About

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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. Two unusual aspects of their story are the Rolex 4-star winner's purchase price of about $US900, 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 certain need to win something to repay the loan.

Nick has competed in eventing, show jumping, and dressage, in New Zealand, Australia, the US, and in Europe. He stepped away from competing for over a decade during which time he and 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 had decades earlier.

Understanding the need for a sport designed for thoroughbreds while being realistic and  viable for more participants, Nick set about creating a new equestrian sport from concept ideas dating back to the late 1990s.

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.

Perhaps more importantly, being ideal for thoroughbreds, especially those exiting the racing sector, CCE has the potential to generate a long-term demand and purpose for thousands of horses every year, many of which currently face an uncertain future.