Nina Ligon confirmed the purchase of Euroridings Butts Leon, German event rider Andreas Dibowski’s four-star mount. The Hanoverian gelding (Heraldik—Lillian, Star Regent) is due to arrive at Ligon’s Esmont, Va., farm on Friday Aug. 5.
“My mom [Pan Ligon] and I kind of laugh about it,” said Nina, 19. “He kind of fell into our laps. Basically, the whole plan was that because we’re trying for the Olympics in such little time, [trainer Kim Severson] advised me that to get to the Olympics, I need to cram ten years of three-star experience into one year. And I need to do it without running my horse into the ground.”
While in Europe to compete at the Olympic Test Event (London) and at Pardubice (Czech Republic)—where she won the CIC*** with Jazz King and placed sixth in the CCI*** with Tipperary Liadhnan—Ligon made a trip to Germany to try the 14-year-old gelding, after which she and her mother made the decision to buy him from Dibowski and Ann-Kathrin Butt.
“When I was in London, I spoke to [Australian event rider Lucinda Fredericks], and she put me in touch with a U.K.-based agent,” said Nina, who rides for Thailand. “I told [the agent] I was looking for potential London horse, looking for a horse I can ride, not that [only] a pro can ride.”
Nina admitted that when the agent told her which horse they were going to see, she was “shocked” to hear it was Dibowski’s decorated veteran, with whom he was a member of the gold medal-winning German event team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, second in the 2009 Luhmuhlen CCI**** (Germany), the 2010 Aachen CIC*** Germany, the 2010 Badminton CCI**** (England) and won both the CIC*** at Jardy (France) and Luhmuhlen CCI**** this year.
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“I absolutely loved him the first time I rode him,” said Nina. “I’m really excited to get him over here.” Butts Leon traveled back from Europe with jazz King and Tipperary Liadhnan to New York’s JFK International Airport. and is in quarantine.
Nina’s purchase of the German star comes only months after buying Tipperary Liadhnan from Severson. Her string of Olympic hopeful mounts is growing, and though she agreed that at this instant Butts Leon seemed like the strongest horse to take her to London, she recognizes it’s still a waiting game.
“I think in the end, it’s going to come down to who I’m performing the best with and who is the most sound,” Nina said. “Because even though it seems like [Euroridings Butts Leon] would be the horse to ride in the Olympics because of all that he’s done, well, just because Andreas gets those results, doesn’t mean I will!”
Nina tentatively plans to show her new horse in the Dansko Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) Oct. 13-16 or at the Galway Downs CCI*** (Calif.) Nov. 3-6.
