Is there an all-U.S. bred, trained and ridden team of Olympic horses in our future? Can our American breeders beat the Europeans at their own game? Horse Sport International’s Kim MacMillan asked a group of up-and-coming American sport horse breeders about their experiences and how best to bring on a fledgling of all-U.S. bred horses. First up in our three-part series covering the efforts of those breeding for the Olympic disciplines, are show jumper breeders, Cayce Harrison and Cara Raether.

PART I: SHOW JUMPING

Historically there have been all-U.S. bred Olympic teams but they existed only in the early days of equestrian sports, when all team riders were military officers. The early team horses were products of Thoroughbred race breeding and U.S. Army Cavalry re-mount programs. The USA fielded its last all-military team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. Sixty-four years later, by the 2012 London Olympics, our U.S. riders in all three disciplines were mounted on horses bred in other countries.

The last two U.S.-bred Olympic show jumpers were both Thoroughbreds: For the Moment (pedigree unknown, 1988 and 1992 teams) and Gem Twist (by Good Twist, out of Coldly Noble by Nobel Jay, bred by Frank Chapot, 1988 team).

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