Much like the cream center of an Oreo cookie, there is a sweet spot in the middle of Ocala winter equestrian schedule in Florida where lots of great things happen. In a span of 10 days in March, horse sports enthusiasts can witness top international jumper and combined driving competition along with national hunter classes, an open mixed-breed show, as well as a Pony Club Rally and polo matches. The Ocala equestrian bliss continues with local farm tours, trail riding and dining in horse-themed restaurants.
Mark your calendars for these events in March 2026 and get ready to immerse yourself in the equestrian scene in the Horse Capital of the World®. (Yes, Ocala, and surrounding Marion County, Fla., have registered this title with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.) The county boasts more horses and ponies than any other in the USA with over 15,000 Thoroughbreds among them and over 600 Thoroughbred breeding farms. But, beyond that, Arabians, Quarter Horses, Gypsy Vanners, Clydesdales, European Warmbloods, and many other equine breeds call the county home, too.
2025 Live Oak International Report
It’s difficult to beat the ambience of the Weber family estate with huge, Spanish-moss-bedecked live oaks and grassy-green fields as far as the eye can see. Attendees of the Live Oak International Tournament have the rare opportunity to visit the private estate during the annual event. This year was the 34th renewal of the competition which features four days of international-level (2* and 3*) and national-level combined driving, plus three days of international-level (CSI4*) show jumping―the only event in North America showcasing the two sports together.
Hosted by the Weber family with champion driver Chester Weber and his niece and FEI show jumper Chloe Reid (daughter of Chester’s sister Juliette) as co-presidents of the tournament, there is much to do and see for sports fans and families alike. Find a great introductory video about the history of the Live Oak Tournament here.
In addition to the driving and jumping competition, Live Oak featured an appearance by the Budweiser Clydesdale eight-horse hitch on Saturday afternoon, and daily performances by enthusiastic dock-diving dogs who launched into a specially-constructed pool chasing their favorite toys. The NetJets airplane simulator was also available for walkthroughs and the children’s play area with huge white sand pile and a bouncy house was a hit. A host of shopping tents, a food court featuring barbecue, wood-fired oven pizzas, Cuban food and more, and a beer garden, rounded out the fun. Event organizers reported record crowds of more than 15,000 over the four days.
The Live Oak combined driving drew participants from five countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and United States) and 18 U.S. states (California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Live Oak has become a circle-the-date event for many drivers, because it offers more atmosphere with the large crowds, a world-class venue much like those encountered in Europe, and both national and international divisions including additional classes for youth and para drivers. Many of the drivers in the international divisions were also striving to qualify for the World Championships later this year.
Two days of driven dressage tests on Thursday and Friday opened the Live Oak combined driving event, followed by the marathon phase on Saturday and then the cones class concluded the competition on Sunday.
Winners of the Live Oak international driving classes were: FEI2* Pony Single, Tina England, Odessa, Ontario, Canada; FEI2*Horse Single, Marcus Holzinger, Metamora, Mich.; FEI3* Pony Single, Janelle Marshall, Australia (now based in South Carolina); FEI3* Pony Team, Bram Chardon of the Netherlands driving American Mary Phelps’ four pinto ponies; FEI3* Horse Single, Raymond Helmuth, Cambridge, Iowa; FEI3* Horse Pair, Jacob Arnold, Paris, Ky., and FEI3* Horse Teams, Chester Weber driving his own four-in-hand, Ocala, Fla.
The Live Oak international FEI5* show jumping classes ran Friday through Sunday with the CSI5* $190,000 Live Oak International Grand Prix, presented by Lugano Diamonds, capping the long weekend. Competitors from at least nine countries entered the jumping classes. The winner of the Lugano Grand Prix was Ireland’s Christian Coyle riding Extravaganza Semilly owned by Alexis Bodo. His brother Daniel Coyle rode Canadian owner Ariel Grange’s Farrel to second and the USA’s Will Simpson guided Imar, owned by Elizabeth Phillips, to third. The Live Oak jumping series Leading Rider Award went to Ireland’s Jordan Coyle, the Leading Lady Rider Award to Jenny Rankin (IRL), and the Leading Owner Award to Aaron Vale (USA).
During Sunday’s Grand Prix with only five riders out of 21 starters left to go, the skies opened up and over two inches of rain fell in a little over an hour. Since lightning was also present, for the safety of all, the show committee called a pause in the competition and sent competitors back to the barn to wait out the weather. The organizers and FEI ground jury, along with several competitors, walked out into the arena as the rain slowed and talked at length about options as water covered the arena surface. The decision was made to wait another hour, which paid off since the arena surface drained incredibly well and it was safe to continue, a real testament to the construction and maintenance of the ring surface there.
“This was an exceptional day of competition, proving once again that when tested, Live Oak International is equipped to thrive,” said Weber. “Despite the weather challenges, we came together as a community of competitors and organizers to ensure the safety and success of the event. I couldn’t be prouder of our arena and our team.”
Simpson spoke of his admiration for the Live Oak show, “The organizing committee did an amazing job managing the weather and the footing. It was an incredible day of sport, and the grass fields here are second to none. I’ve always loved this show; we really have to keep these grass fields.”
For a complete list of all of the 2025 Live Oak International combined driving and show jumping participants, course maps, and results, visit here.
To watch replays of the 2025 Live Oak International Tournament go to FEI.TV on ClipMyHorse. (A paid subscription is required, but you may be eligible for a trial period. Some events are available through USEF Network via ClipMyHorse, so if you are a USEF member, check to see if you are eligible to view through that membership.)
The 2026 Live Oak International Combined Driving and Show Jumping Tournament will return for the 35th year on March 12-15, 2026. For more information, click here.
USA Wins: 2025 Longines League of Nations Ocala Synopsis
Just a couple of days after the Live Oak competition ended, international jumper riders and horses took center stage just a few miles down the road at World Equestrian Center (WEC). The current 387-acre WEC facility, completed in 2020, is designed as an equestrian community onto itself with two major hotels, a general store and other vendors, restaurants, a chapel, a huge gas station, feed and bedding suppliers, medical facilities for horses and humans, more than 15 outdoor arenas, six indoor arenas, 20 barns with over 3,000 stalls and more. The Roberts family, owners of the WEC facilities in both Florida and Ohio, actually own 6,000 acres in Florida with plans for more expansion.
This year was the second for WEC Ocala to host a leg of the FEI Longines League of Nations (LLN) show jumping series. The FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale or International Equestrian Federation) created this new Nations’ Cup competition in 2024. Riders on teams from 10 nations compete at four qualifiers in 2025: Abu Dhabi (UAE) in February; Ocala (USA) in March; Rotterdam (NED) in June, and St. Tropez-Gassin (FRA) in September.
Of the ten competing in the four qualifiers, only eight teams will ultimately qualify for the Longines League of Nations Finals in Barcelona (ESP) this October. The winner of the LLN Final of last year’s season (Germany) was automatically qualified for this year’s season series regardless of their ranking on the relevant qualification list. The remaining nine places were allocated to the nine best-ranked teams in the LLN Ranking list (excluding last year’s winner). Qualified nations for 2025 are: Belgium; France; Germany; Great Britain; Ireland; Italy; the Netherlands; Sweden; Switzerland, and the USA.
As with the other older Nations’ Cup formats, the LLN competition is run over two rounds, with identical courses. Both rounds are run according to FEI jumper rules Table A, against the clock. The ten competing nations’ teams (four riders each) all jump in the first round, followed by a rest period. Then, three riders each from the top eight teams from the first round return to compete in the second round. The team with the lowest combined score (faults) wins. The LLN competition rules can be found here.
For more information on the FEI Longines League of Nations competition, including information about each leg of the series, competitor photos, news, statistics, current standings, dates for the remainder of 2025 and the 2026 series, and more, go to their website here.
While the March 22 Ocala FEI Longines League of Nations two-round competition was a standalone event, there was a week of international 2* and 5* show jumping classes at WEC designed to augment the show for both competitors and spectators. After the first horse inspection on Tuesday, March 18, international jumper classes kicked off on Wednesday, March 19 and finished on Sunday, March 23. To find starting orders, results and course maps for the entire week of 2* and 5* jumping at the WEC, including the LLN Ocala competition, visit here.
On Thursday, March 20, a CSIO5* $350,000 Lugano Grand Prix featured many of the same riders who would compete in the LLN on Saturday. The top three finishers in that Grand Prix were Germany’s Christian Kukuk on Just Be Gentle in first, Ireland’s Cian O’ Connor riding Iron Man second and Nina Mallevaey from France on Nikka vd Bisschop third.
Kukuk talked about Just Be Gentle (an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Ludger Beerbaum Stables in Germany) who he has been riding for two years after the Grand Prix, “She’s a sharp lion and, in the ring, she wants to go fast. The more you ask of her, the more ability she gets. I am very, very happy to have her in my stable. She will step up in the Nations Cup on Saturday, and I’m excited for the rest of the year.”
The course designer for this year’s Ocala LLN leg was Alan Wade from Ireland. His courses showed his knowledge of the sport and the teams involved, and were designed with the welfare of equine and human athletes in mind. The arena was also visually appealing with gorgeous aesthetic design including jumps featuring Florida attractions as well as event sponsors.
Saturday’s Longines League of Nations main event played out in front of packed stands with spectators cheering for all competing, but cheering even louder for their home teams, of course. Riders for the U.S. team, coached by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, were Lillie Keenan on Argan de Beliard (a 15-year-old Selle Français gelding by Mylord Carthago owned by her family’s Chansonette Farm) going first, Aaron Vale on Carissimo 25 (a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Cascadello owned by the Carissimo Group) second to go for the USA, Laura Kraut on Dorado 212 (a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Diarado’s Boy owned by St. Bride’s Farm) in the third spot, and anchor U.S. rider McLain Ward on Ilex (a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Baltic VDL that he owns in partnership with Bonne Chance Farm and was his 2024 Paris Olympic Games mount).
They all jumped very well in round one, with only Vale and Carissimo having one rail down and the other three clear and within the time. So, the U.S. team was sitting of a low score of only four faults after round one and in the lead by just one point over Germany. The pressure was on and the U.S. riders really stepped up in round two, with Keenan, Kraut and Ward returning to jump a second time (Vale and Carissimo were the team’s drop score from round one so didn’t return for round two).
Keenan was first again to jump for the USA in round two; she and Argan de Beliard put in another flawless round. Eight rides later, Kraut and Dorado 212 entered the ring and started off beautifully, but as Kraut worried about making the tight time allowed, she decided on a sharp turn back to the big wall (fence number 10) and Dorado unfortunately knocked some blocks off the top for four faults.
The USA and Germany remained neck and neck in the competition when Germany’s Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Singclair, going next to last in the order, turned in their second clear round of the day. So, it was all up to veteran rider Ward and Ilex to clinch the win for the USA as they entered as last to go in round two. That’s just what they did, turning in a perfect round for the USA to remain one point ahead of Germany to win the Ocala Longines League of Nations.
In a press conference after the League of Nations competition, U.S. riders and Chef d’Equipe Ridland commented on the competition and the win. Ridland praised the LLN and his team, “I’ve said it many times before, I love the format that the League of Nations has, specifically for the excitement. Of course, it’s always nice to be on the right end of the excitement. It was great that Laura added to that [when she and Dorado dropped fence 10] just to make sure McLain had some real pressure on him going out there. How things can change in that second round. We have a veteran team here and these are horses that have done it before. There’s a reason why we picked the team we have here. It’s our home Nations’ Cup, and we had some incredible competition that we had to beat. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Keenan, 28, who trains with Ward and is currently ranked number 25 in the Longines World Rankings, reflected on being the newest rider on the Team, “Anytime I get to ride alongside these riders who I have looked up to for as long as I’ve ridden a horse is pretty special. To win on home soil and to have everyone see one of the best venues in the world, and the best venue in America, is so special because we all share an incredible sport. It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate it here and with a home win.”
Ward, 49, said he also loves the new LLN competition design, “I think the drama at the end is a testament to the format; it makes for excellent sport and competition. I don’t know how many times now I’ve been in that position of having to jump clear. I’d be lying to tell you it isn’t filled with some nerves and anxiety. I was going down the ramp, and when Sophie [Hinners from Germany] jumped clear, I got a smile on my face and my thought was, ‘Okay, game on. This is what we do.’ You focus. That’s what you live for.”
The win gave USA 100 points to add to the 40 they accrued in Abu Dhabi during the first leg of the 2025 LLN. This moved them up to fourth in the LLN order after the first two competitions. Ireland and Germany are currently leading the series tied on 170 points each and France is in third with 150. To see the current LLN standings after these, visit here.
All legs of the League of Nations competition may be viewed (both live and on-demand replays) on FEI.TV via Clip My Horse (paid subscription required, although a free 30-day trial is available).
View replays of the 2025 LLN Ocala competition here.
More Horsing Around Ocala
Additional equestrian competition venues in Ocala include the Florida Horse Park, and the HITS (Horse Shows in the Sun) circuit. The Florida Horse Park features a large eventing course, outdoor and indoor show arenas and lots of stabling. The Park hosts virtually any kind of equestrian competition you can think of from Western to English and everything in between. These include, but are not limited to, a large draft horse show in February (the Grandview Invitational), trail and ranch horse classes, eventing, dressage, hunter-jumper, breed shows, cutting, contest classes, mounted games, polo, United States Pony Clubs rallies, and more. The HITS circuit specializes in hunter-jumper competition.
For more equestrian fun stuff in the Horse Capital of the World, consider scheduling a trail ride at one of several farms in the area or touring local farms, then cap the day with meal at one of several equestrian-branded eateries (these include places like Horse & Hounds Restaurant, Stirrups Restaurant and Yellow Pony Pub & Garden to name few). Outdoor activities, museums and cultural events abound to round out the agenda for a trip to Ocala. Find ideas for planning these activities at the Ocala-Marion County Visitor’s’ Center website or call them at (352) 438-2800, as well as the Visit Florida website section on Ocala.
One other tip for animal lovers visiting Ocala―for great wildlife viewing, check out the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, and its Three Sisters Springs, located near the town of Crystal River, Fla. The refuge is located less than an hour’s drive from WEC. It is one of the best places in the world to see the endangered West Indian manatee, especially during the months of mid-November through about the end of March.
To get more nature and outdoor fun packed into your travel itinerary, Rainbow Springs State Park and Silver Springs State Park are both located near Ocala, too. Find these and more through Florida State Parks resources.
This article is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!
