian news through its print magazine, website, forum, and active digital community.

On the audiovisual side, GRANDPRIX.tv broadcasts more than 350 equestrian events per year, with 3.8 million rounds available on demand, and offers exclusive shows for its subscribers. For several years, the group has also collaborated with ClipMyHorse.TV, producing content for the French market. Georgette, a 100% digital concept, reaches a new generation of riders through social media.

With more than ten years of experience, GRANDPRIX Events organizes national and international competitions in some of the sport’s most iconic venues. Its annual calendar includes LONGINES DEAUVILLE CLASSIC, SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY CSIO DEAUVILLE, CHANTILLY CLASSIC, CABOURG CLASSIC, COMPIÈGNE CLASSIC, COMPIÈGNE CSIO, FONTAINEBLEAU CLASSIC, and LE TOUQUET CLASSIC. In 2026, the group will expand its expertise to Portugal with the launch of the VILAMOURA CLASSIC.

The post Job Offer: Business developer for The Chronicle of the Horse appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Carles Vilarrubí, a prominent figure in the international equestrian community, passed away in the early hours of Sunday, December 28. His unexpected death has left his family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of sharing part of his journey in immense grief. The international equestrian community has lost one of its most knowledgeable and respected representatives. I have lost a dear friend, a father-in-law, and a mentor.

Born in 1954, the beginning of Carles Vilarrubí’s professional life coincided with the advent of democracy in Spain and with Catalonia’s opportunity to assert and gain recognition for its identity. Throughout his life, he was a relentless advocate for Catalan culture and language.

A tireless entrepreneur, he initiated and led a number of projects for his region that continue to shape the daily lives of Catalans today. He first served as director of Catalunya Radio, the Catalan public radio station, before becoming a driving force behind RAC1, which went on to become the country’s leading news radio station. He later took the reins of the Catalan Gaming and Betting Society, before joining the national telephone operator Telefónica, which later became Movistar. His career continued in the financial sector, where he spent 20 years as vice president of Rothschild Bank in Spain, supporting the development of many of the country’s leading companies.

A lifelong sports enthusiast and unconditional supporter of FC Barcelona, Carles Vilarrubí served as vice president of the club from 2010 to 2017. During that time, he played an undeniable role in giving the Blaugrana institution a unique institutional and cultural dimension. Following his resignation on October 1, 2017—expressing his disagreement with the police repression during the Catalan independence referendum held that day—FC Barcelona lost what many considered its finest ambassador off the field.

From 2016 until his passing, he presided over the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition, which he transformed into a leading institution and a key instrument for promoting, observing, researching, and disseminating Catalan gastronomy. Like soccer, cuisine is universal, and Carles Vilarrubí understood this deeply. He championed a demanding yet inclusive vision: cuisine as cultural heritage, from the finest restaurants to the most modest kitchens, with particular attention to small producers and the transmission of knowledge.

Equestrian sport was another of his great passions. The father of three children, he passed on his love of equestrian competition to his eldest daughter, Carlota Vilarrubí Jordà, and to his wife, Sol Daurella. He founded and chaired Oxer Sport, a Spanish equestrian event organization, until 2017. Under his leadership, Oxer Sport developed major international events including the Longines Global Champions Tour in Madrid (Spain) and Mexico City (Mexico), Madrid Horse Week, and competitions in La Coruña (Spain), among others.

He also founded and chaired the International Jumping Owners Club, later becoming its honorary president. In recent years, he served on the commercial advisory committee of the Fédération Équestre Internationale at the request of its president, Ingmar de Vos. He was also president of the Longines Deauville Classic, Chantilly Classic, Cabourg Classic, and many other international events organized by GRANDPRIX.

In 2007, Carles Vilarrubí was among the very first to encourage me to create the company that would become GRANDPRIX. From that moment on, he remained a loyal, available, and generous supporter—always valuing ambition, encouraging risk-taking, and never dwelling on past mistakes. As a witness to the second half of his life, he showed me what it means to have the courage to be an entrepreneur while remaining true to oneself and to others.

He taught me that work allows one to be multifaceted without being contradictory; that discretion, moderation, and elegance in no way prevent commitment and efficiency; that dialogue and courtesy are never secondary and are owed to everyone; and that individual success only finds meaning when it incorporates a collective, or even public, dimension.

His life and vast legacy are an inspiration to take action, both great and small, with rigor, efficiency, and humility.

Carles Vilarrubí was a gentleman of immense stature.
Carles was my friend.
We miss him.

Vincent Goehrs

The post Carles Vilarrubí, A Prominent Figure In The International Equestrian Community, Has Passed Away appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

That status change, which is still subject to appeal, happened on Dec. 15. The same week, attorneys for the USEF filed a strongly worded motion in federal court asking for Barisone’s lawsuit against the federation to be dismissed. 

“This action represents the latest chapter in the on-going, ill-fated saga by which Plaintiff Michael Barisone seeks to hold others accountable for his attempted murder of Lauren Kanarek,” attorneys for USEF wrote in the motion for dismissal, filed Dec. 19.

“Despite the fact that plaintiff has previously sued more than one dozen disparate individuals and entities (including Ms. Kanarek and her immediate family, the State of New Jersey, three different insurance companies, and the New Jersey Washington Township Police Department and numerous of its individual officers), plaintiff now futilely turns his sights on the USEF, the national governing body for equestrian sport in the United States,” the motion continues. “Turning a blind eye to the law and a deaf ear to the facts, plaintiff incredibly contends that the USEF’s alleged failure to refer earlier complaints about Ms. Kanarek to the U.S. Center for SafeSport would, ‘without a doubt,’ have resulted in the imposition of sanctions upon, or a lifetime ban against, Ms. Kanarek that, in turn, would have required plaintiff to terminate his relationship with her before it reached its boiling point and he shot her. Plaintiff’s assertion is pure speculation.”

The motion argues that the claims made in Barisone’s suit, first filed in July before an amended version was filed in late November that focuses more on USEF violating its own rules and bylaws versus violating the SafeSport Authorization Act, are either time-barred by statutes of limitations, duplicative, or “critically infirm” in supporting evidence. It says that his suit should be dismissed for those reasons in addition to the “sheer illogic” of his central claim, that USEF shirked its duty—“a responsibility which did not exist,” the federation’s attorneys wrote—to report Kanarek to SafeSport and thus pre-emptively stop the events of Aug. 7, 2019.

“This action represents Plaintiff’s illogical and misguided attempt to blame the USEF for his actions that fateful night,” the motion states.

‘The Center Reserves The Right To Investigate’

Barisone’s change in SafeSport status comes more than three and a half years after a jury found him not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity in Kanarek’s shooting. At Barisone’s trial, his attorney argued successfully that Kanarek, her boyfriend and her father drove the trainer clinically insane by harassing, intimidating and engaging in a campaign to “destroy” him after his relationship with Kanarek soured. 

The SafeSport database lists as the reasons for his permanent ineligibility “sexual harassment; emotional misconduct; violated [USEF] policies/bylaws.” 

While SafeSport representatives will not discuss the details of specific cases, an agency representative said that, generally, a sanction of ineligibility indicates the center has completed its own investigation into complaints against the individual and determined permanent ineligibility to be the appropriate sanction. SafeSport investigations may reach a different conclusion than court proceedings.

“The SafeSport Code specifies that it is a violation for ‘a Participant to (a) be subject to a Criminal Charge analogous to Prohibited Conduct or (b) to have or been subject to a Criminal Disposition analogous to Prohibited Conduct,’ ” Hilary Nemchik, U.S. Center for SafeSport vice president of external affairs, wrote in an email. “In an instance where a criminal charge changes and/or there is an adjudication of not guilty, the Center reserves the right to investigate and resolve the matter and any related allegations in accordance with the SafeSport Code. If during the investigation of the underlying case a finding is made that there was a violation(s) of the SafeSport Code, sanctions are applied accordingly.”

Respondents have 10 days to request arbitration before the sanction becomes final. Barisone’s ineligibility currently is listed as “subject to appeal/not yet final.” 

Steven Tarshis, the attorney representing Barisone in his USEF lawsuit, said the rider will appeal SafeSport’s decision to ban him permanently. He characterized the SafeSport decision as something of an end-run around the outcome of his lawsuit, saying the ban far outweighs the severity of the allegations it is based on. 

“The bottom line is … they finally accepted the jury’s ‘not guilty by reason of insanity,’ and he was not found by SafeSport to be guilty of the shooting,” Tarshis said. “However, they found him to be guilty of causing [Kanarek] emotional distress as a consequence of the shooting, and they found him guilty of telling [an off-color] joke and of yelling at a student.”

Tarshis stated none of allegations involve any physical contact or injury, and he questioned the logic SafeSport used in reaching its decision: “They somehow find him not to have the requisite mental intent for the shooting, but they somehow find him to have the requisite mental intent for the emotional result of the shooting, which I don’t understand.

“In my experience—and from speaking with other attorneys who have tremendous experience with SafeSport—those types of findings do not normally result in a lifetime ban,” he added. “It may be a year suspension, bearing in mind nobody was touched, nobody was hurt. It’s the so-called emotional distress by yelling and telling a bad joke. So that’s a bit of an overage.”

Amended Complaint: USEF Members Continue To Be In Danger

Barisone’s suit against USEF, first filed in July in a New Jersey federal court and later transferred to New York, in its amended form argues that the federation violated its own rules and bylaws by not acting upon complaints about Kanarek’s behavior, and by failing to act and protect Barisone as a member, he was hurt through his incarceration, loss of livelihood and more. 

The amended complaint, filed by Tarshis in late November, changes some of its key claims against USEF. The original suit accused the federation of violating the SafeSport Authorization Act of 2017 by failing to report alleged violations to the U.S. Center for SafeSport or appropriate authorities and committing an administrative procedure act violation, as well as breach of organizational rules, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties and negligence. The new suit drops the SafeSport Authorization Act and administrative procedure act claims but adds to the now-central claims of breaching organizational rules and breach of contract a claim of breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, as well as breach of fiduciary duties and negligence.

In accusing USEF of breaching its organizational rules, including its Code of Conduct and SafeSport policy, the suit states USEF failed to exercise its mandatory oversight role through its failure to act upon detailed reports of Kanarek’s alleged violations of those policies. The suit included complaints not just from Barisone but from several other people she had interactions with. 

“As a result of USEF’s inaction with respect to the Complainants, despite the fact that it was foreseeable that Kanarek’s abusive conduct would continue and other members of the USEF would be harmed by Kanarek, including the plaintiff, Kanarek’s abusive conduct continued and the plaintiff was exposed to ongoing harm, emotional distress, reputational damage, and an unsafe environment within USEF-sanctioned activities,” the amended complaint states. “USEF’s inaction to address the dangerous and abusive conduct of Kanarek caused, and to this date continues to cause, the plaintiff emotional distress, lost training/competition opportunities, reputational harm, financial costs, and has emboldened Kanarek to continue abusive conduct. Without the implementation and enforcement of temporary protections against Kanarek she continues to pose a danger to not only the plaintiff but based upon her history of tormenting and terrorizing even strangers, the members of the USEF continue to be in danger from Kanarek.”

Tarshis emphasized that the complaint does not claim USEF was obligated to report to SafeSport, but rather that its own policies and bylaws should have compelled it to take action on Barisone’s behalf. 

“They’re not obligated, and I didn’t say they in my complaint. They’re mischaracterizing my complaint,” he emphasized. “However, even though SafeSport does not have exclusive jurisdiction over non-sexual offenses like harassment—the things that Kanarek did, let’s put it that way, obviously none of them were sexual—there are elements of the SafeSport Act that still mandate that an NGB, even with non-sexual offenses, even though they may not have jurisdiction, they still make the national governing body act in a certain way towards a victim who has come forward to them.”

‘Speculation Piled Upon Conjecture Premised Upon Rank Supposition’

 In an argument central to Barisone’s suit—and highlighted in USEF’s response to it—Tarshis wrote: 

“The inescapable fact is that had the USEF met its legal obligation under the Safe Sport Act and/or its governing documents, the only reasonable conclusion one could reach is that Kanarek’s temporary suspension would have summarily been imposed upon her by the USEF and an investigation would have commenced leading to the wealth of irrefutable evidence of her habitual violation of the SafeSport Code of Conduct and the governing documents of the USEF which, without a doubt, would have led to a more permanent sanction or lifetime ban imposed upon her in 2018, or at the latest, early 2019. Such sanctions would have become public knowledge and would have prohibited, under the SafeSport Code, other USEF members, and professionals, including the plaintiff, from engaging in any professional equestrian activities with Kanarek, including her training.

“Had a temporary suspension, or a lifetime ban, been imposed upon Kanarek in 2018 or 2019,” the suit continues, “the plaintiff would have been obligated to terminate his relationship with Kanarek, and she would have been required to leave his farm. As a result, the August 7, 2019 incident would never have occurred.”

USEF attorneys in their motion called that assertion a “quadruple layer of speculation piled upon conjecture premised upon rank supposition [that] clearly cannot support a finding that the alleged damages—which include Barisone’s incarceration, his forced sale of his multi-million dollar home at a ‘fire sale price,’ the destruction of his business, the loss of his reputation, and his abandonment by his friends—were the natural and probable consequences of the alleged breach, let alone that they could have been contemplated at the time the contract was executed.”

To assertions in Barisone’s suit that he began calling USEF Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Sonja Keating and then-CEO Murray Kessler repeatedly, beginning Aug. 1, 2019—one week before the shooting—even telling Keating that “he was living in a life and death situation,” and that she offered no assistance, such as an immediate temporary suspension for Kanarek, nor did either USEF official refer his complaints to SafeSport, USEF attorneys argued that the federation had no obligation to refer the matter and, even if it had, that it would have been impossible for USEF or SafeSport to conduct an investigation into his allegations and institute sanctions that might have prevented the shooting in the few days between when he first contacted the officials and Aug. 7.

In an interview, Tarshis argued that SafeSport previously sent Kanarek a letter instructing her to stop posting about Barisone to social media, and she followed that directive, so a similar missive from USEF officials may have been equally effective.

‘A Responsibility Which Did Not Exist’

To Barisone’s assertions that USEF breached its contractual obligations to investigate all reports of abusive contact and, when appropriate, report that conduct to SafeSport, attorneys argued in their motion to dismiss that USEF had no such obligations. Rather, they argued, the federation’s rules “do not require USEF to investigate or intervene in any alleged protest, charge, or violation; rather, they allow USEF to do so at its discretion.”

“[USEF’s] Safe Sport Policy does not mandate that USEF suspend or otherwise punish those accused of violating the Safe Sport Policy; to the contrary, the Safe Sport Policy provides that ‘USEF will handle any report it receives confidentially and discretely and will not make public the names of the complainant.’ … At best, Mr. Barisone has alleged that USEF incorrectly handled the abusive messages, thereby breaching its duties to Mr. Barisone and the public at large by not banning or publicly admonishing Ms. Kanarek such that she would be a pariah in the equestrian community,” the motion adds. “However, this exact form of Monday morning quarterbacking has time and again been rejected by courts across the country.”

In regard to its alleged breach of contractual obligations regarding not reporting the complaints to SafeSport, USEF’s lawyers argued that SafeSport laws provide the center with exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of sexual misconduct but discretionary jurisdiction over allegations of emotional and physical misconduct, “and, as a result, unlike allegations of sexual misconduct or child abuse, adult participants are not obligated to report allegations of emotional or physical misconduct to the center.” As such, because neither the messages from Kanarek nor the phone calls from Barisone to USEF officials involved discussions of sexual misconduct, the federation was not required to report either, the motion states, “and Ms. Keating appropriately referred Mr. Barisone to the police to deal with what was obviously a law-enforcement matter.”

‘A Breathtakingly Broad Duty To Protect’

USEF attorneys argued that Barisone’s claim of negligence against USEF was not only barred by New Jersey’s two-year statute of limitations but also “proceeds on the false assumption that USEF had a breathtakingly broad duty to protect Mr. Barisone from Ms. Kanarek simply because they were both members of USEF.”

While USEF attorneys acknowledged that a duty to protect can arise if the defendant has a special relationship with a “foreseeably dangerous third party” or with the plaintiff, no such special relationships existed in this case.

“To put it bluntly, Mr. Barisone was in the best position to protect himself and cannot blame USEF for not saving him from a disaster of his own creation,” the motion states. “Despite trying to cast himself in the role of a ‘victim,’ the allegations of [his amended complaint] confirm that Mr. Barisone was a grown man running private training and boarding businesses who was at liberty to enter into business relationships as he pleased, open his private farms to tenants of his choosing, and withdraw from dangerous situations if necessary. USEF did not have custody of Mr. Barisone, did not place Mr. Barisone in a strange environment, and did not force Mr. Barisone to associate with anyone with whom he did not wish to associate. USEF did not have control over Barisone and did not deprive Barisone of his normal opportunities for protection.”

The same, it said, applied to Kanarek and her actions. 

Additionally, they argued, the negligence claim should be dismissed because Barisone provided no evidence that, if not for USEF’s alleged negligence, he would not have sustained damages.

“To the contrary,” the motion states, “Mr. Barisone’s own actions in shooting Ms. Kanarek—whether undertaken with legal capacity or not—were so extraordinary, and so beyond any expected course of events, that he himself is a superseding cause of any injuries he may have suffered.”

Barisone’s suit “contains numerous allegations of Ms. Kanarek’s intentional, and outright criminal, misbehavior that caused Barisone’s alleged spiral from reputable equestrian to unwitting assailant,” the motion to dismiss states. “Indeed, this was the entire predicate in Barisone’s insanity plea in his criminal trial. In Barisone’s own words, Kanarek ‘had broken’ him and ‘caused him to lose his mind.’ … As a result, even if USEF could be found to have created the ‘opportunity’ for Ms. Kanarek to be on Mr. Barisone’s farm (which it decidedly did not, having had no involvement in Barisone’s decision to take on Kanarek for training), Kanarek’s intentional acts as pled in the complaint are the cause of any resulting harm to Barisone, not any purported act (or failure to act) by USEF years prior.”

U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos, who is hearing the case, has yet to rule on the motion. 

The post USEF Responds To Barisone Suit As SafeSport Bans Athlete Permanently appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

The Equine Disease Communication Center reported that there were 52 horses exposed at the same facility. 

The University Of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine released an informational video regarding the case and subsequent steps taken to limit exposure in the community.

“That single horse has been removed from the premises and is being treated at a separation isolation facility,” said Dr. Martha Mallicote, DVM, MBA, DACVIM, in the video released on the university’s Facebook account on Dec. 24. “Our state veterinary team has instituted a quarantine at that facility, and all of the horse owners and various trainers and folks at that barn have been very accommodating about incorporating biosecurity—monitoring temperatures and monitoring the health of all the animals that still remain at that facility.

“The state vets have also completed their tracebacks, so any horses that have been exposed have been identified and measures have been put into place there,” she continued. “As of today, Dec. 24, there have been no additional suspected or confirmed cases identified, although this is of course ongoing, and we will continue to monitor closely.” 

Follow updates on the EDCC site.

The post EHM Diagnosed In Palm Beach County appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Over the summer, former Maryland 5 Star competition director Joanie Morris took a job as chief operating officer of the Aiken Horse Park Foundation, an appointment that was announced in early November.

Then, on Sunday, The Equiery reported the competition’s two other key executives from the nonprofit Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, which operates the event, have also left their posts. Terry Hasseltine, who has been president of SECMD since 2019, is no longer listed on the organization’s website or as a state employee, while Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill President and CEO Jeff Newman is no longer on the competition’s website and his automated email reply says he is no longer with SECMD either.

Additionally, Maryland 5 Star Event Director Marissa Melzer, who dealt with operations, tickets and sponsorships and was also employed through SECMD, has been removed from the event website.

On SECMD’s own website, the entire “team member” page was blank as of Monday morning. The Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill is responsible for just the October competition, while a separate organization, Fair Hill International, runs the series of national and international horse trials that run on the same property at other times of year.

“The employment status of these individuals is a personnel matter,” Michael Frenz, executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority, wrote in response to questions about the employee departures. “As to the Maryland 5 Star, all involved are committed to maintaining the tradition and legacy of this important event.”

Event employees were taken by surprise with news of the departures, which they said they learned of on Sunday.

In October, when the five-star began with just 22 entries, the smallest field in its relatively short existence, Newman acknowledged the country’s second five-star faces an uncertain future, although it is unclear at this point whether the event’s financial picture has anything to do with the departures.

“If growth, from an entry standpoint, does continue to decline, it’s going to be difficult to sustain it; there’s no question about it,” he said at the time, noting the long-term success of the event is dependent on ticket sales. “Our role is simply to produce the best event, to generate the most interest, to grow the sport. But others, including the governing bodies [such as the U.S. Equestrian Association, U.S. Eventing Association and the Fédération Equestre Internationale], need to do an equal amount of that … to create interest to participate in five-stars.”

The competition’s website lists Oct. 15-18 as the 2026 dates for the Maryland CCI5*.

This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

The post Maryland 5 Star Loses Key Leadership Team Members appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.