Nina Ligon and Pacific Storm enjoyed their victory lap at the SEA Games.
Photo Courtesy of P'Danny
Table of Contents / Eventing
By Lauren R. Giannini
Nina Ligon, an up and coming young rider (16) worth watching, rides under two red, white and blue flags, thanks to her Thai mother and American father. In November, Nina became the first female rider from Thailand to earn a gold medal in equestrian sports at the 2007 Southeast Asia (SEA) Games. In fact, she brought home two, individual and team gold, in three-day eventing. The experience taught her a lot. It also sharpened her appetite for international competition. Nina and her family make their home near Richmond, Va. Last year at the American Eventing Championships, held in Illinois, Nina and Chai Thai won the Training Junior/Young Riders. Also at AEC, Nina placed fifth with her golden partner at the SEA Games, Pacific Storm, in the Preliminary Junior/Young Riders. Both horses were in the top 10 for their levels on the USEA '07 leaderboards.
Sidelines: How did you qualify for the Southeast Asia Games?
NL: My mom is from Thailand and she got involved with it about six years when my older sister Nisha tried to go to the Asian Games. She didn't end up going, but my mom made some connections. When I was 15, we wanted to go to the Asian Games, but I was too young. The SEA Games are held every two years and in August we went over to Thailand. I rode a strange horse for the organizers. My trainer Jon LaForce was there, and he gave me a couple of lessons on the flat and jumping. We had sent tapes and my record, too. At first they wanted me to go early and join the training camp and do qualifying competitions. Then they said come over in November and stay with the team.
All of the other riders on the team were men, and they were pretty welcoming. There aren't that many equestrians doing three-day. We had our own vet and farrier travel with us, and my coach John. They helped the rest of the team with their horses, and it all worked out well.
Sidelines: How did you get started riding?
NL: I was about five. I did lead line, short stirrup, then pony hunters. I joined Deep Run Hunt Pony Club when I was eight. When I was 10, I got Krispy Kreme, a Connemara/Thoroughbred. She was really sweet, willing to jump anything, and fun to play around with. I started eventing with her, but she was afraid of ditches and we couldn't move up. She's my mom's horse now. ["Competing is too much work for me," says Pan. "I'll school cross country with Nina, but I just ride for fun."]
Sidelines: What are your horses like?
NL: I've had Chai Thai for about a year. He's Dutch warmblood/Selle Francais and chunky. I renamed him - his name means Thai Victory, and I got him from Kelli Temple. He'd done a couple training level horse trials and one preliminary. He's best in dressage. He's very bold and willing, but not quite sure of himself cross country. He's only six and we're learning together.
I got Pacific Storm two years ago from Stuart Black. He was Stuart's three-star back-up horse. He's 12 now, a Westphalian/TB cross. At Young Riders last summer we were first after dressage and cross country. I had a stop and fall in show jumping and ended up 24th. There was pressure, but it happened at the last fence. I think maybe I gave up riding a bit too early. My coach Jon was annoyed. We watched the video and knew exactly what I did.
I took Pacific Storm to SEA Games. He was great. The cross country course was pretty tough - a lot of ditches. It wasn't very technical, but it had maximum height and width. It rode well.
Sidelines: What did you gain from your experience?
NL: It showed me how difficult it is to get the sport going in Thailand and Asia in general. Few Asians ride beyond a one-star, and Thailand only has about four shows a year. We had more spectators than we expected. My mother has family over there, and it was great to have so many people cheering for us. I got to learn a lot more Thai; because of the horses, we usually only go for two weeks, but this time I was there for a month. I love the food, but there's a good restaurant near Richmond - Tara Thai.
Sidelines: What are your plans for the future?
NL: I'd like to move Chai Thai to Preliminary and Pacific Storm up to Intermediate. They each did one of each last fall. I'm hoping to do a two-star this year. We'll probably try to compete at the places we normally do: Morven Park, horse trials near us, Fair Hill, South and North Carolina, maybe Georgia. I'd really like to move up to Advanced and get some experience. I hope to represent Thailand in the Asian Games in 2010 and someday I'd like to go to the Olympics.
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