Lighting Up the Los Angeles Masters (Horsing Around - Ranch & Coast November 2016)

The Longines Masters of Los Angeles is an event not to be missed. The only indoor event in California where Olympic medalists, World Cup Champions, and International stars fly in from around the world to compete head to head, in 2016 the venue shifted to Long Beach, a move so successful that it will return in 2017.

This year, Nayel Nassar and his 12-year-old Hanoverian Lardon were the West Coast story of the competition. Twenty-five-year old Nassar's humility and pure talent have quickly made him a favorite among California equestrians and show jumping afficionados.

Nassar would travel to Europe during the summers to train with some of show jumping's biggest names, such as Marcus Beerbaum and Jos Lansink. In 2012 he trained with Laura Kraut in Wellington, Florida, and now makes his home near San Diego.

Nassar and Lordan won the 2013 HITS $1 Million at Saugerties, NY, finished seconf in the 2014 HITS $1 Million at Thermal, and competed at the 2014 Altech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy. But then an injury sidelined Lordan, taking him out of competition in 2015. Making his comeback in 2016, Lordan once again began to light up the West Coast leaderboards. Small for Nassar's tall, lanky from, the pair utilize the Hanoverian's size and agility to make tighter turns and shorter routes.

They recently won the $95,000 Longines Speed Challenge at the Los Angeles Masters, laying down a time that even thetop-ranked riders couldn't match. And when they finished a close second behind World Cup Champion Daniel Deusser in the $377,500 Longines Grand Prix of Los Angeles, Nassar gave the crowd his big smile, and pointed down to Lordan to signal that all credit should go to his mount.