Sept. 24, 2026
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Morgan Klingensmith has the opportunity to follow a similar path to the rider of Salvino that she took care of during the stallion’s career that earned Olympic and World Championship silver medals for the United States.
Morgan has the rides on four horses at Elizabeth “Betsy” Juliano‘s Havensafe Farm in Wellington, Florida.
The four horses owned by Betsy are Franzi, 12-year-old Hanoverian mare (Franziskus x Scolari); Furst Dream, 8-year-old Hanoverian stallion (Furstenball x Benetton Dream); Starlight H2O, 7-year-old Oldenburg mare (St. Shufro x Negro), and Galina, 5-year-old Oldenburg mare (Glamourdale x Furstenball). Starstruck (Starlight H2O x Salvino), a filly is growing up in Virginia.
Franzi is the most advanced, at national Small Tour but, Betsy says, is on track to perform Grand Prix movements by year’s end, in time for Wellington’s winter-long Global Dressage Festival.
The 30-year-old Morgan is following in the steps of two top riders previously sponsored by Betsy. They are:
—Adrienne Lyle on Salvino that took silver at both the Tokyo Olympics and the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon as well as on Horizon that was U.S. Intermediate I champion, and
—Laura Graves who on Verdades earned bronze at the 2016 Olympics, led the U.S. silver medal team at Tryon, was World Cup reserve champion for three straight years and is the only American ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world.
The highly regarded Allison Brock, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is the primary coach helping Morgan.
Debbie McDonald, the former American team coach, has been enticed by Betsy to work with Morgan. Debbie is a two-time Olympian (bronze medal) and World Equestrian Games (silver) as well as the first and one of only two Americans to become World Cup champion (see separate report).
Morgan is one of a newer generation of riders with a chance to move into top sport with the retirement of horses that from 2014 through 2021 elevated the United States firmly behind only Germany at the pinnacle of dressage. In this case, it came about when Adrienne opted to ride for Heidi Humhries‘ Zen Elite Equestrian Center when Salvino was retired from competition.
Morgan began riding as a kid in her home state of Ohio and competed in eventing. She was hired by Betsy at her nearby farm in 2014. She moved to Havensafe in Wellington in 2016 to groom Betsy’s performance horses, including Salvino that began his Big Tour career in 2017. She has since traveled the world grooming the stallion.
Morgan, says Betsy, was a young rider trying to make it, didn’t have a lot of money and was hired to work in the stable.
She is “very very good… extremely hardworking and very talented in many ways,” Betsy described her.
For Betsy, though, “what I love and have always loved is the process. I love the training, I love watching it, I love being a part of it, just in terms of watching and being there.
“I get huge joy out of watching the horses develop. And watching the riders develop. When Adrienne and I started working together, she wasn’t who she is today. And Morgan is showing that she also is extremely talented and doing a great job.
“I love giving people opportunities.
“Not every horse can go to the Olympics, but not every horse can do Grand Prix. Right now, I have four that Debbie feels will be able to do Grand Prix eventually, God willing. But, you know, it’s more the relationship and watching the development. That’s what I get, watching the process. I get a huge amount of joy with being part of the process.”
And Betsy is confident in the training program.
“I know there’s nothing going on with my horses today that I would ever be ashamed for anybody to see at any time and and I’m proud of,” she said. “I also feel that’s important for the U.S. and for the sport in general. I feel that I’m here to represent humane training and horse welfare and also, hopefully, be successful doing it. The success is in having horses that are confident and well trained and can rely on their routine. And that’s what I think is successful.”
