Grand Prix dressage rider Pierre St. Jacques has been hired as head trainer at Mo and Jim Swanson’s Rolling Stone Farm in Slatington, Pa.

St. Jacques, his wife, Canadian eventer Samantha St. Jacques, and their 15-month-old son, Stirling, are currently based in Anthony, Fla., but when the opportunity to work at Rolling Stone Farm came up, Pierre couldn’t pass on it. He’ll be developing and competing Mo’s young horses, including Shakespeare RSF, one of Rolling Stone Farm’s six stallions. Shakespeare RSF is an 8-year-old Hanoverian (Sandro Hit—Em Acapella, Arrian) who competed at the Prix St. Georges level this season under John Amber.

“When it came time to hire a new trainer, he was the first person I thought of and the first person I called,” said Mo. “I’ve always believed in Shakespeare from the day he was born. I think we have some really top young horses here, and for us to hire someone of Pierre’s caliber is a big step up. You can tell that he loves horses when he’s riding them, and you can tell that he loves horses when he’s around them. That, to me, was really, really important.”

The St. Jacqueses will bring about seven horses with them when they move in early November and will be renting a property near Rolling Stone Farm. Pierre hopes to eventually acquire his own small training facility for himself and Samantha.

“It’s a good move for all of us,” said Pierre. “With what’s going on in dressage in the U.S. right now and all the conversations people are having, I think this is, in my opinion, how it should go, to have access to a lot of young horses and be able to train our own. For me, it’s a really exciting situation because I have access to some really nice horses and have the ability to start them myself and train them myself.”