Australian Ryan Wood and his top horse, Cooley Flight. Image by Tazzie Eggins.
For US-based Australian eventer Ryan Wood, 2025 has been a big year in more ways than one. Buoyed by a dynamic stable of horses on the rise, Ryan hopes to carry his current momentum into the years ahead with a view to making World Championship and Olympic teams. This year, he’s also become a father – and then, just weeks later, broke three vertebrae in a fall.
“We had an abrupt finish to the season,” explains Ryan Wood, who is currently sporting a neck brace. “I got through all the big events and then the week after Maryland [late October] I was cross-country schooling young horses… I started out pretty early in the morning and we had maybe a little dodgy lighting, and my horse misread one of the fences. We both hit the deck and unfortunately, I broke three vertebrae in my neck… and a couple of ribs.”
Fortunately, the 42-year-old is well on the road to recovery. “The fractures were non-displaced,” he explains. “I’m hoping to be back pretty soon. We’re almost at the six-week mark and that is the earliest possible date [to be back in the saddle], but more likely it’ll be towards the end of December.”
Ryan Wood and the up-and-coming Clooney R placed ninth in the CCI3*L, held at Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in October. Image by Shannon Brinkman Photography/Maryland 5 Star.
The other fortunate aspect is that time-wise, the US eventing season has finished. “The weather has turned to wintertime here. We’ve had lots of rain and so it’s motivating to stay inside!”
Despite the weather, Ryan is keen to get on with things and is looking forward to leaving the neck brace behind. “It’s pretty awkward and annoying… sleeping is a little challenging. Plus, I’ve got a newborn, so we’re not getting much sleep regardless!”
A WHIRLWIND MONTH
October started out on a much brighter note for Ryan and his wife, Lillian Heard Wood, with the couple welcoming daughter Annabelle.
Of course, in the midst of eventing season, it was perhaps no surprise Annabelle chose to make her way into the world as a major competition was about to commence at Morven Park in Virginia.
“We have lots of
changes going on…
we’re adapting!”
Ryan remained home with Lillian, and it was arranged for Boyd Martin to trot the horses up ON Ryan’s behalf. Once Annabelle had arrived safe and sound, and knowing all was well, Ryan headed to Morven Park just in time to pilot successful four-star runs aboard horses Check Point and Cooley Flight.
It was then a quick turnaround to the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, where Ryan had two up-and-coming stars in the CCI3*L.
“We have lots of changes going on around here and we’re adapting,” laughs Ryan of juggling a busy eventing stable and raising a newborn.
An elite rider herself, Lillian, 40, has represented the USA at Nations Cup events and completed countless CCI5*L events over the years, most recently finishing in the top ten of Maryland’s CCI5*L last year with LCC Barnaby. With a large equine team of her own, Lillian is already back in the saddle.
The couple have their priorities in order: “One of my biggest supporters, Ilona English, has a German Riding Pony stallion named Popeye, and so we’ve bred to him in the hopes to breed a fancy pony for Annabelle!”
Annabelle already has her own saddle! Image supplied.
ROOM TO GALLOP
Ryan began riding at age eight in Australia and his first horse was a Thoroughbred x Stock Horse named Countdown, purchased through a local newspaper for $1,500. Together they moved through the Pony Club levels and eventually made it to five-star when both were 19 years of age. Following his achievements with Countdown, Ryan also competed successfully with several other horses he brought up through the levels in Australia and achieved top placings at numerous events, among them Adelaide CCI5*L, Melbourne CCI4*L, Sydney CCI4*L and the Warwick World Cup CCI4*S.
After completing school in Australia, Ryan furthered his riding knowledge by spending a year working under the instruction of eventing champion Guy Wallace while also gaining valuable experience starting youngsters and galloping racehorses. Always eager to grow and develop as a rider, Ryan made a number of trips during his youth to train and ride in Germany with Olympic dressage trainer Norbert van Laak, and with renowned show jumpers Ludger Beerbaum and Ernst Hofschroer.
In 2008, Ryan moved his business, Woodstock Eventing, to the United States. He originally worked for American eventing legend Bruce Davidson before making a home for himself at fellow Australian native Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania. Ryan ran Woodstock Eventing out of True Prospect Farm for nearly 15 years and it was during that time he met Lillian.
Ryan and Cooley Flight competing for Australia at the 2023 Boekelo CCIO4* Nations Cup. Image by Libby Law Photography.
In 2023, the couple purchased their own 80-acre property near True Prospect Farm and have been busy developing and running it over the past two years.
“The new property is awesome; it’s a lot of work, but it’s right in the middle of horse country,” says Ryan. “We can ride to the gallops and to an international event venue, Plantation Fields. We’re so blessed to be able to ride and train in this area. I had also dreamed of either having a gallop on our farm or being able to ride to one.”
Ryan explains the nearby gallops are well-maintained turf used by racehorses and eventers alike and describes it as “galloping on carpet”.
“To have quality gallops within hacking distance is a game changer, especially when you’re getting horses fit and ready for the top level. Every time they have to get on a trailer… it’s just that extra little bit of stress on them, and so to have all of these things close means we don’t have to put them on a trailer as often. All those little fractions of things can add up to a happier, healthier horse at the end of it.”
Although the couple have moved on from True Prospect Farm, Ryan still trains with “cross-country master” Phillip Dutton. “We’re always jumping with him, and he keeps us sharp!”
SOUTH FOR THE WINTER
Lillian and Ryan’s property is currently home to around 80 horses – 30 in Ryan’s stable, 30 in Lillian’s, and another 20 or so broodmares and young stock. Ryan explains they have “an army of twelve incredible staff” who keep the horses and property in order, and they are fortunate that maintenance staff are also capable with horses.
Each winter, the couple, their staff and the 60 horses they have in work head 12 hours south in search of more amicable weather. “We’re in Pennsylvania for most of the year and then we go south for twelve weeks over January, February and March to Aiken, South Carolina,” explains Ryan.
Training in Pennsylvania in winter is manageable but not optimal for top-level eventers. This is largely because work is often confined to the indoor arena due to weather, and that makes it hard to get eventers fit and raring to go for the likes of Kentucky International Three-Day Event in April.
The couple and their team base at a property in Aiken owned by a long-time supporter, Curren Simpson. “We’re very lucky to have that training facility to walk into and base out of for three months of the year,” says Ryan.
Curren Simpson owned Woodstock Bennett (Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan x Beau Royale xx), the horse with whom Ryan was long-listed for the 2016 Rio Olympics and was a reserve for the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina. Woodstock Bennett retired from elite-level competition in 2022 and was enjoying life in the slow lane with Curren before sadly passing away earlier this year.
Ryan competing with the late Woodstock Bennett. Photo supplied by Woodstock Eventing.
TOP HORSES
The Woodstock Eventing team is headed by two four-star horses: 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Flight (Plot Blue x Laughton’s Flight) and 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Check Point (Calido I x Contendro I).
Both horses have recently returned from a little time off, and Morven Park in October – where both contested the CCI4*L with good results – was their first big event in a year. “We used it as a stepping-stone to get a fitness base to prep for next year. They had solid runs; we didn’t run for the time and so they both had a handful of time penalties, but they both had their personal bests in the dressage. Check Point was clear show jumping, while Cooley Flight had an uncharacteristic last two fences down, which was a shame, but they both came out of it feeling good.”
Heading into 2026, Ryan has Cooley Flight aimed at Kentucky International Three-Day for the CCI5*L, while Check Point will likely enter a CCI4*L at Tryon, North Carolina, in May. Results from these events will be important for Ryan, who has hopes of making the Australian team for the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen.
Bred by Julie Graham in Ireland, Ryan has had Cooley Flight since he was a five-year-old and owns him in conjunction with Linda Ledray. Speaking to Equestrian Life two years ago, when representing Australia with Cooley Flight on a Nations Cup team at Boekelo in The Netherlands, Ryan noted the horse was a “jumping machine” but just needed to improve in the dressage.
Ryan has been working on the dressage phase with Cooley Flight. Image by Libby Law Photography.
“The hope is to keep
the trend going…”
The gelding’s dressage score of 33.4 at Morven Park was a CCI4*L personal best and Ryan is pleased with how the horse has progressed.
“The hope is to keep the trend going with the dressage training and get those scores where they need to be, and then we should be in good shape [for Aachen 2026]. We’ve had a great trend with [Cooley Flight’s] dressage scores this year; they have been as low as they’ve ever been consistently. I’ve been honing those dressage skills!”
When in Pennsylvania, Ryan trains with Silva Martin on the dressage front, and when based in South Carolina over winter he trains with Sarah Dodge.
HORSES ON THE RISE
At three-star level, Ryan has two exciting Irish imports on the rise. Eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Clooney R (BMC Tolan R x Gurraun Golden Eye) was imported to the USA as a four-year-old from Ireland, and Ryan bought him as a five-year-old from a local lady named Courtney Cooper.
Fernhill Domino, another eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Sligo Candy Boy x Unbelievable Darco), was purchased as a four-year-old straight from Fernhill Stud. Domino is by the same sire as fellow Australian eventer Bill Levett’s Irish Sport Horse, Sligo Candy Cane.
Ryan and Fernhill Domino placed fourth in the CCI3*L at the recent Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. Image by Shannon Brinkman Photography/Maryland 5 Star.
“They’ve been great horses from the get-go,” says Ryan. “They were doing their first CCI3*L [at Maryland], which is typically a pretty strong three-star course. I was confident in taking them there and they bombed around, made the time, and finished with a clear show jump round each, which is always nice.” Clooney and Domino were two of only five horses in the CCI3*L to finish on their dressage score.
“Domino is syndicate-owned; we’ve got a couple of syndicate ownership spaces still available. We’ll hopefully get those sold this coming season and then he can have a meal ticket to keep moving up to Advanced [four-star] in the latter part of next year,” explains Ryan.
“Clooney is co-owned by me and a great supporter of mine, Mary Perry. The aim is to produce him through as far as he’ll go; we’ve got high hopes. He will be on the same path as Domino, to step up to Advanced later next year.”
In terms of age and level, both are well placed to be at their peak when the Olympics are held in Los Angeles on US soil in 2028.
“They’d be perfect candidates. We’ve got them right where they need to be, to not feel pressured to move them up to be qualified before they’re ready. They’ll hopefully be primed and putting their hands up for a selection.”
“We’ve got a great stable of horses at all ages and levels and the two who are at the four-star level now hopefully will be in form for LA as well [as the current three-star horses] and we could have several to choose from.”
NEXT GENERATION
Alongside the top-level horses, Ryan has a promising crop of young horses coming up through the ranks.
“I’ve got an exciting group of six- and seven-year-olds. I’ve got Hicks De Lyse (Hickstead White x Comme Il Faut 5), owned by Curran Simpson, that we bought out of Germany two seasons ago. He was a show jumper and he’s now going two-star with success. He’ll step up to Intermediate [three-star] next season, so we’re really excited about his future. Curran also has an Irish horse with me, Cooley LA, and he’s just won his last event for the season and again he’s at the two-star level and will step up next season.”
“We’ve also got some nice four- and five-year-olds that we’re just playing with over the wintertime, and we’ll decide what their forte will be in the next year. Every year we’ve started trying to add to the string with the next crop.”
INSPIRED BY AN AUSSIE THOROUGHBRED
“Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill is incredible,” enthuses Ryan of the October event. “It’s local to us and the organising committee is just top class. They’ve got all the right people in the right roles to make it happen in a way that is rider, owner, groom and spectator-friendly.
“It’s an incredible piece of land,” says Ryan of Fair Hill, a property with racing and fox hunting roots. “You really need a cross-country horse to take out and get home on that terrain, it’s a proper test. You need to make sure you’ve got a horse that can gallop and one that’s fit.”
Maryland was not just a great event for Ryan with his horses’ performances in the CCI3*L – he also found inspiration watching a little Australian Thoroughbred produce the quickest cross country round in the CCI5*L to finish on his dressage score.
“It was incredible. It was great to see Sophia Hill do so well and watch her gallop around on an Australian Thoroughbred [Humble Glory]. It brought back some memories and was actually inspiring to see… there were a bunch of Thoroughbreds that did well there in the five-star. I’ve got a few Thoroughbreds in our stable, but I’ve been on the hunt for more ever since Maryland!”
Ryan has used his recent time on the sidelines to further that hunt. “I’ve spent a lot of time traveling around and picked out a bunch [of Thoroughbreds]. We’ve bought five or six in the last month, so we’ll see what they eventuate to.”
Ryan says that although there aren’t as many Thoroughbreds on the US eventing circuit compared to Australia – largely due to the US’s greater accessibility to purpose-bred European horses – they are still relatively common.
“There are still really good Thoroughbred horses in America and I’m seeing more and more now I’ve been looking. I’ve actually got a seven-year-old named Woodstock Indy that I think really highly of, competing at two-star level and ready to step up. I’ve had him for a couple of years and he’s one that I hope to move up the levels, hang on to, and see what he can do.”
Woodstock Indy is co-owned by Ryan with Mary Hazzard, who he and Lillian bought their farm from. “Mary is a legend of the sport and rode at the World Championships in 1978. She’s a breeder and stood a Thoroughbred stallion named Mystic Replica. We now have a lot of Thoroughbred broodmares in our breeding program by Mystic Replica; they’re getting bred to show jumping stallions.”
Ryan competing with Woodstock Indy. Image supplied.
Australia typically has more of the rangy eventer types bred for the middle to longer distance races on turf, whereas American racing tends to breed horses more suited to the shorter-distance racing on dirt tracks. “In saying that, there are those rangy eventer-type Thoroughbreds in America as well,” says Ryan. “You’ve just got look for them.”
As 2025 draws to a close, Ryan Wood looks ahead with determination. Balancing recovery, family life, and a rising stable of talented horses, he remains focused on future goals. With top mounts and promising young prospects, Ryan is well-positioned to chase continued success in 2026. EQ
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