Biography

It is a first Badminton for American rider Ariel Grald (33) who is based in Vass, North Carolina. Badminton entry Leamore Master Plan is the first 5* horse for Ariel – the pair was 3^rd in the 5* at Luhmuhlen in 2021. They were 12^th at Lexington in 2019 – a first at the level for both horse and rider and later that year 10^th at Burghley.

Ariel started life around horses on a farm in New Hampshire and her mother put her on a horse before she could walk. After competing in local hunter/jumper shows Ariel tried eventing and developed a passion for the sport. She gained mileage through preliminary and one-star level and competed in the 2004 North American Young Rider Championships. She then went to work for Sue Berrill taking with her, her homebred gelding Practically Perfect who she competed to intermediate level. Ariel continued to ride and compete while attending the University of Vermont after which time she began a laboratory research job. Shortly after she then decided to commit to riding to achieve her aims of competing at the higher levels.
After moving to Southern Pines, NC in the winter of 2012, she started working for Annie Eldridge at Setters Run Farm where she began training and competing several of Annie’s horses alongside her own. After winning several intermediate and two-star events she was named to the 2014 USEF Under 25 Developing Riders list and competed in her first advanced event in the spring of 2015 winning the Carolina International Horse Trials with Leah, originally purchased by her mother as a weanling. In the summer of 2014, Ariel travelled to Ireland in search of young horses finding Leamore Master Plan.

Leamore Master Plan aka Simon, owned by Annie Eldridge, is a 13-year-old Irish-bred registered Irish Sport Horse. Bred by Michael Bryne of Co Wicklow, he is by the thoroughbred Master Imp (sire of many five-star horses including High Kingdom, Improvise, Killossery Jupiter Rising, Master Crusoe, Mandiba, Ringwood Magister etc) out of a mare by Cavalier Royale another leading sire of event horses. Found in Ireland by Ariel he was purchased by Annie and Ariel has brought him through the levels.