Three years ago, with his two children out on their own and his successful small animal vet practice recently sold, Mark Dorfman decided the time was right to get back into his childhood love of riding horses.

Growing up in Long Island, New York, Dorfman rode with Ralph and Holly Caristo at their Glenview Stables. He competed successfully in the junior hunters, equitation and jumpers, first on leased horses and then his own.

“My parents were super supportive, both financially and emotionally,” he said. “I didn’t grow up riding the fanciest horses there were, but my one horse that was my junior jumper and equitation horse, Cyclone Lad, we were ninth in the 1978 AHSA Medal Finals at Harrisburg [Pennsylvania]. Of course, back then we really just had one horse for everything. One of the things I loved about riding with Ralph and Holly [was that] they had a sale barn, and there were tons of horses that came through there all the time, and I was allowed to ride many of them and exercise them and help with them.”

When Dorfman left for college, he gave up horses because he didn’t think he’d enjoy riding when he couldn’t be fully dedicated. He attended the University of Florida for veterinary school, and briefly considered becoming an equine vet, but he settled on small animal internal medicine. He finished his education at the University of Georgia and started a small practice, Georgia Veterinary Specialists, in Atlanta.

The practice grew tremendously and became known as BluePearl Veterinary Partners. It was sold in 2015 to Mars, which now operates several emergency pet hospitals around the country under the BluePearl name. Dorfman remained with the company until 2022 when he semi-retired. He now serves as a consultant for a different company.

Throughout his career, Dorfman, now 63, stayed in touch with the Caristos and would visit them in Florida during the winter season, but the urge to get back into horses didn’t come until he retired, 40 years after he gave up riding. He was attending the World Championship Hunter Rider Week at the Winter Equestrian Festival (Florida) and reunited with some of his former Glenview friends while watching the hunter spectacular.

“I was thinking to myself, gee, this looks like fun. I’d really like to try doing this again,” he said. “Shortly after I got home, I started exploring some possibilities to start to get on a horse and ride again. It took me a little while to figure out what I could do in Atlanta, but I ended up leasing a horse at a barn in Atlanta for a year, and that kind of got me started.”

Dorfman started at Chastain Horse Park with trainer Lisa Anderson. By the time his lease ran out, he was more committed than ever to competing in Florida and decided it was time to purchase his own horse. As he did as a teen, he looked to the Caristos to train with for the winter and found Golden Hour, a 13-year-old warmblood (Emerald van’t Ruytershof—Griet) mare. She has been a consistent campaigner in the 3’3” amateur-owner hunters for Dorfman since. 

After his first season competing in Florida, Dorfman knew he’d have to find a trainer in Atlanta to continue showing, and Ralph connected him with Michael Britt-Leon.

“He is a super rider,” Dorfman said. “He’s fun to work with. He really cares and is very passionate about his horses and loves to teach.”

Soon after Dorfman started training with Britt-Leon, they thought it was time for him to find a sharper and more competitive mount for the 3’6” division. They looked for a year and a half before finding Can’t Touch This HS, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Casall—Canturana). 

Bred in Germany by American Reece Miller, “Hammer” was sold as a breeding stallion to Hyperion Stud before being gelded last year. He’d been showing on the West Coast in the green and professional divisions with Jason McArdle. 

“He is a beautiful horse,” Dorfman said. “I don’t say that because he’s my horse, but he’s just physically a beautiful horse. He’s got a lot of chrome, a lot of white, and he jumps spectacularly. Every jump, he puts his ears forward. He just has a really pleasing look, the way he carries himself around the ring.”

“He’s a dream to ride,” Britt-Leon added. “He’s so much fun. He’s one that the more you challenge him, the better he goes. He studies the jumps and wants to do it right. It’s very special when you can find one that can win in the professional divisions and the amateurs.”

Dorfman and Hammer qualified for indoors last year in the amateur-owner hunter division and competed at Capital Challenge (Maryland). Hammer also competed in the 3’9” green hunter division with Britt-Leon at Capital Challenge, the Pennsylvania National and the National Horse Show (Kentucky). 

“I’ve already gotten him spoiled,” Dorfman said. “He’s a character. He’s very persistent. He likes to look at things, just everything that’s going on. He’s on high alert all the time. He’s always very aware of what’s going on around him, whether it’s a tractor in the field next to him, whether it’s a car going by, whether it’s a photographer at the edge of the ring, he’s on high alert.”

Dorfman’s goal since getting back into horses was to compete at the 3’6” height like he did as a junior, and Week 2 at the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival was his fourth time back at the level. The pair earned a big win that week, taking home the championship ribbon in the amateur-owner hunter, 36 & over, division, something Dorfman was pleasantly surprised by.

“It was fun,” he said. “I am not a person that rides for the ribbons or for the championships. I want to ride well and to do the best that I can, but it is nice to get recognized for your hard work.”

Dorfman says he’s enjoyed getting back into the sport and has noticed a lot of changes since his time away.

Besides the price of a competitive mount being much higher, “the competitions have changed a little bit,” he said. “We used to have classes scheduled in a division at different times, and you would have to warm up your horse multiple times and jog them. All that has changed so you get to do your rounds back-to-back or pretty close together. 

“I also will say one of the things that has changed noticeably is the adult divisions and the amateur divisions have gotten extremely big and competitive,” he added. “They were not that big back in my junior days. But I think a lot a lot of people have stayed in the sport or come back to the sport, like myself, and those divisions have gotten extremely large and quite competitive.”

Britt-Leon has enjoyed teaching Dorfman and having him as a part of his barn. 

“Mark is the absolute kindest individual who loves his horses, and it shows,” he said. “He is 100 percent of the time about what’s best for the horses. He’s a true horseman. He learned how to do things correctly from the beginning. He took a big break but has the most incredible attitude about coming back to it. I think that would be the hardest thing to do, because you know what it’s supposed to be and feel like and look like, but when you take such a long break, it doesn’t come back as easily. He’s had an incredible attitude about getting back into it and getting strong again and taking the time with his horses.”

Dorfman doesn’t have any big goals this year with his horses, other than doing the best he can and enjoying the process, though Britt-may take Hammer to some international derbies or compete in the high performance division.

“I enjoy the sport,” Dorfman said. “I’m certainly glad to be back in it. I feel very fortunate that I have the ability to do this now, both physically and financially, and have the time to do it. My kids are finished with college and are professionals, and I just have that time on my hands now, especially being semi-retired, so I just feel lucky to be able to do what I love doing.”