Photo of Michael Barisone and Ellegria courtesy Sara Lieser

Photo of Michael Barisone and Ellegria courtesy Sara Lieser

Michael Barisone

Michael grew up riding horses in upstate New York and has been based in the horse country of New Jersey for over 15 years, where he and wife Vera built their farm from the ground up.

Michael and Vera consistently produce upper-level dressage horses from young stock, selling many of them and keeping some to develop for themselves. Michael has over 100 career CDI Grand Prix wins on nine different horses that he produced himself to Grand Prix.

He was a member of the 1997 gold medal winning Nations Cup team at Hickstead, (England) and a member of the 2008 Olympic Team in Beijing. He has remained almost continuously listed by the USET for all major championships since 1992.

 Michael’s involvement in dressage includes being a member of the USEF Board of Directors, hosting the Colbert Report on national television, and coaching the 2012 US Olympic Team for Three-Day Eventing. He has coached Olympians, WEG team members and dedicated adult amateurs. He was the 2009 Sportsman International Horseman of the Year.