Dani G Waldman to step back from showjumping

Israeli showjumper Dani G Waldman pictured on stallion Queensland E — Dani pictured with Queensland E

(Image credit: Getty)

International showjumper Dani G Waldman (nee Goldstein) is stepping back from competition – and has sold two of her top rides.

Dani – recognisable by her colourful hair feathers – has represented Israel at world and European Championships and was a regular on the Global Champions Tour.

Dani said she loves fashion, food, and travel, and was taking a break from the sport “for a while to carve a new path”. Dani is no stranger to fashion and standing out from the crowd, as well as matching her hair feathers to the Israeli flag at the 2019 European Championships, that year at the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) final in New York she wore a black lace show jacket that she had designed.

Dani has enjoyed a successful career across the globe, most notably with the much-loved British-bred mare Lizziemary, who was previously ridden at the top level by Billy Twomey. Dani and Lizziemary competed at the 2017 and 2019 Europeans and the 2018 World Equestrian Games, and picked up many grand prix wins, including the LGCT grand prix of Shanghai in 2019. Lizziemary was retired from competition in 2021, and at the time Dani paid tribute to the mare saying she had “made her life”.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.

‘It’s time to experience new adventures’: top showjumper announces break from the sport to pursue other passions

Last month she was competing in France and Germany with a string of horses, but on 27 May she announced she was stepping back from competition.

“My identity has been shaped so heavily by one overriding element for almost 30 years — that I’m a professional showjumper.” she said.

“It has been a tremendous journey but a person isn’t just one thing and it’s time I fully explore my other passions. Horses will always continue to be a part of my identity but for now, my identity is evolving and I’m owning my truth by following my heart.

“Every new journey has a jumping off point. It’s time to experience new adventures. I can barely contain my excitement with so many new possibilities in front of me as I open a new chapter in my life,”

Dani’s other top rides include the stallion Queensland E – who Dani took to the Tokyo Olympics, although the pair did not start – Happy Girl, and Katinka Dree Boeken.

This week Dani announced Queensland E and Katinka Dree Boeken had been sold.

“I officially say goodbye to ‘E’ and ‘Tinka’ as they venture off to their respective new homes. It has been a wonderful journey and an honour to finish this chapter with both of them by my side,” she said.

“E, you took me all the way to the Olympics and I am forever grateful. And Tinka, the satisfaction and joy I got from developing you into an international champ — I will never forget it. I wish you both luck and success in the future!”

You might also be interested in:

‘It’s like wearing a down comforter on my head’ — Israeli rider and her flying hair feathers claim big win

Showjumping superstar’s first auctioned embryo sells for five figures