Anne Kursinski Still Loves A Good Thoroughbred

If you visit Anne Kursinski’s Market Street facility in Frenchtown, New Jersey, you might notice a striking bay gelding with a broad blaze and four white socks being ridden by one of her students or her partner, Carol Hoffman. You might wonder about his breeding—until you remember that for Kursinski, a member of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, nothing can beat a good Thoroughbred.

“I am a huge fan of the Thoroughbreds, no question,” said Kursinski, 65, who famously rode ex-race horse Eros to team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. “Thoroughbreds are intelligent and athletic, brave and light.”

The newest Thoroughbred in her life—Bobby Socks, so named in honor of his four white socks—became part of the Market Street family in 2022, after a chance conversation at a horse show between Kursinski and her longtime friend and retired show jumper Mary Chapot.

“Mary said they had this Thoroughbred that was too slow for Laura [Chapot, Mary’s daughter], and she thought maybe we’d like to take a look,” Kursinski recalled.

Laura had brought the skinny 4-year-old to the competition, just to hack around.

“He had his head up, typical ‘young horse at the horse show,’ ” Kursinski said with a laugh. “He definitely looked like a Thoroughbred.”

But something about him piqued Kursinski and Hoffman’s interest, and the women agreed that it was worth bringing him to Market Street for a more thorough evaluation. When “Bobby” arrived several weeks later, the green prospect immediately impressed Kursinski and Hoffman with his “beautiful canter and gallop” —and then they saw him jump.

“I made my jumps very low, and he jumped a little bit high, but a beautiful, round jump,” Kursinski said. “He was very brave. And I looked at Hoffy and said, well, maybe he should spend the night, and we could play with him again in the morning. She said, ‘Oh, that’s not good,’ but she loves a Thoroughbred, too.”

The next day, Bobby continued to impress, and the women decided he should stay permanently. It was only later that Kursinski learned their new prospect was somewhat royally bred, despite his lack of success at the track. By multiple stakes winner Honor Code and out of One Of A Cat by Deputy Minister, Bobby (whose Jockey Club name is Acta Non Verba) was meant to be a stakes horse and sold as a yearling for $300,000. But he raced only once, earning a lifetime total of just $125.

Kursinski, who grew up in Pasadena, California, riding former race horses from Santa Anita, Del Mar, Agua Caliente (Mexico), and other regional tracks, has always advocated for the use of the Thoroughbred in the hunter and jumper rings. Australian-bred Eros came into her program as a 5-year-old and began making a name for himself when he won the 1994 American Gold Cup in Pennsylvania, before going on to the Olympics and other major international successes.

But Eros is just one of many Thoroughbreds that have come through the Market Street program over the years. The gray gelding Only One (Jockey Club name Notashadowofadoubt, Flame Thrower—Reely Risky, Reel On Reel) was an eventer before catching Kursinski’s eye over a decade ago.

“I got him thinking he might be the next Eros, because he had this light, high jump,” Kursinski said. “In the end, he only went to 1.40 meters. But he was such a beautiful mover and had this pretty jump, and people said he ought to do the hunters.”

The gelding went on to a long and successful career in that ring with both Kursinski and Hoffman in the irons, winning at such esteemed venues as the Winter Equestrian Festival (Florida) and the Hampton Classic (New York). Now 21, he is a beloved schoolmaster and lesson horse, over the years helping Kursinski’s students gain mileage in the children’s and junior hunters and jumpers. But although Only One offered consistent, elegant performances in the hunter ring, he was not always rewarded in the results.

“I think because he looked like a Thoroughbred—a little lean and a little long—sometimes the judges would hold it against him,” Kursinski said. “He had these long, long legs, and it was always hard to get weight on him.

“He was a lovely type, who would just float across the ground, and he was really fun to ride,” she continued. “Yet he would sometimes get knocked down, because he was a Thoroughbred.”

Fortunately, thanks to opportunities such as TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program, which incentivizes people to develop former racehorses for new careers, Kursinski thinks things are improving for the breed in the show ring.

“I think these programs are great for the sport and for the horses,” Kursinski said. “For some years, Thoroughbreds were kind of written off, and they were not in vogue. I feel badly that the Thoroughbred has gotten sort of a bad name, especially in the hunters. I grew up on Thoroughbreds, and I love their sensitivity. To me, even today, the top warmbloods have blood. They are not heavy, slow cart horses—they have sensitivity.

“Because of a Thoroughbred’s sensitivity, they will teach you to be a better rider, if you work with them,” she continued. “Some of the warmbloods today, you can kick them, hit them in the mouth, whatever, and they will sort of stay the same—not all of them of course, but it’s a bit more in their nature than a Thoroughbred that is so sensitive. That sensitivity, I think, is wonderful for a lot of riders.”

“Even with Eros, who was amazing, I had to meet him halfway,” she said. “It wasn’t the European ‘I’m going to make this horse go the way I want him to go.’ No, no, no. It is the same with Bobby Socks—there is a fine line. You have to work with them, because of their sensitivity and temperament.

“Some people say all Thoroughbreds are wild and crazy and hot,” she continued, adding with a laugh, “and of course, some are! But I don’t think they have to be, if you ride them properly and understand them. Because of all that, it can make you a better trainer and rider.”

Kursinski and Hoffman have taken their time in producing Bobby. As he has matured and muscled up, Kursinski says some visitors will comment that “he doesn’t look like a Thoroughbred.” Even now, she isn’t sure that is a compliment.

“He is a very handsome, beautiful horse, and he’s been loads of fun,” Kursinski said. “He’s intelligent. I’ve ridden him myself some and showed him a couple of times. Even today, he’ll still overjump a bit. He’s impressed but brave. But he is so, so light at the jump.”

Kursinski admits she isn’t riding as many young horses today as she did earlier in her career, and so most of Bobby’s early show ring miles have come under her direction with various students in the irons. But Hoffman saddled him up this past summer, and the pair captured the older adult hunter championship at the Princeton Summer Encore (New Jersey). The women plan to keep Bobby in their program, and they look forward to the future.

“He is powerful, and I think he can jump the big jumps,” Kursinski said. “Hopefully, he’ll end up jumping the 4’ hunters, because he has the ability to do that. He is scopey and brave. Because we own him, we’ve gone a little slow with him; we can take the time. Hoffy loves him, and she would maybe like to end up riding him long term.”

These days, Kursinski is devoting most of her time and energy to teaching and coaching her students, and mentoring the next generation of elite riders through her role as chef d’equipe of the U.S. Show Jumping Developing Program alongside U.S. Show Jumping Technical Advisor Robert Ridland. However, she still looks forward to the times when students bring their Thoroughbred by for a little specialized coaching.

“Some are eventers, but others are trying to do them in the jumpers and the hunters,” Kursinski said. “It’s fun to work with them, and that is where I am so excited with this horse Bobby. The lightness, the balance—I love all of that.”