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.

Martin, who is also nominated for U.S. Equestrian Federation’s International Equestrian of the Year, said the milestone had him thinking about his early days back in Australia.

“It was just a surreal moment, to be honest,” he said of getting the news in May. “I’ve been doing this sport full-time since the day I left high school when I was 17 years old. It’s my 25th year of riding five-stars. It’s something I always kept an eye on over the years.”

For Martin, the ranking was a reminder of the long, unglamorous stretch of his career when he was still far from the sport’s spotlight and its biggest players, like his childhood idol Phillip Dutton, who would later become his mentor and close friend. 

“The biggest influence of my life has been Phillip Dutton,” Martin said. “He’s sort of paved the way for me, being from a rider from Australia—the other side of the world—and coming to America and starting from scratch. I remember when he was ranked the No. 1 rider in the world [in 2005], and he didn’t even know who I was at that time, just because I was a young kid in Australia working away in the dust.”

Martin says Dutton has taught him lessons out of the saddle as well, including “how he handles himself in great moments and bad moments,” and kept his month at No. 1 in perspective. 

“It’s a weird thing, being ranked the world No. 1 rider,” Martin said. “Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m the best rider in the world. In eventing—I’m not sure about the other sports—but in eventing, it was just a moment in time of who’s had the best group of five-star results.” 

For Martin, that “moment in time” included a standout April, highlighted by three top-10 placings at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*, which powered him to the top of the FEI leaderboard and set the tone for the months that followed. Anchored by his 2024 Paris Olympics partner Fedarman B and backed by a deep string of versatile horses, his barn’s depth of talent kept him firmly inside the world’s top three through the end of 2025.

Martin says that his ranking was buoyed by the horses he took over from his friend and longtime competitor, Liz Halliday, who suffered a traumatic brain injury at the 2024 American Eventing Championship (Kentucky). That reality was bittersweet: He was glad to find a winning groove with her horses but also felt the weight of stepping in for a rider he wished was still in the ring.

“To be honest, my year seriously got boosted in the results category due to the fact that a lot of Liz’s top horses had come my way,” he said. “In the second half of the year, we had some fantastic results with Cooley Nutcracker and Miks Master C and Shanroe Cooley. These were horses that Liz had spent years and years and years training and bringing up the levels. 

“I was a little bit spoiled, where Liz had done all this hard work with these horses, and then I sort of slipped in and figured out how to ride them and got some great results on them,” he continued. 

In May, Martin won the CCI4*-L at the Yanmar America Tryon International Spring Three-Day Event (North Carolina) on Cooley Nutcracker. Martin told the Chronicle then that he and gelding had been slow to click. But by the time they reached Tryon, Martin was ready to ask the horse for a new gear. That ask paid off with a double-clear finish and a win on their dressage score. 

“On cross-country day, it was sort of the first time I really asked Cooley Nutcracker to open up and gallop—and holy moly, he had a fifth gear that I didn’t even know about,” Martin said following their first four-star win at Tryon. “He has got so much speed and stamina and bravery; I was just blown away with how easy the four-star long felt on him. He’s a really smart, quick-footed horse that’s been beautifully educated and trained, and really it was just a matter of me guiding him and showing him where the flags were.”

Through the summer and fall, Martin continued to log international results on multiple horses, keeping him within the top three riders as points tightened and the rankings shifted around him. 

During demanding summer and autumn campaigns that spanned continents, Martin entered Commando 3 in the CCIO4*-S at CHIO Aachen (Germany). The pair held their own in one of the sport’s deepest international fields, placing fifth. 

In October, Martin and Miks Master C captured the inaugural U.S. Equestrian Open Eventing Final at Morven Park (Virginia), where their clear show jumping round sealed the victory on a final score of 28.7, while also finishing fourth on Shanroe Cooley. Later that month, at the Mars Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, Martin took an early dressage lead with Luke 140 before ultimately earning third place aboard Commando 3. 

The year came full circle in October at the Étoiles de Pau CCI5* (France) where Martin finished third aboard Cooley Nutcracker. After a season that carried him to the top and through the grind of international competition, Pau offered a fitting closing chapter. And for Martin, it was a shared success, as his mind turned back to Halliday. 

“I know Liz, and she’s an ultra-competitive person, and part of me was worried that she might be a bit bitter and angry that the horses were winning without her,” he said. “But the couple of times I talked to her—like, I talked to her straight after the show jumping at Pau this year in France—she was absolutely elated. So it sort of started off as a bit of an awkward feeling, and then to being quite proud.”

As Martin enters the next year of his career, currently comfortably seated at the No. 2 position in the world rankings behind Harry Meade, he is still focused on growth for himself and his “great squadron of horses back in the stable.” Looking ahead to 2026, the rider has little interest in sitting still. 

“The No. 1 thing which I’ve learned from Philip was this just continuous, relentless pursuit of getting better,” Martin said. “A lot of the champions I’ve been around, they’ve all had the same trait, where they’re never quite satisfied of where they are in their training and their riding ability.

“Even as you’re sort of entering into the second half of your career, I think it’s very important to stay hungry and desperate to keep getting better,” he continued, “because the sport is evolving, and the quality of horses is getting better and better.”

The post ‘Stay Hungry’: The Grind That Powered Boyd Martin To World No. 1 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.

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During the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention, held Dec. 11-14 in New Orleans, discussions around horse welfare in various capacities dominated the conversations. 

Frangible fence technology is one of the angles being used to address welfare, in part through the U.S. Eventing Association Foundation Frangible Technology Fund . U.S. Equestrian Federation Chief of Sport David O’Connor drew gasps from a room when he relayed a single fact: Through the increasing use of frangible fences in the past 13 years, he said, “we’ve reduced rotational falls by almost 60%, and horse falls by 40%.”

The frangible fund dispersed $164,000 in 2025: In the first quarter, 47 venues applied, and the group awarded $79,000. In Q2, 31 venues applied, and $50,500 was awarded; in Q3, 10 venues applied, and $16,000 was awarded; and in Q4, 11 venues applied, with $19,000 awarded. 

“We’re incrementally getting more and more frangible devices into the system,” said Morgan Rowsell, who chairs the USEA Course Designers/Builders Committee. “I’m a traditionalist, and I wish we didn’t have to go this route. Nobody wants to run an all-frangible course, but we’re just not going to have a sport if we don’t evolve. The more frangibles the better, from my part. The sport had to change, and it is changing. It works. It is getting safer. The frangibles work.”

Jon Holling, who sits on the USEA Safety and Equine Welfare: Cross-Country Safety Committee and the Fédération Equestre Internationale Risk Management Steering Group, noted that many of the venues that applied this year were doing it for the first time, an indicator that word is continuing to spread about the program. (Thanks at least partially to Holling’s own fundraising and communications efforts.)

“One of the really great things about frangible technology is, when it first came out, it was kind of for the upper levels only, and it’s at training level and up now,” Holling said. “The whole idea of frangible fences has been welcomed and encouraged by top riders, and now I think it’s getting more and more understood by the base of the sport. [Training] is a big level for our sport, where people want to go and have fun and compete. When we talk about this fund, it does look out for the upper levels, but it also looks out for the base of the sport, starting at training level. I think it’s amazing that the technology is becoming more and more able to be used at all levels.”

The technology is being applied for more types of fences as well, he noted. 

“I don’t think we’re at a place where we want to say, 100% of all fences should be frangible, but we’re pretty close to being able to do that,” he said. “It’s getting better and better all the time. But we don’t jump cross-country because we want to show jump in a field. We do want them to look like cross-country jumps, and they need to be reasonably affordable.”

In addition, a new frangible device has been developed by retired aerospace engineer Dan Michaels—called the DM Latch—and he gifted the patent to the USEA. The device has been approved by the USEF for national competitions, and the next step is FEI approval. The new device is resettable, and it’s also going to be less expensive than MIMclips, which are manufactured and shipped from Europe. It will activate if the horse hits it from any direction. 

“It’s been approved, it works, but we have to get builders to take it and tinker with it,” Holling said. “I can’t tell them how to use it, Dan can’t tell them how to use it, they need to figure out how it can fit into a course, and where it can be used. The key is getting it out there.”

As a next step, Michaels addressed the need for more data about what level of contact with a fence is detrimental to a horse. 

“I’m almost convinced if you break a fence, you should retire off the course,” Michaels said. “But we don’t know what the horse can tolerate without a good study.”

‘For Us, These Are Principles’

During the USEA’s second board of governors meeting this week, the organization’s response to controversies—an example being the recent suspension of Andrew McConnon and subsequent social media outcry—was discussed. 

Last year the organization initiated a strategic communications task force, and USEA Executive Committee secretary Erin Tomson provided an update on the group’s work, as well as asking the board for discussion on how the organization should and can respond.

“We wanted to come back to the conversation that we had initiated a year ago in Seattle about trying to be more proactive about communications strategies in terms of both educating our membership about the differences—what do we do in terms of USEA versus USEF, and who has jurisdiction over what,” she said. “It seems like there continues to be a lot of confusion and lack of awareness about that, so when things happen, whether it’s horse abuse situations or other types of allegations, we end up being in crisis response mode, and we’re still not super prepared for that, unfortunately.

“Any kind of major safety issue that were to happen at an event, we’re well positioned and situated to handle that incident, but it’s the aftermath of social media chaos that can ensue,” Tomson continued. “Over the last couple of weeks in particular, since the ruling of the Andrew McConnon case came out, we saw a major resurgence of people taking to social media to discuss the issue, kind of in an absence of much communication from the [USEA]. That goes back to peoples’ confusion over who controls what. As a USEA board and the staff office, we had really nothing to do with that, but people don’t recognize that, so then we end up being under attack, as well as USEF and FEI.”

Several board members pointed to a discussion given earlier in the week by USEF general counsel and COO Sonja Keating—where she highlighted a flow chart demonstrating that organization’s response and investigation process for reports of rule violations or abuse of horses or humans—and noted that USEA members, many of whom aren’t joint members of USEF, might be unaware of those processes, so the USEA communicating that could be helpful. 

But USEA CEO Rob Burk said there’s more to express from the USEA’s perspective.  

“My strong feeling, and I think I can unequivocally say this, because it is a USEA principle: We do not condone abuse of horses. We do not condone abuse of humans. For us, these are principles. They are in our mission. They are in our values,” he said. “So for us, projecting that, continuing to project that, I keep saying: Regardless of guilt or innocence of anyone involved—and I’m a strong believer of innocent until proven guilty—I do believe when I see imagery of abuse, my first response is, ‘The USEA does not condone that in any way, shape or form,’ and I’d be surprised if anybody does not agree with that statement in this organization.”

While some said that the organization doesn’t want to appear reactionary, or like it’s engaging in controversy or drama when these incidents occur—as well as noting there are limits to what it can practically do because the investigatory and disciplinary processes are contained within the USEF or FEI—Lauren Nicholson, vice president of active athletes on the board, responded, “No one from this organization has ever put out a statement as strong as Rob just did. I think that’s the first thing. Every statement that’s come out has been too late, and a little bit the equivalent of ‘thoughts and prayers.’ The second thing is to go to the productivity side: Here’s what you can do now, a flow chart, and then highlighting what programs are doing to fix it.

“But the heart of the matter is: Horse sports in general and eventing, for as long as it’s existed, the grassroots and amateurs look to the professionals and high performance as that’s the pinnacle of horse care and well-being in treatment,” she continued. “Now this stuff is coming out in social media, and they don’t trust us anymore. So there has to be a bit of a highlight of: How do we as riders get them to trust us again? How do we help people realize we’re not all abusing our horses to go around a five-star? We’re not doing that, but I think we have to quickly go to a strong statement, to: Here’s what you can do, then, here’s what we are doing. The riders are staying quiet because they’re scared. I think we look just as bad when we say nothing.”

Other Convention Happenings 

• Max Corcoran, who’s been a professional groom, former USEA president, event organizer and lifelong horsewoman, was this year’s recipient of the Wofford Cup at the USEA Year-End Awards Banquet.

• Allison Springer was awarded the $50,000 Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant. Maya Clarkson earned a $70,000 Wilton Fair Grant, while Colin Gaffney earned a $30,000 Wilton Fair Grant. See the other honorees from the USEA Year-End Awards Banquet here. 

• Next year’s USEA Annual Meeting and Convention will be held in Arlington, Virginia, across the river from Washington, D.C. It’ll move to a new two-and-a-half-day format with a modified schedule, starting Friday morning and ending with a half day on Sunday. 

• The USEA board voted to approve a change for EV123 to align with a newly passed FEI rule that decreased the penalty for missing a flag from 15 to 9 penalties. The rule, along with all others discussed, will go to the USEF board for voting at its mid-year meeting next summer. 

The post From Frangible Pins To Crisis Communication: Horse Welfare Takes Center Stage At 2025 USEA Convention appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Elite Program

The following athlete-and-horse combinations have achieved the criteria for the Eventing Elite Program and are listed in alphabetical order:

• Will Coleman (Ocala, Florida) and Off The Record, a 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding  owned by the Off The Record Syndicate
• Sydney Elliott (Bossier City, Louisiana) and QC Diamantaire, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Carol Stephens
• Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Pennsylvania) and Commando 3, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Yankee Creek Ranch LLC
• Martin and Fedarman B, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by the Annie Goodwin Syndicate
• Martin and Miks Master C, a 13-year-old U.S.-bred Swedish Warmblood gelding owned by Ocala Horse Properties and Deborah Palmer
• Martin and Cooley Nutcracker, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by The Nutcracker Syndicate

The following combinations will continue in the USEF Eventing Elite Program as a result of their spring 2025 competition results:

• Coleman and Chin Tonic HS, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Hyperion Stud LLC

Pre-Elite Program 

The following athlete-and-horse combinations have achieved the criteria of the Eventing Pre-Elite Program and are listed in alphabetical order:

• Cosby Green (Lexington, Kentucky) and Highly Suspicious, a 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Clay and Edie Green
• Caroline Pamukcu (Springtown, Pennsylvania) and HSH Blake, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Mollie Hoff, Sherrie Martin, Caroline Pamukcu, and Deniz Pamukcu

The following combinations will continue in the USEF Eventing Pre-Elite Program as a result of their spring 2025 competition results.

• Jennie Brannigan (West Grove, Pennsylvania) and FE Lifestyle, a 15-year-old Brandenburg gelding owned by Tim and Nina Gardner
• Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pennsylvania) and Possante, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by The Possante Group
• Dutton and Denim, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran, and Neill Site
• Martin and Luke 140, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate

Membership is reviewed twice annually for the Eventing Elite and Pre-Elite Program Lists. For more information about the Pre-Elite and Elite Programs, as well as eligibility criteria, click here.

Eventing Development Program

The following athlete-and-horse combinations have been selected for the 2026 USEF Eventing Development Program and are listed in alphabetical order:

• Jenny Caras (Buckhead, Georgia) and Sommersby, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Jennifer Caras and Jerry Hollis
• Mia Farley (Lexington, Kentucky) with Invictus, a 9-year-old Holsteiner-Thoroughbred gelding owned by Karen O’Connor
• Farley and Phelps, a 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by David O’Connor 
• Cassie Sanger (Wilmington, Delaware) and her own Redfield Fyre, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding

The following athlete-and-horse combinations achieved the objective criteria for the 2026 USEF Eventing Development Program and are listed in alphabetical order:

• James Alliston (San Ramon, California) and HMR Rolan, an 11-year-old Irish Warmblood gelding owned by Anna Nicholas
• Isabelle Bosley (West Grove, Pennsylvania) and Conner, an 8-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Karen Martin
• Rebecca Brown (Combine, Texas) and her own Fernhill Quite Frankly, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding
• Hallie Coon (Ocala, Florida) with her own Lucky Fortuna, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding 
• Coon and Kapriccio, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by The Kapriccio Syndicate
• Alyssa Phillips (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Rockett 19, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Alyssa Phillips and Julie Phillips
• Grace Taylor (Daventry, West Northamptonshire, United Kingdom) and Deloughtane Dingo, a 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Grace Taylor, Nigel Taylor, Beverly Ham, Norma Andrews, and Jacqueline Keir

More information on the USEF Eventing Development Program can be found here.

Eventing Development 25 Program

The following athletes have been selected for the 2026 USEF Eventing Development 25 Program and are listed in alphabetical order:

• Jack Curtis (Beverly, Massachusetts)
• Molly Duda (Menlo Park, California)
• Olivia Dutton (West Grove, Pennsylvania)
• Meg Pellegrini (Wayne, Pennsylvania)
• Lizzie Hoff (Gig Harbor, Washington)
• Quidley Kellermann (Wimberley, Texas)
• Gabriella Ringer (Walnut Creek, California)
• Jordan Riske (Manchester, Michigan)
• Elsa Warble (Portola Valley, California) 

More information on the USEF Eventing Development 25 Program can be found here.

The post USEF Eventing Pathways Programs Updates Announced appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

According to the full reasoned decision issued by a three-member FEI tribunal, which convened in June to hear the FEI’s case against McConnon, a five-star event rider based in Southern Pines, North Carolina, it found the evidence presented by several crucial witnesses testifying against him to be of limited value, containing “broad and serious accusations but lack[ing] specific details required under Swiss procedural law.” Simultaneously, it found McConnon’s own testimony and that of seven character witnesses who spoke on his behalf to be credible and compelling.

FEI attorneys had requested McConnon be punished for abusing multiple horses with a lifetime ban and approximately $37,000 in fines and fees. However, of 14 allegations levied against the rider, at the end of the two-day hearing, the tribunal ultimately found only three instances of abuse it felt were supported by the evidence submitted, leading to McConnon’s lesser sentence of a 20-month suspension and $3,100 in fines. The panel also found that the rider breached the FEI Code of Conduct on Welfare of the Horse and conducted himself in a way that brought the FEI and equestrian sport into disrepute.

Both the FEI and McConnon asked that the names of all witnesses for both sides be kept confidential.

Abuse Testimony ‘Lacking Credibility’

The FEI’s first witness, a groom who worked for McConnon from January to May 2024, submitted all five pieces of video evidence—reportedly involving two horses on two different days—and all except one of 12 photos that formed “an integral part” of the FEI’s case. 

After noting inconsistencies and issues with her testimony, the panel ultimately determined it “lacked reliability and credibility.”

“The Panel observed that FEI Witness 1’s written statement lacked specific factual detail such as dates, times, locations, or the sequence of events, which are essential for assessing accuracy and consistency,” stated the decision. It continued, “FEI Witness 1 made numerous and wide-ranging allegations of abuse in her written statement. The Panel finds that they do not provide sufficient corroboration for the breadth of her allegations against [McConnon], nor do they substantiate the broader pattern of abuse alleged by FEI Witness 1 in her witness statement.”

Much of her written statement included subjective rather than objective statements about McConnon’s behavior, the decision stated. It also noted that her written statement’s wording was so similar to statements submitted by two other key FEI witnesses—another groom who worked for him from 2019 to 2023, and a woman who rented a barn in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where McConnon is based, for six months and whose daughter rode with him during that time—that it “reduces the appearance of independent recollection,” although all three testified to having written their statements individually.

One particular video, shot by the witness on March 20, 2024, reportedly showed McConnon hitting his five-star mount Ferrie’s Cello—a horse he went on to compete in the Defender Kentucky CCI5* a month later—in the head with his fist and jabbing it in the mouth. Both the witness and McConnon testified to having a conversation after that ride in which she expressed concerns about how he handled the horse. They both also testified to him being apologetic and receptive to her concerns. However, McConnon claimed he made a concerted, successful effort to address the issue after that conversation, while the witness testified that his behavior did not change. 

The panel noted that she submitted no photo or video evidence taken after March 20, despite working for him another two months.

The second groom, who worked for McConnon for approximately four years before either quitting or being fired—she and McConnon disagreed in their testimony—said he abused 25 to 30 horses but provided only one photo, of whip marks on Ferrie’s Cello, to document the abuse. 

“While she gave detailed descriptions of alleged abuse, these descriptions were unaccompanied by photos, videos, or contemporaneous notes,” the decision stated. “The Panel notes that such omissions cannot be justified by her claim that she lacked permission to record, since she later conceded in cross-examination that she was permitted to take photos and videos.”

The panel determined both former grooms’ testimony carried “minimal” weight—as determined by International Bar Association rules on the taking of evidence—due to inconsistencies, “credibility concerns,” limited corroboration, and possible influence from other FEI witnesses. The panel entirely discounted the testimony of the third witness, who said McConnon abused her daughter’s horse while she was riding with him, as “not reliable or credible.” When asked about complimentary text messages she sent to McConnon during the time she claimed he was abusing her daughter’s horse, she said she would “absolutely” lie to protect her children and horses, and she felt she needed to during that time. 

The witness, the panel noted, “was evasive, dismissive, and abrasive during cross-examination, often avoiding direct answers and minimizing inconsistencies in her evidence.”

“She insisted her witness statement was accurate despite obvious contradictions,” the decision stated. “This insistence in the face of acknowledged inaccuracies suggested a lack of objectivity and self-awareness about the reliability of her own evidence. FEI Witness 3’s explanations about the positive text messages that she had sent to [McConnon] demonstrated a willingness to misrepresent facts when convenient.”

A veterinarian who testified to having treated the daughter’s horse for “long, thin welts” after McConnon rode it could not provide veterinary records documenting such injuries and was inconsistent as to whether that visit happened in 2019, 2021 or 2022. As such, the panel determined her testimony was not reliable or credible.

The tribunal similarly dismissed the testimony of another witness who said to McConnon had trained off-the-track Thoroughbreds for her in the past. She more recently became a vocal critic of his, posting photos and videos on social media to support the horse abuse claims against him and advocating online for disciplinary action to be taken while criticizing how long it was taking the FEI to reach a decision in the case.

“[She] acknowledged that she publicly posted videos of [McConnon] online, initially anonymously but later using his name, and that she was willing to share those videos with anyone who asked,” the decision stated. “She also admitted threatening to escalate her posting if the FEI did not act quickly. This indicates that she may have been motivated by a desire to damage [his] reputation rather than to provide objective evidence. Her willingness to post the videos on social media and threaten escalation suggests a personal agenda, undermining her neutrality and raising concerns about the reliability of her evidence.”

In his testimony, McConnon said he’d had a good relationship with the witness until the two had a disagreement over her failing to pay him for services. Another witness of his corroborated his account. McConnon also argued, according to the decision, that it was not his actions but this witness, through her social media campaign against him and “willful breach of FEI’s provisions regarding confidentiality” who caused the public outrage that brought disrepute to the sport.

The panel did not agree with him, noting his acts of horse abuse were more consequential, and her social media posts did not violate confidentiality rules.

Concluding that the woman’s testimony “reflects assumptions and speculation rather than firsthand observations or verifiable facts,” and noting an apparent personal bias against McConnon, the panel determined “her evidence is not credible and cannot be relied on.”

Another FEI witness, a former working student of McConnon’s who was at his farm in 2014 when the previous witness’ Thoroughbreds were with him, said she was encouraged by that woman to report her experiences with McConnon abusing horses to the FEI. The former working student testified that McConnon had once whipped one of the Thoroughbreds badly enough to raise welts on its skin and, because the owner was scheduled to visit the next day, had instructed the then 17-year-old student to give it intravenous Banamine and dexamethasone to reduce swelling and bathe it to make it look good for the owner “after the horse was destroyed emotionally and suffering physically.”

The panel said multiple inconsistencies and contradictions came up in her testimony. Because she declined to recount how she gave the injection—which McConnon in his testimony strongly disputed, saying he would never leave IV injections in the hands of an inexperienced working student—the panel determined “[h]er evasiveness, combined with her inability to provide procedural steps, cast serious doubt on whether this incident occurred at all.”

The only witness against McConnon whose testimony the panel gave “moderate weight” was a renter on a property where he rode, who said she twice observed him outside her apartment hitting a horse he was riding in a manner consistent with videos shared on social media. She described McConnon’s riding style described “as ‘a steady low-level torment’ in her witness statement, but in direct examination, she stated that [he] could be a ‘very beautiful rider and kind to horses, so this was not all the time,’ ” the decision states. The panel noted she saw two incidents of abuse in seven years of using the apartment occasionally.

A final witness expected to testify for the FEI at the hearing withdrew several weeks before it was held, so that person’s statement was not considered by the panel. In all, the panel assigned minimal weight to the two former grooms who initially reported McConnon, “moderate” weight to the renter who saw him hitting horses twice, and no weight to any of the other witnesses who testified against him.

McConnon Witnesses ‘Sincere And Credible’

By contrast, the tribunal put significant weight in both McConnon’s own testimony and most of the seven witnesses who testified on his behalf, including another former groom and two fellow North Carolina eventers involved in the upper levels of the sport, one of whom was on the U.S. team for the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, and another of whom was identified as a licensed FEI eventing official who has operated a competition and training business in the area for 35 years and known McConnon for two decades.   

McConnon testified that some of his actions were “absolutely unacceptable,” and argued that other videos showed moments he did not consider to be horse abuse, or photos that either showed remnants of red peppermint treats he gave the horses being misinterpreted for blood or, in several cases, he thought showed signs of being “altered or edited.” 

Before testifying about videos of him that were posted online, McConnon told the tribunal it was “extremely hard to hear a lot of these allegations against me,” according to the decision. “It’s also really hard to watch these videos back. I know it’s important to do so, and I’m absolutely willing to explain what happened. I just want to be clear that in my explanation, this isn’t justifying my actions.” 

In his written response to the FEI’s investigation, McConnon explained that he was dealing with financial difficulties due to one horse’s owners owing “tens of thousands of dollars” in past-due payments, his father’s February 2024 cancer diagnosis, and pressure from the approaching Defender Kentucky CCI5*. “While [he] did not realize it at the time, the emotional impact of this difficult period began having a palpable effect on him, both inside and outside the barn,” the decision stated.

In particular, McConnon called the video from March 20, 2024, “extremely painful to watch” and “absolutely inappropriate.” He testified that after that ride, the groom was “unbelievably kind” and “stepped up” to tell him she was uncomfortable about what she’d seen.

“The way she approached me, I immediately said you’re right. I spoke with her about what I was thinking and what I was feeling,” according to the decision, which continued, “He made a commitment to her to make the necessary changes and never repeat those actions. He stated that it became clear to him that what he ‘was struggling with was bubbling over.’ ”

The decision states: “The Panel accepted that [McConnon’s] explanations for the conduct seen in the videos were sincere and credible. His acknowledgment that his actions were ‘unacceptable’ was consistent with his demeanor. The Panel found it compelling that he accepted responsibility for his behavior immediately when approached by FEI Witness 1, and that he made prompt commitments to change.

“The Panel carefully considered whether [he] had a motive to misrepresent any events,” it continued. “While he clearly has an interest in the outcome of these proceedings, his willingness to admit wrongdoing, coupled with his refusal to shift blame to others, enhanced his credibility.”

The U.S. team rider who testified for McConnon “viewed the videos at issue and provided a candid and reasoned assessment of what he saw,” the decision states. “Importantly, he did not condone the behavior depicted, which showed he was committed to assisting the Panel rather than shielding [McConnon]. He stated [McConnon] has learned from his mistake and mentioned that he has never seen [McConnon] act in that manner.”

A former groom who worked for McConnon from February to August 2024, starting just a few weeks after the groom who submitted the bulk of photographic and video evidence, testified that she saw McConnon get “a little too aggressive” with a horse or use the crop “one too many times” on three to five occasions total, but only during the first month she worked for him. She testified his behavior changed after his conversation with the other groom and “she never saw him act unprofessionally ever again.”

Because of her “objective and forthright” demeanor and her position working closely with McConnon during the time period in question, the panel weighed her testimony highly. 

Visual Evidence Not Compelling, Panel Finds

Of the five videos the FEI submitted to support its claims that McConnon excessively whipped and beat horses, and used excessive bit, spur, hand and leg aids, the panel said only two were of any evidentiary value in supporting abuse claims. For most, it said the videos were inconclusive but felt the FEI had used inaccurate language to describe what the videos allegedly showed. 

Overall, the tribunal found the videos did “not establish, to the Panel’s comfortable satisfaction, that [McConnon] committed horse abuse over an extended period of time of several years,” the decision stated.

In only two videos, both involving Ferrie’s Cello on different days, did the panel find evidence of abuse. In the first, which the FEI described as showing McConnon hitting the horse repeatedly in the head and face, the tribunal instead found that he “slapped” the horse seven times on its neck, which it agreed constituted horse abuse.

In the other, the March 20, 2024 video, the panel again disagreed with the FEI’s description of the actions shown. While FEI attorneys said the video showed McConnon hitting the horse in the head and face with his fist and jabbing its mouth, the tribunal saw something different. While its members agreed he was jabbing the horse in the mouth and pulling on the reins “more than was necessary,” crossing one rein over the horse’s midline to force it to bend, it said a slow-motion review indicated he did not hit the horse in the head or face.

Among the photos submitted, the panel found only two photos—both showing whip marks on the horse’s shoulder and haunches—to be compelling, noting McConnon acknowledged those images were a result of his whip use. The panel, however, also accepted his explanation that the horse “had been recently clipped and has sensitive skin, suggesting that the photo appears worse than it actually was.”

Determining A Sanction

“The Panel must base its sanctions solely on the proven allegations,” the decision states, specifying that the two videos, the pictures of whip marks on the shoulder and haunches, McConnon’s own admissions and the testimony of the former groom who said she saw him get “a little too aggressive” or use the crop “one too many times” on several occasions were the only evidence presented that established horse abuse. 

The tribunal looked at a number of previous horse abuse cases for case law that might inform a sanction against McConnon—including the 10-year suspension given to show jumper Andy Kocher for repeatedly using electrified spurs in competition and training, after previously being found criminally guilty of animal abuse, which it found “not at all comparable” to the current case. 

“The Panel finds it was difficult to compare [McConnon’s] case with the caselaw cited by the FEI based on the Panel’s credibility and reliability assessments of the different witnesses,” the decision states.

It factored in McConnon’s lack of prior disciplinary records and “genuine remorse” expressed for his actions. In a long statement McConnon made during the proceedings, “he apologized not only to the FEI, but also to owners, clients, sponsors, and those directly involved, taking personal accountability for the behavior that occurred. He explained that his actions were out of character with his values as a horseman and described steps he took immediately after the incident, including reflecting on the situation, seeking guidance from fellow professionals, and making adjustments to prevent recurrence.”

The panel also considered his personal circumstances—being short-handed after having lost the groom who quit or was fired in October 2023, his father’s February 2024 cancer diagnosis, and an owner significantly behind on paying bills—as mitigating circumstances to his actions.

An “aggravating factor,” on the other hand, was finding that McConnon committed three instances of abuse over a five-week period: “Therefore, this was not an isolated or involuntary incident, but rather several continued acts of horse abuse.”

The applicable rules for horse abuse carry a suspension of three months to life, depending on the severity of the infraction. Between the severity of the abuse it found and the fact that it dismissed most of the FEI’s allegations for lack of evidence, the panel determined McConnon’s sanction should fall in the FEI’s “mid-range” of three months to two years. 

Read the full reasoned decision here. McConnon has until Dec. 15 to appeal the decision to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The post Why 20 Months? Document Details McConnon Suspension Reasoning appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

McConnon, of Southern Pines, North Carolina, is banned from taking part in any competition or event, or in any related activity under the jurisdiction of the FEI or any national federation. He is also prohibited from training any athletes or horses registered with the FEI or any national federation, including the U.S. Equestrian Federation. He also was fined approximately $3,100 (2,500 Swiss francs).

An FEI Tribunal convened to investigate abuse allegations against the five-star eventer reached its decision Monday, Nov. 24. The tribunal “found Andrew McConnon to have engaged in abuse of horse as well as in a conduct that has brought the FEI and equestrian sport into disrepute thereby violating Article 142.1 (Abuse of Horse) in conjunction with Article 164.11 (Offences) of the FEI General Regulations. McConnon was further found to have breached the FEI Code of Conduct on the Welfare of the Horse by those same actions,” according to an FEI statement announcing the decision. 

Former grooms for the rider first reported him to the FEI and USEF in May 2024, submitting materials including videos and photographic evidence of what they felt was abusive behavior on the part of the rider. In September 2024, after McConnon competed at the Defender Burghley CCI5*-L (England), videos (different than those the groom said they submitted) began to circulate online, bringing the abuse allegations into the public eye.

Since then, many of McConnon’s horses gone on to other riders, including his top horses, with Wakita 54 sold to Alexander Conrad and Ferrie’s Cello now with Tamie Smith. On Nov. 26, Smith posted an open letter on social media addressing McConnon’s penalty, the FEI process, and the horses in her care.

“When the three horses arrived at my farm in January, they were 200–300 pounds underweight. Their necks were tight,” Smith wrote. “Their bodies consumed by tension. They were described as ‘hard keepers’ who ‘wouldn’t hold weight’—but after 11 months, now healthy and relaxed, they are easy keepers eating a quarter of what they needed initially.

“Eddie (Ferrie’s Cello), stoic and robotic, couldn’t let himself feel,” she continued. “A 5* horse who slammed on the brakes not out of stubbornness, but fear, at jumps that were only 2 feet tall. Only after months of rebuilding trust—from the ground up, could he canter softly around a 1.15m course with confidence. For the first time in a long time, he was allowed to be vulnerable, and because of this it got worse before it got better.”

Smith added later in the letter that she is not in favor of a lifetime ban for McConnon, writing: “People can change—when they acknowledge harm and commit to structured help. But what I cannot accept is:

• A sentence that feels overwhelmingly light

• A process that never interviewed the owners, the riders, or pertinent people involved

• A conclusion issued without gathering critical testimony

• No mandate for counseling, education, supervision, or reform

• A message that risks telling the world that we tolerate abuse

“We must be better. We must demand accountability and education, not silence and avoidance.”

The full reasoned decision will be published here “in due course,” according to the FEI.

McConnon, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has 21 days to appeal the FEI decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The post McConnon Receives 20-Month Suspension For Horse Abuse appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

“When I was in middle school, I was on the seventh- and eighth-grade track team. That’d be about as much running as I ever did,” he admitted. “When we go to work out on vacation, if some people are running, I’ll go run. I’m not a great runner, but I’ll do it occasionally.”

But when the charitable Manton Foundation announced in September that it would match $250,000 in future donations to help fund frangible technology on cross-country courses, he chose running as a way to motivate others to donate—and enjoy some laughs at his expense along the way. Holling promised to run 10 miles for every $50,000 raised and to video his efforts for social media.

“Some people will think it’s annoying,” Holling said. “Other people will think it’s really fun: ‘Oh, I hate this guy, and I can’t wait to see him suffer.’ Either way it’s great. We get to raise some money to make things safer, so we can all go out and enjoy the sport that we love.”

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Holling isn’t new to fundraising for the U.S. Eventing Association’s Frangible Fund. In 2020, after the death of Katharine Morel and her horse Kerry On at Rocking Horse (Florida), Holling joined a group of riders and organizers working to raise $500,000 to offset the cost of frangible devices. At the time, he said, “I want to get to the point where every fence that can be frangible is frangible.”

Holling volunteered to get a tattoo if donations reached $50,000. That effort resulted in $63,000, and he now sports a “#FRANGIBLENOW” tattoo on his right side.

When the Manton Foundation—a family charitable foundation that in the past has awarded grants to other equestrian programs including the Green Mountain Horse Association, the University of Vermont’ Morgan Horse Farm and Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine (Massachusetts)—offered the USEA Foundation a second grant this fall toward funding frangible technology, Holling knew it was time to get creative. As a five-star eventer, coach and farm owner with a family in Ocala, Florida, Holling is plenty busy without adding multiple 10-mile runs to his to-do list, but that’s where he landed.

“I debated sky diving for a little bit, but I don’t really want to jump out of a perfectly good plane,” he joked. “When you can do something like [get] a tattoo or running until you want to puke, people love to see that stuff because it’s moderately entertaining.”

Holling’s efforts to improve safety in the sport are deeply personal. In 2008, his horse Direct Merger died of a pulmonary embolism on course at Red Hills (Florida).

 “It was not related to a fence, but it was related to being an event horse or being a sport horse,” said Holling.

That same tragic day, Olympian Darren Chiacchia endured a career-changing injury due to a fall from a preliminary mount, and Melissa Miller’s advanced horse Leprechaun’s Rowdy Boy fell at a fence and died. 

“I had a lot of difficulty personally reconciling that, as to what I was doing and why I was doing it,” said Holling. “We had just prior to that had our son. There were a lot of very stark conversations with myself: ‘So what am I going to do about it?’

 “This is why I’ve taken on the safety thing in general,” he explained. “I felt like if I’m not doing everything I feel that I can do to try to make the sport safer … this is not trying to be holier than thou. This is a very selfish reason. I can’t do this if I don’t feel like I’m doing everything I can do to try to make it as safe as possible for the horses and riders.”

Since then Holling has become an outspoken proponent for safer sport and has gotten involved with U.S. Eventing Association and U.S. Equestrian Federation committees focused on eventing safety. He’s the current U.S. National Safety Officer to the Fédération Equestre Internationale and sits on the FEI’s Risk Management Steering Group.

“[These efforts are] the reason I stayed in the sport after 2008,” Holling said. “Had I not found some way that I felt like I was at least trying to help on a continual basis, then I don’t think I could keep doing it.”

He believes these initiatives are paying off. “Eventing, statistically, is getting safer and safer every year,” Holling said. “The stats prove that it has become safer, especially with the implementation of frangibles. I feel like we’re making huge steps.”

From 2012 to 2023, horse falls on cross-country decreased by 35.9% and rotational falls decreased by 55.5% according to an FEI study. Another FEI study showed that the majority of horse falls in the past nine years occurred at non-frangible fences. Meanwhile, the USEA Foundation has raised and distributed nearly $1 million to build frangible fences on courses across the country.

“This new gift from the Manton Foundation is an important part of refueling the Frangible Fund, but additional help is needed to keep this program running so that we can continue to supply new technology into the hands of our course builders,” the USEA Foundation wrote in announcing the grant. “Frangible fences are expensive to build, and many of our earliest frangible tables and oxers are aging out and need replacement.”

Holling is proud of the U.S. eventing community for fundraising dollars rather than mandating an additional entry fee to cover frangible costs.

“We’re in a better place than we’ve ever been,” Holling said. “It’s never going to be perfect because it’s the real world. We’ve done such a good job funding this.

 “It’s nice to be part of something that you feel like is bringing the community together,” he added. “It’s not the government, it’s not the association, it’s not the federation saying you’re going to give this much money every time you enter an event. It’s us coming together and just doing it.”

He’s especially encouraged other upper-level riders to give what they can. 

“A lot of us are on a shoestring budget trying to make it all work with our farms and horses. You feel like you’re spending every dime,” Holling said. “The upper-level riders need to understand it is really for them. We use [frangibles] at training level and up. The higher the level, the higher the risk.”

But he also believes frangible fences benefit everyone. “If the sport gets in trouble because we don’t have the stuff out there, then it becomes less accessible for all the levels,” Holling said. “Any time there’s an accident that you think a frangible could’ve helped mitigate the risk or made it safe or less dangerous, it does directly affect the entire sport.”

The eventing community appears to agree, as the USEA Foundation has received more than $215,000 in donations since announcing the second Manton Foundation grant on Sept. 10. That’s great news, but it means a lot more running—a lot sooner—than Holling anticipated.

“I thought this would take us to the end of next year to get done,” he admitted of his running pledge. “I didn’t expect it to be this quick. I envisioned I’d do my second or third run after [the Defender Kentucky CCI5*] next spring in April and maybe finish it up through the summer. The fact that it went so fast, I thought, ‘Maybe I should have said 10 kilometers instead of miles,’ but being American, I don’t think in metric, so here I am.”

Holling, 48, completed his first run on Nov. 3 at the Santos Trails in Ocala, accompanied by fellow five-star eventers Kyle and Jen Carter and working student Trinity Sachau Sherman. Holling stayed on a 9-minute pace throughout the run, finishing in about 1.5 hours.

“Kyle is a really good runner. He’s actually also a really nice guy and a good friend of mine,” Holling said. “He was willing to show me where to go and what to do, and he set a decent pace [so] that I wasn’t going to kill myself.

“I was pretty impressed we did that [9-minute miles],” he added. “I was thinking it would take us about two hours. Honestly, we talked the entire time; right to the very end we were talking. It was just a nice pace. It was the four of us, and we all paced each other and had a great time.”

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Holling did injure his ankle during the first run, so he decided to schedule future runs, including today’s, with plenty of time to heal before any competitions. 

“I think my next run, I’ll do a run-walk,” he said. “I was talking with [eventer and former pentathlete] Tik Maynard, and he suggested I run five minutes, walk two minutes. Don’t be an idiot. I struggle with not being an idiot. So that’s what I’m going to try to do to control myself and be smart about how fast I go.”

After the run planned for today, he’d like to complete another one by the end of the year.

 “I don’t want to be trying to bust these all out in the winter time when I’m trying to compete,” he said. “If I do get a little bit of a thing [injury] here or there, I’d rather deal with it over the holidays.” 

One of the best parts about the experience so far has been the community Holling has felt along the way. 

“When I put those videos out with the updates of where we’re at, they get the most views of any of my videos,” he said. “Eventing is such a small community, and we’re all in this together. It’s such good people. If you need each other for something like this, most of the time the community steps up and takes care of it. I’ve had people say to me, ‘That’s so amazing that you raised all that money.’ My answer is always, ‘I didn’t raise the money. We raised the money. I just cheerleaded and posted stupid videos online.’ I put a plea out in 2020. I donated. But I don’t have the resources to donate any more than anyone else. So I did not raise the money. We all raised the money as the eventing community. That is the humbling, truly remarkable part.”

Watch for Holling’s run updates on his social media, or visit the USEA Foundation to donate.

The post Eventer Jon Holling Is Running 10-Milers To Raise Funds For Frangibles appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

On paper, the results of the CCI3*-L division from last weekend’s Event at TerraNova were concerning: In a division of 36 cross-country starters, only 10 horses made it around the course without jumping penalties, and half of those who started did not complete, largely due to problems at a coffin complex early on course. 

There was an extra spotlight on the event, held Nov. 14-16 in Myakka City, Florida, because its cross-country course designer, Alec Lochore of Great Britain, recently was named as the designer for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Criticism soon followed on social media. 

“The insinuation was that we don’t care; we do, I do, we all care,” Lochore said Tuesday, emphasizing that horse welfare is his top priority. “Was I disappointed? Yes. Do I think the fence was fair? I still do think it was a fair fence. And do I like the results? Absolutely I would rather, if there had been any faults, that it would have been one or two, because not everybody can jump clear around these events all the time. And do we reflect? Absolutely we reflect, and we will address what needs addressing.”

TerraNova Enterprises and the event organizers issued a statement Tuesday clarifying that the course was inspected by FEI officials before opening for the course walk, and that no concerns were raised at either of two FEI briefings held before cross-country day. They also noted that the combination did not appear on this year’s CCI4*-S course.

“Social media commentary has focused on Fence #6ABC, a rail-and-ditch combination on the CCI3*-L course. While this question produced a higher-than-average number of penalties, the issues were varied in nature and not isolated to a single element,” the statement noted. “Alternative routes were available for both 6A and 6C, while fence 6A was equipped with frangible devices.”

Officials also added color to increase visibility for the horses and delayed the start of cross-country by 30 minutes, “significantly improving lighting conditions,” the statement read.

Throughout the division, two members of the ground jury were stationed near the coffin question—which also caused trouble for a few riders in the CCI4*-L—but “at no time recommended removal,” according to the TerraNova statement. 

Sydney Elliott, the riders’ representative for the three- and four-star divisions, agreed with their assessment. 

“It’s a fair question for a championship, for a long-format,” she said. “I thought it was very fair, and I guess, for me, looking into the future with these horses, I’d much rather see that question at the three-long, before I get to Kentucky at the five-star.”

Elliott, who won the CCI4*-L with her five-star partner QC Diamantaire, also had two horses entered in the three-star, where she finished second aboard Greenhall Good Decision after picking up a frangible pin penalty at Fence 6A and ended 17^th with Agoodbye St. Nicholas Z after picking up two refusals, at Fence 6A—“my fault completely, not the course designer,” she noted—and 11A, on cross-country.

No one, she said, expressed any concerns to her about the combination prior to cross-country.

“There was not one person that came up to me before Saturday, and it was just after the three-long ran that I had one person reach out to me about it,” Elliott said. “At our debriefing for the three- and four-star, we did bring it up. We discussed everything from the frangibles to the lighting to reversing the course and having that at the end next year. So, I mean, it was a big discussion, but it was after the fact.”

Fellow five-star rider Jonathan Holling, who sits on the Fédération Equestre International Risk Management Steering Group as the national safety officer for the U.S., competed in the TerraNova CCI3*-L as well aboard Fernhill Copain, jumping clear cross-country to finish seventh. Holling posted a video of him and his horse navigating the combination, noting, “He had to work for it but he got it done like the cross country machine he is.”

“There’s a bit of blame to go around with everybody,” Holling said, emphasizing that he had not talked to Lochore or any other officials about the fence. “It was there last year. I know that Alec made changes to it with the hill. … I am one hundred percent confident that he thought it was going to ride well. It did not. It did not ride well. It was not a fair question for the level. I know Alec well. He’s a very good designer, and he’s a good man. He set it out there intending that it was going to be a fair test, and it just turned out that it wasn’t.”

Holling added that he believes the coffin is a question that needs to be asked. “It just needs to be adjusted somehow to make it more useful for the three-star,” he said. “We need to practice coffins, and they built us a great one.”

Like Elliott, Holling said he didn’t hear riders raise concerns about the fence at any of the meetings with officials. 

“As a competitor in that division, I did not hear one competitor bring a concern forward in any of the meetings with any of the officials about that fence,” Holling said. 

Both he and Elliott separately emphasized the importance of riders speaking to their rider reps or officials about any concerns in a proactive manner. 

“I actually brought that up in our debriefing, too, is what can we do to get people to communicate before things happen?” Elliott said. “We have the rider reps for a reason; the ground jury is so willing to help—especially last weekend, it was a great group of people and willing to listen and help—but no one came forward.” 

“At the end of the day, if the riders don’t raise a concern ahead of time, it’s pretty hard to point a finger at the officials without also pointing a finger at yourself,” added Holling.

Three-star competitor Katie Malensek, who withdrew her second horse in the division after her first horse, STX Mex, was injured after a stop at 6A triggered the frangible fence, called the organizers and property owners “lovely” but criticized Lochore’s course on social media after the event. On Wednesday, she said she regretted not expressing her concerns before cross-country began, but she added that past experiences made her feel that concerns brought up by anyone other than a big-name rider would be dismissed.

She also expressed concern that officials watched how the fence was riding and chose not to remove it from the course.

“At some point, why did they not say, ‘Hey, I don’t know; maybe it’s the lighting, maybe it’s something about this jump isn’t being read well. Why keep having horses jumping through it?” she asked.

Ashley Kehoe, another rider who was eliminated at the combination in the three-star, posted to social media about the experience, saying in part, “It’s not just the riders, it’s the owners, the parents, everyone involved in this sport who has been left with a bad taste in their mouth.”

Kehoe suggested that a new protocol should be considered where, if a certain number or percent of the first riders out on course have trouble with one fence, that the fence be pulled from the course.

TerraNova officials, in their statement, noted that “multiple riders successfully executed the direct route” and offered a list—reproduced below—of reasons the combination may have resulted in penalties for half the field:

A range of factors may have contributed to the higher-than-expected difficulty, including:

1. Over 25% of the division’s horses were in the yellow or red zone under the FEI’s Horse Form Index.
2. Several riders had not completed a 3*-L the previous month and re-routed to this event
3. Many horse-and-rider combinations lacked experience with a ditch on terrain
4. The combination appeared early on course
5. Partial shading affected visibility of the ditch
6. The fence was in close proximity to the warm-up area
7. Options at A and C were available but often not taken, even after a refusal
8. Several horses that took the option at A stopped at B, a small ditch
9. Some riders galloped at high speed to the combination, reducing balance and limiting the horse’s ability to read the question

“The course designer and technical delegate have already begun discussing adjustments for future editions of the event to ensure continued improvement and uphold the highest standards of safety, fairness, and horse welfare,” the statement concluded. “TerraNova Enterprises and the organizers of The Event at TerraNova remain committed to accurate communication, FEI compliance, and the welfare of horses, which is paramount in all decisions. We encourage riders, media outlets, and the public to always seek clarification directly from official sources rooted in facts.”

The post TerraNova Officials Respond To Cross-Country Concerns appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire stood second after dressage at the B&D Builders CCI4*-L, held Nov. 14-16 at the Event at TerraNova in Myakka City, Florida. But when dressage leader Phillip Dutton took a tumble off Possante at a combination that caused significant trouble cross-country and Elliott and “Q” jumped clear to finish just 1 second over optimum time, they found themselves in the pole position going into Sunday’s show jumping.

“After cross-country [Saturday], he felt incredible—so fresh, and even during the hold on the cross-country course, he wasn’t breathing hard. That gave me a lot of confidence coming into today,” Elliott said. The pair turned in another clear round with 0.4 time penalties to clinch the victory, their first in a CCI4*-L.

“He was very fresh this morning, which I was thankful for. He jumped well in the warm-up, and we kept things simple—I focused on not overthinking it. He knows his job and loves it, so I just let him enjoy himself out there—and here we are!” Elliott said.

Elliott described Chris Barnard’s show jumping course as fair, thoughtful, and true to his signature style.

“Chris’ courses are always so good,” she said. “They ride exactly how they walk, as long as you keep a cool head. You have some leeway with the distances, which I appreciate. Even in the last line, I thought, ‘There might be a five stride here,’ but then I told myself not to get greedy and stick with the six. And honestly, it rode just the way it walked!”

Elliott has enjoyed a decade-long partnership with the 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Diarado—Lantana, Sandro Hit), owned by Carol Stephens.

“As my friend and groom likes to say, we’re basically identical characters,” Elliott said. “He’s a bit of a diva in the best way. He’s incredibly sweet and kind, but very particular about who’s around him, when he wants attention, and when he’d rather be left alone.”

Watch their winning show jumping round, courtesy of ClipMyHorse.tv:

Coleman Takes Wire-To-Wire Win In Leibold Irrigation CCI4*-S

In the CCI4*-S, which concluded on Saturday, Will Coleman and Diabolo took the lead in dressage with a 26.1 and never relinquished it. They delivered a clear round in show jumping, adding just 0.8 time faults—especially notable as no competitor produced a double-clear round.

They turned in an outstanding cross-country performance, finishing with no jumping penalties and only 20 seconds over the optimum time, securing their lead to win the Leibold Irrigation CCI4*-S.

“The time faults were sort of planned—this was his first run back at this level in about a year after a minor injury in 2024, so we’re just ecstatic to have him back,” Coleman said. “He’s such a quality horse and made it all feel easy today. I had a blast out there, and now we can look ahead to next year—this was the perfect way to finish our season.”

Coleman’s other CCI4*-S mount, Fahrenheit Addict, climbed from fifth to second after show jumping. However, time penalties on cross-country pushed the pair back to fifth in the final CCI4*-S standings.

“Fahrenheit Addict was awesome—he’s a younger horse, and this is his first year at the four-star level with us,” Coleman said. “We really just wanted to give him a nice, confidence-building run to finish the season, and we got that today. He’s improved so much this year, and I’m really excited about his future. It was a great day overall—our whole barn had a fantastic outing, and a couple of my students did really well, too. We’re fortunate to have such a great village behind us.”

Cross-Country Trouble

A coffin question early on the cross-country course designed by Great Britain’s Alec Lochore, recently tapped to design the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games track, caused significant trouble on cross-country day at both the three- and four-star levels.

Not only did the CCI4*-L dressage leaders, Dutton and Possante, fall there—the rider posted to social media afterward that both were fine—but two other horses in the four-long had stops in the combination, Fence 6ABC, one retiring after. That was nothing, however, compared to the havoc it caused in The Estates at TerraNova & Laughlin Tanner Group CCI3*-L, where just 10 riders out of 40 entrants jumped clean in the division won by Marley Stone Bourke and First Obama, whose cross-country round with just 3.2 time penalties catapulted them up the standings from 13th after dressage.

Four three-star riders fell and 22 refusals were recorded at 6ABC among the 36 cross-country starters in the division (four horses withdrew before cross-country). Half of the cross-country starters did not complete the course, including those with problems at other fences. Five horses were eliminated on combined refusals involving at least two stops in that combination, and four more retired later in the course, after stops there. The combination was flagged with alternate routes, and most problems happened at 6A, the downhill-sloping entry rails, and 6B, a ditch at the bottom of the slope. Four horses activated the frangible pin on Fence 6A.

One of those to activate a pin—the other three continued the course and finished—was Canadian rider Katie Malensek, whose horse STX Mex was injured in a fall at the combination. She criticized Lochore’s course in a social media post.

“I’m not even really sure what to say about this weekend,” she wrote. “It’s a shame [TerraNova] is such a lovely venue with lovely property owners and amazing organizers because after this weekend it’s going to be hard to trust the course designer enough to come back here with upper level FEI horses. If you haven’t already looked up the results—this was a terrible weekend for our sport. A repeat non horse friendly combination early on course and worse—on a jump that received poor rider feedback from last year—and instead of making it more educational, it was made more difficult.

“It broke my heart to watch my lovely Max gallop around on 3 legs and be horse transported in a splint back to the stables. I was hysterical. He had a positive start but at the first element of the coffin he put his feet back down on take off and went through the jump with them—then the frangible fell on his front legs and the log trapped his front legs to the box. He panicked for what seemed like forever and then to my horror wouldn’t put his leg down. Radiographs do not reveal any fractures and slowly over the course of the day he tentatively started weight bearing again and I hope we just got really really lucky.”

Click here for full results.

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