“There really aren’t words to express what today meant to me,” said Liz. “To finally be back at an event for the first time since my accident… to watch my gorgeous Cooley Nutcracker go down the centre line with Boyd Martin… to hug friends I haven’t seen in so long and catch up about everything I’ve missed… I am overjoyed and so grateful to finally be back in the sport I love.”
Liz rode Cooley Nutcracker at the Paris Olympics shortly before her accident. She is now part of a syndicate called Liz’s Nutcrackers, supporting the horse for new rider Boyd Martin.
Liz Halliday watched the pair do their Kentucky Three-Day Event dressage test from her wheelchair on the balcony just above the arena entrance yesterday.
“Things are a bit different now, of course. I’m here as an owner supporting Boyd and ‘Bali’ alongside the rest of the Liz’s Nutcrackers crew. I am so grateful to Boyd for everything he has done with the horse who made my Olympic dreams come true and am so excited to cheer them on this weekend,” said Liz, who has recently been graded to compete in para dressage.
“Thank you to everyone who came up to say hi and gave me a hug today! Please don’t be shy – come up and say hello and tell me a story about what I’ve missed. Because now I’m back and it feels fabulous!
“Good luck to all who are competing this weekend. I will be riding alongside all of you in spirit.”
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Boyd said he looked up at the stands and saw Liz when he finished his test. He spoke to Liz afterwards.
“I hope she’s proud of her horse,” he said, adding in response to a comment that hopefully she was proud of Boyd: “I’m scared of her, I hope she was happy with me!
“It’s great to see her here. She’s back home in Lexington, Kentucky. It’s obviously been a really, really tough year for her coming back to her health and it’s great that she’s back home and not having to live her days at the rehabilitation centre.”
Boyd and Cooley Nutcracker sit fifth on a score of 30.7 after the first day of five-star dressage.
“It was pretty good – I always want to get in the 20s and I was a mark or two off it,” he said. “I botched the first change. I didn’t have him quite in front of the leg and lost my position a bit. He’s a different type of horse for me, but he’s a champion.”
Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
