As Jay Land sat on Leapy Lad at the in-gate, looking out over the formidable course on the final day of the 1986 FEI World Cup Finals, he looked up to his trainer, Frank Gombolay, in the stands.

“Are you sure?” Land asked him.

Gombolay replied, “You go and do it.”

So Land and Leapy Lad galloped into the ring and pulled off a gutsy, unorthodox move, turning in a clear round.

The course’s final combination had presented a tricky question, prompting Gombolay and Land to plan a daring strategy.

“It was a normal four-stride, to an extremely short three-stride, to a very wide oxer,” Gombolay recalled. “We walked it, and Leapy was not what you might call a power jumper. He jumped out of heart, and pace and gallop, as opposed to sheer scope.

“It was a real dilemma because, if you took back for the three, you weren’t going to get to the other side of the oxer. So, I told Jay to ride the four and accelerate and jump into the three and go forward and try to do two strides. Especially with a horse who was a little bit suspect in stride length, this was a breath-taking adventure.

“But Jay rode it perfectly, and the horse just skimmed over it and jumped out in two. It just demonstrated the incredible heart that the horse had. And the combination of that horse and rider together was amazing. They believed in each other and trusted each other, and both of them put the best foot forward for each other. That’s what made it work.”

With that clear round, Land and “Leapy” worked their way up to finish 12th in that World Cup Final, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, overcoming an uncharacteristic case of nerves in the first leg that left them 33rd. But with consistent performances the next two days, they climbed their way back up the standings. That determination, grit and trust in each other characterized Leapy and Land’s career together.

In their seven years competing, from 1985 to 1992, Leapy and Land created quite a fan following. But for Land, “It was about more than winning. Winning feels like a way for other people to recognize what you already know about your horse. It was all about his heart; he gave it his all every time, and that’s what showed when he won. It’s rare when you find that,” Land said.

This Was A Real Horse

Land was just 21 and an amateur rider when he first met Leapy in 1984. He’d had a successful junior career and had debuted in the grand prix ranks with his junior jumper, Ilico, claiming the 1983 AGA Rookie of the Year title. He was looking for the horse to take him to the next level.

Gombolay had gotten a call from a friend, a dealer in Ireland, about a promising prospect. An Irish family had raised the chestnut gelding, then 8, and their son had shown him locally. An Irish professional had competed at the Dublin Horse Show in the summer of 1984, and it looked like Leapy had the ability to win. So, Land and Gombolay flew over to see him.

Land’s first experience with Leapy was typically Irish.

“He had a hunter clip, with fuzzy legs, and was out of shape,” he recalled. “We rode him and jumped him hard, and he did everything we asked him to do and did it really well. It was freezing cold, and he was sweating, and they literally took him and put him into the stall, and said, ‘Let’s go have tea.’ Here’s this steaming horse still huffing, and we said, ‘You know, this horse has got to be tough; he’s been treated like this his whole life.’ He wasn’t a prima donna show jumper that we’re all used to. This was a real horse.”

Leapy arrived in the United States in early 1985 and started jumping on the Florida circuit. He made it clear right away that he would be a force to be reckoned with by placing second in the $100,000 Michelob American Invi-tational (Fla.) in April.

“We got along right away. He was always my kind of horse. He went in a style I enjoyed to ride. He went forward, he was brave at the jumps and fast. He was always a fun horse to ride,” Land said.

“We knew he was a good horse, but he was young and inexperienced. I think Frank and I were both surprised he did as well as quickly as he did,
but I think it was just that we were a good match. He liked doing his job; he enjoyed competing.”

They won a few more grand prix classes that year, and followed that up with a stellar year in 1986. They made their World Cup Final debut in Sweden, and then went on a USET European tour. The highlight of the year was a triumphant return to Dublin, Ireland.

The Irish fans were thrilled to see a native returning. “The van was driving in the driveway, bringing the horses, and a guy jumped up onto the running board and yelled, ‘Is Leapy Lad in there?’ He was a bit of a star there,” Gombolay said.

And Leapy didn’t disappoint, jumping heroically to take second in the Grand Prix of Ireland, finishing just a fraction of a second slower than the great Irish combination of Capt. Gerry Mullins and Rockbarton. “That was a great Irish day. There had been a lot of build-up, with Leapy being second in the Invitational, and doing well in the States, and people knowing that he’d come from Ireland. There was a lot of press and curiosity about Leapy,” Land said.
And Leapy got to reunite with an old friend in Dublin.

“I was in the stall, braiding him for the Nations Cup, and a woman comes to thedoor of the stall, which was open,” Land recalled. “I said hello and she didn’t really say anything. She looked kind of sad. She had her hand closed, and she held it in front of her, in front of Leapy’s nose. And then she pointed at his front leg. And he lifted his leg up! Then she pointed at his other leg, and he lifted it.

“I’d had him for two years, and I was wondering what was going on. It turns out, this was the woman who had owned him before, and this was the trick they made him do for peppermints. He was their only horse, and he was their pet, so they’d taught him this trick. And after that, I could show it off.”

He Taught Me How To Win

Land believes that serendipity played a little bit of a role in the story of he and Leapy. “The stars were aligned. He came along at the time that my experience level was such that I was ready to become competitive. I couldn’t have had a horse like Leapy a year or two before that,” he said.

“Having a horse who had that much heart and that much natural talent at a time when I was riding well, and to have a trainer and mentor like Frank Gombolay, who I’d ridden with since I was 12–to have that all come together at one time was pretty special.”

In 1987, Land rode Leapy to one of their most memorable wins–the $50,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix (N.Y.). “It was the year before the Olympics, and Olaf Petersen, who was building for the Olympics, designed it. It was a brutally huge and scopey course, and Leapy just jumped it great,” Land said.

“That was a time when the U.S. show jumpers were extremely strong,” Gombolay said. “Many times, there would be 50 or 60 in the class, and any one of them would have a chance to win it. It wasn’t that Leapy had to be better than one or two; you had to be better than the whole field, and that’s not always
easy.”

“He taught me how to win,” said Land simply.

Land had his eye on the 1988 Olympics with Leapy, and the timing seemed right. But after Leapy jumped uncharacteristically badly in October 1987 at the Washington (D.C.) International Horse Show, they discovered that he’d developed a severe quarter crack. Leapy’s recuperation took him out of action for much of 1988, and he missed the Olympic selection trials.

But when Leapy returned, he and Land won the $100,000 Prudential-Bache American Jumping Classic (Ohio) in 1989.

Gombolay recalled those days with fondness. “At the time, you’re going from show to show and day to day, and you don’t really realize what a special time it is, and what a wonderful animal he was. But now that you look back on it, you can appreciate it much more,” he said.

Not Very Often

Leapy continued jumping and winning, but by 1992, Land knew that at 16 his time was coming to a close.

“He got to the point where jumping grand prix was becoming more difficult for him.

He was so careful, but he was losing the ability to get through the big combinations, so I decided that I wasn’t going to push it. He’d done so much for me for so long, I decided he didn’t need to jump those jumps any more. For a while, I jumped him in the amateurs, but he had earned his retirement in one piece,” he said.

And Land was also at a time of transition himself. He’d gotten married, was starting a family, and had launched a career in real estate. “Once I was working full-time, it was very difficult to be competitive at the professional level. Before, I was able to be an amateur, but basically ride at a professional level because I did it full-time. Once I was in the real world, it wasn’t as easy. And if I couldn’t ride at the level I’d gotten accustomed to, it wasn’t much fun,” Land said.

Leapy retired in ’92, and Land hung up his tack in 1995. His daughters, now 12 and 10, ride and show. “I keep telling my kids that if they keep making me go to all these horse shows, I just might have to get a horse,” he said wryly.

And Leapy, now 29, is retired in style to Land’s farm in Atlanta, Ga., where he still lives in a field with a companion donkey. Land’s daughters and son, 14, groom him and play with him, and Leapy holds court. “He stands at the front gate of the farm so that everyone has to stop and say hello to him,” Land said.
Land recalled his years with Leapy fondly. “I was young enough to not know any better, and he was brave enough to try,” he recalled.

“He was the kind of horse you don’t get very often,” Gombolay said of Leapy. “Not because of his incredible ability, but because of his heart. This was the horse who taught Jay to believe in himself. It was very rewarding to be part of it.”

He Always Tried His Hardest

Jay Land recalled that Leapy Lad’s “forte was on a big field, with big jumps. We could just gallop down to them and he’d always leave them up.

“He was super careful. He was very brave, and he didn’t have as much scope as many horses, but he jumped and won over some of the most difficult and scopey courses out there, just because of his heart. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t try.

“A lot of horses can be dull at home when schooling, and tend to brighten up and produce at the show. But he was the kind of horse who made an effort every time. I remember jumping jumps at home and turning and looking at [trainer] Frank [Gombolay], and saying, ‘I can’t believe I have a horse like this to ride.’ At home it would be just rails, and he’d jump it like it was a wall in the Invitational.”

Everything about Leapy Lad was designed to jump. “He had a great rhythm, and he carried himself,” said Land. “A lot of horses, you have to package together into a frame, and he carried himself naturally balanced.

“He had a phenomenal rhythm and gallop, which allowed you to just ride to the jumps and find the distance that you wanted, which was a fantastic feeling. It’s a feeling that you don’t get from a lot of horses.”