Nick's principal accomplishments are winning the inaugural Adelaide International Horse Trials 3-star, the inaugural Rolex Kentucky 3DE 4-star (now called 4 and 5-star respectively), and riding for the New Zealand Equestrian Team in Australia and the WEG.
These were all with Red, a NZ thoroughbred.
Nick has competed in eventing, show jumping, and dressage, in New Zealand, Australia, the US, and in Europe.
Two unusual aspects of their story are the Rolex 4-star winner's purchase price of about $900, and the fact that Nick took out a bank loan, boarded a plane with Red, and arrived in the US with a few bags and a need to win something to pay back that loan.
Nick stepped away from competing for over a decade during which time he and his wife, Jeannie, moved to Kentucky, and got involved with racing and steeplechasing.
After attending the 2015 Rolex Kentucky 3DE, Nick realized that he wanted to ride competitively again and a few years later he made his first Advanced start in about 20 years with Alex, a home-bred thoroughbred. However, the appeal waned for many of the same reasons it did decades earlier.
Understanding the need for a sport designed for thoroughbreds and more accessible and viable for participants, Nick embarked on creating a new equestrian sport - an idea that had been developing since 1999.
Nick and Jeannie launched the Cross Country Equestrian Association and the new sport of CCE. Still very much a small start-up, CCE has nevertheless gained exceptional reviews from participants. In the tradition-rich world of equestrian sport, breaking new ground is far from easy, but Nick believes that CCE will prove to be a great benefit to horses and all equestrian sports by opening a wider door to riding and working with horses.
