Former model and current Real Housewife of New York cast member, Kelly Bensimon, is now notorious for fighting with Bethenney Frankel; but she also competes as an equestrian. "I love this crazy sport. I love their athleticism and playfulness. I am hooked," Bensimon wrote on her Bravo blog. She also recently came out of modeling retirement to pose as a scantily-clad equestrian for Playboy last March.
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Supermodel Gisele Bündchen rode her first horse at 8 years old, at her aunt's farm in southern Brazil. "One of the cowboys put me on a very tall gelding and hit him on the butt," she said of the experience. "When he finally stopped—no thanks to me—instead of being scared, I said, 'I want to do it again!" These days, the still fearless Bündchen rides at her cabin in upstate New York.
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Kim Novak, the famed actress of Vertigo and Strangers When We Meet, now lives on a 240-acre ranch in Oregon with her husband, equine veterinarian Bob Malloy. The two met in 1974 when Malloy came to treat one of Novak's foaling mares at her ranch in Carmel, California. The actress is more than happy living the ranch life. "We go on long rides with our horses. We kayak on the river. I cross-country ski in the winter. I have my photography. I paint and sculpt and write poetry. And there are always the animals to watch," she explains of her equine love.
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Despite her "Uptown Girl" fame, model/actress Christie Brinkley certainly knows how to rough it. Brinkley's equestrian sport of choice is cutting, the separating of one cow from a herd of 75 while on horseback, and she founded a club for the activity in the 1990s. "The biggest problem we face is the shortage of cattle," she told The New York Times of the sport. "When I want to cut I need to search high and low to find a herd. Then I rent the cattle for the weekend and bring them out and do a little cutting with them."
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Jackie Onassis was a dedicated horseback rider nearly from the moment she was born—her mother first placed her atop a horse at a year old and when she was 5, she participated in her first equestrian event, the East Hampton Horse Show. Throughout her tumultuous life, first as President Kennedy's wife, then as his widow and a cultural icon, Onassis continued going to her horses for solace and comfort. "Whenever I was upset by something in the papers," she once said, as noted in Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House, "Jack [President Kennedy] always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer." After her husband's assassination, she turned to horseback riding to recover from the loss. The former first lady rode often—both near her home in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and in Virginia's hunt country, near Middleburg—until her death in 1994.
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Though her hobby has certainly presented challenges—she's twice been thrown off a horse twice, one instance of which she called "the most painful event of my life"— Madonna still maintains an affection for riding. The Material Girl even received professional training for an equestrian festival in 2009. "She's a dream pupil," tutor Daisy Trayford said.
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As Monaco royalty and the granddaughter of Grace Kelly, Charlotte Casiraghi is a natural candidate for equestrianism. The highly fashionable rider made a splashy debut with the elite show-riding competition The Global Champions Tour wearing head-to-toe Gucci this year. Besides her riding style, 24-year-old Casiraghi specifically excels at show jumping, eschewing the more dangerous cross-country riding. "People get killed every year doing cross-country," she told Vogue bravely.
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The 27-year-old daughter of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg started riding horses when she was 4 years old. Now, she is Olympic material. Bloomberg was set to compete in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but her horse broke its leg. For Bloomberg, the best part of riding is competition. "I've always been very competitive," she said in a Ralph Lauren interview. "I love going out there and fighting for things and beating people." Still, Bloomberg has a soft side when it comes to the sport—she also founded Rider's Closet, an organization that provides underprivileged equestrians with secondhand clothes.
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Another Real Housewife, this time in the D.C. area, Michaele Salahi founded America's Polo Cup with her husband, Tareq. Even before the notorious White House scandal and their subsequent stint on the Bravo series, the Salahis were well-known in Virginia's horse country. In one recent episode of the Real Housewives, Tareq gave Michaele a gray mare, which she named Sparkle, shortly after the death of her previous horse Miami, who also made an appearance in the episode.
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Athina Onassis' love of horses served as an outlet during her childhood, encumbered legal battles over her grandfather's substantial fortune. Though the 25-year-old heiress' total net worth is unknown, it's estimated to run into the billions— Aristotle Onassis' only surviving heir has been called the richest girl in the world. Whether riding her adored horse Arco de Valmont as a teenager or traveling with her husband, Olympic-class equestrian Alvaro de Miranda Neto, horses have always been central to Onassis' life. Today, she is the patroness of the prestigious Global Champions Tour and her passion for horses has not wavered. "The main thing she animates about is horses," a source told People magazine more than a decade ago. "Her eyes spark up. It's her safe subject."
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Neither Cyrus—who grew up in Nashville and owns seven horses—nor her famous Disney Channel alter ego are strangers to equestrianism. The final season of Hannah Montana brought the title character to California ranch life with her on-screen horse Blue Jeans and Cyrus also dedicated one episode to her longtime real-life horse Roam Man after he passed away. Although riding played a pivotal role in the big-screen adaptation of Hannah Montana, Cyrus was hesitant to share her riding expertise (and accompanying responsibility) with co-star Lucas Till. "I was like, ‘OK, if he falls or something, I didn't want to be the one who told him what to do!'" Cyrus joked after filming.
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The eldest granddaughter of England's Queen Elizabeth II (and the 12th in line for the throne) is more than just an equestrian enthusiast. Zara Phillips was slated to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the sport before her horse was unexpectedly injured. The year prior, she became Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to the sport. "To win just feels amazing," Phillips once said, showing off her competitive spirit.
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