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Major League Eventing Podcast · Major League Eventing

Catching Up with Ariel Grald

March 12, 2025·42 min·3 clips
Ariel Grald realized mid-warm-up at Badminton that she still had her temporary dentures in, trotted over, and handed them to her groom — then ran cross-country at both Badminton and the World Championships without front teeth.
1. The Major League Eventing Podcast, hosted by Robbie and Karen, features five-star eventer Ariel Grald returning for the first time since episode 77 in September 2019. 2. Ariel Grald is based in Southern Pines, North Carolina for most of the year and rides for owner Annie Eldridge, a partnership of 13 years that has grown from non-riding barn work to international five-star competition. 3. The episode covers the six years since Ariel's previous appearance, beginning with her first five-star year in 2019 and culminating in her current string of developing horses ahead of the 2025 season. 4. In 2021 Simon Lemoore Master Plan placed third at the five-star at Luhmuhlen, and the pair was selected for the Aachen team championship, where the U.S. team finished second — a result Ariel calls 'really, really exciting.' 5. In 2022 Ariel went to Badminton and placed top 15, then was selected for the World Championships at Pratoni del Vivaro in Italy, where she placed 11th on their dressage score. 6. In January 2022, during a lunging session, Simon was startled by a dog, ripped across the lunge line, and kicked Ariel in the face, breaking her nose and knocking out all 11 front teeth. 7. Ariel wore temporary dentures for the entire 2022 season while undergoing multiple surgeries and full dental implant reconstruction, a process that took the full year. 8. At the Badminton cross-country warm-up, Ariel realized mid-ride that she still had her temporary dentures in and trotted to groom Meredith Ferraris to hand them over, establishing a pre-event ritual of removing teeth before major cross-country runs. 9. While Ariel was recovering from the kick injury, Diara panicked when staff tried to fit a surcingle on the cross-ties, reared up, and fractured her withers, missing the spring of her eight-year-old year. 10. Diara, bought as a four year old, was so sensitive that Ariel spent the first six months working in a round pen before getting on her, yet eventually won consistently all the way through three-star. 11. When Diara moved to four-star level, the added technical demands of flying changes and half-passes caused inconsistency, with some tests excellent and others breaking down entirely, including a four-star dressage test at Morven completed without a single trot step. 12. Bobby Stevenson, judging at C at Morven, gave 0.5 scores rather than eliminating Ariel, an outcome she credits to his leniency. 13. In the second half of 2024, Ariel removed Diara's shoes, halted all jumping and galloping, revisited diagnostics with her vets, and rebuilt the program from scratch, leading to a preliminary win and a second place at the intermediate in early 2025. 14. Isla de Coco, a mare bought as a five-year-old, recovered from a minor tendon injury and completed the four-star long at Morven 'amazingly' despite the hilly terrain, and is now targeted for five-star in 2025. 15. Ariel has two additional horses at three-star level — Kalintra Endgame and Adagio's Nobility — and two exciting seven-year-olds targeted for three-star in the fall. 16. Ariel describes her teaching approach as consistency-focused, including getting on student horses herself after a few sessions, a habit she attributes to coaches who did the same for her. 17. She is planning clinic tours to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont in May and June 2025, citing Area 1 as her old stomping ground. 18. Quick-fire questions reveal her favorite rider growing up was Karen O'Connor, her favorite five-star venue is Burghley, her hobby outside horses is learning to fly airplanes toward a pilot's license, and her superstition is walking through the finish flags whenever she walks a full course. 19. The episode is a relaxed, longform conversation with specific detail about horses, injuries, and competitive decisions. 20. Best for eventing fans who follow upper-level competition, horse development pipelines, and international five-star results.

As heard by us

A steady comeback story that pairs horsemanship, humor, and the careful work of rebuilding a horse's dressage.

Ariel Grald's conversation starts with a story that feels almost too specific to be invented, and that detail gives the episode immediate charm.

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Why you'd press play

You want a straight-shooting comeback story with a teeth-out warm-up tale attached.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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