December 12, 2024 
Do you cheer on Caracole? Fan girl for Floratina? Do you think Grand Hunter Champion, McQueen, actually deserves a crown?
Now’s your chance to share your admiration by voting for the 2024 Horse of the Year and Equestrian of the Year.
Divided into National and International categories, this year’s horse and rider nominees include Paris Olympic show jumping silver medalists Karl Cook (for Equestrian of the Year) and Caracole de La Roque (for Horse of the Year); Will Coleman’s Lexington, Kentucky CCI4*-S–winning mount Diabolo (for Horse of the Year); and three-time Paralympic gold medal-winning combination Floratina (for Horse of the Year) and Rebecca Hart (for Equestrian of the Year).
Also on the list for Equestrian of the Year: American Olympian and Pan American Games silver medalist, Liz Halliday, who suffered a serious head injury on cross country during the USEA Advanced Final at the American Eventing Championships in Lexington, Kentucky in August and is still hospitalized.
All of the Equestrians of Honor are nominated by their USEF affiliate organization or USEF breed or discipline committee, and the finalists are selected by the USEF Awards Committee. The winners are announced during the 2025 US Equestrian Annual Meeting in Lexington, Kentucky in late January, with the final Horses and Equestrians of the Year determined by member voting…
And that means you!
Voting is open now through 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31st. USEF members can click here to learn more about the horses and riders nominated and vote now.
A full list of the nominees is included below.
USEF International Horse of the Year – National
- CH The Crowd Went Nuts! (2016 American Saddlebred gelding)
- McQueen (2014 KWPN gelding)
USEF International Horse of the Year – International
- Caracole de la Roque (2012 Selle Français mare)
- Diabolo (2012 Holsteiner gelding)
- Diamond Dunes (2013 Hanoverian gelding)
- Floratina (2008 Hanoverian mare)
USEF Equestrian of the Year – National
- Nick Haness (Hunter/Jumper)
- Ashton Kiesner (Arabian)
- Kirstin McKillop (Arabian)
- Lynn Peeples (Morgan)
- Colby Powell (Arabian)
- Andrew “Andy” Sellman (Arabian)
- James “Jim” Taylor (Morgan)
USEF Equestrian of the Year – International
- Karl Cook (Jumping)
- Liz Halliday (Eventing)
- Rebecca Hart (Para Dressage)
- Fiona Howard (Para Dressage)
