With bright pink cross-country colors and a matching entourage of adoring supporters, Ali Kuhn and Little Hail garnered much attention as they competed in the Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S during the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. It was their biggest test to date as partners with it being their first CCI4*-S competition and a tough one at that. But Kuhn and the 16-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding jumped cleanly around the solid cross-country course and completed the event to cheers from their supporters and new fans alike.
Kuhn talks about the special partnership she and Little Hail have developed and the unlikely story of how the two sky-rocketed to four-star status.
The Start of a Special Partnership
Wisconsin-native Kuhn aspired to compete at the upper levels of eventing, but she endured hardships on her way there. “I had a bunch of unfortunate horse deaths in my life—freak accidents—and it kind of got to the point where you’re just about done and ready to hang it up.”
While Kuhn was thinking that it might be time to give up on her dreams, eventing husband-and-wife team John and Dorothy Crowell contacted Kuhn with a horse for her to ride: Little Hail. John had competed with gelding up to the Intermediate level but wanted to take a step back from competing, and Little Hail had been spending time in the pasture at their farm in Florida. Kuhn had previously groomed for the couple, so they were well aware of her skill and drive.
Kuhn was also familiar with Little Hail from her time as a groom and knew from the beginning that she had her work cut out for her. “I knew he was a tough ride, and he’s opinionated and he’s small,” Kuhn noted. “He’s better than you, so I knew what I was taking on.”
Despite Little Hail’s quirky nature, the partnership turned out to be a successful match. The pair began at the Beginner Novice level in 2021 and gradually worked their way up to the CCI3*-S level in 2024, earning respectable results as they developed into a team. What started as an unexpected offer to ride Little Hail made dreams come true for Kuhn. “I’ll never find another one like him; he’s my horse of a lifetime,” she said. “And my crew is made up of the best people. My sister’s grooming for me, and she used to be a four-star eventer. And my mom and John and Dorothy and Cathy Jones-Forsberg and the sea of pink out there.”
Aiming for Kentucky
Once Kuhn and Little Hail reached the Advanced and CCI3* level, she and her team started eyeing the CCI4* level and potentially competing at Kentucky. The state holds special meaning for the dark bay gelding. He is a Kentucky-bred Thoroughbred who was foaled at a farm near the Kentucky Horse Park and owned by Patrice Wolfson, the late owner and breeder of Triple Crown winner Affirmed along with her husband Louis Wolfson.
Little Hail earned his name because he resembled Hail to Reason, a notable Thoroughbred racing sire. He only had four starts as a racehorse before switching careers to become an eventer with John and Dorothy. Before moving to Florida a few years ago, the Crowells were based in Kentucky, so Little Hail often competed at the Kentucky Horse Park. It seemed fitting that he and Kuhn would take on their first four-star in Kentucky.
Kuhn and Little Hail started the Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S with a workmanlike dressage test in the impressive Rolex Stadium to earn a score of 35.9. Then, they shifted their focus to the cross-country phase.
Insights from a Past Kentucky Competitor
Having someone in your corner who has Kentucky Three-Day Event experience is beneficial to any first-timer, especially for the cross-country phase. Kuhn has been fortunate to gain insights from Dorothy, who competed at Kentucky numerous times throughout her competitive career and is also an FEI World Equestrian Games™ individual silver medalist. Arguably Dorothy’s most notable Kentucky appearance was being the top American at the 1998 edition of the event—the first time the event was a CCI**** (comparably to today’s CCI5*-L) with her off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding Molokai.
Dorothy walked the cross-country course once herself before walking the course with Kuhn. “We discussed all the options,” she said. “And we talked about what would probably work best for ‘Hail’ and Ali at this point in their career doing their first four-star.”
In Dorothy’s estimation, some of the fences on the four-star track seemed like four-and-a-half-star questions, so she suggested Kuhn take some of the long routes for Little Hail, such as at the downhill approach to the two brush corners. “Although I really feel he would have done it, it wasn’t fair to ask him at this point,” Dorothy said of his debut at the level.
With the cross-country plan in place, it was time for Kuhn to execute after some final advice from Dorothy on riding the diminutive but talented Little Hail. “I told Ali to remember that she’s on a pony-horse. He’s only 15.1, but he has the step of a full-sized horse so he can do it,” she said. “So get your line, get your canter, stay supportive and let him add or leave out. Don’t be committed to a stride. Have a plan but let him be the athlete he is.”
Three, Two, One…Go!
Kuhn said she felt like she let her guard down on cross country at her last Advanced event, so she was ready to focus this time out of the start box with Little Hail. “This time I came out and I was like, ‘I’m here every step. I’m here every step of the way,’ and he ate it up,” she said.
They tackled the challenging cross-country track with ease, jumping cleanly and adding 22.4 time penalties where no combinations made the optimum time. Spectators cheered on the brightly clad duo as they galloped around the course, which Kuhn said Little Hail seemed to relish in. “Every time he heard the crowd roar, he was like ‘They’re here for me?’ and I was like, ‘Yep, they are. They’re absolutely here for you,’” she lauged. “And honestly, he’s such a star and he’s such an athlete and he knows his job. That’s honestly my job to just point and shoot and stay the heck out of his way. Today I did that, and I’m so proud of me for staying out of his way. And he’s just an incredible animal. I am so blessed to ride this 15 hands of fury in bright pink.”
Kuhn could be heard talking to Little Hail and singing to herself around course. “Any time I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I sang,” she said. “When people heard it, I thought it was more in my head than it was out loud. And then I realized I was actually singing, but it worked. Then I start breathing again.”
The singing helped Kuhn handle her nerves and stay focused in the thrilling atmosphere of the cross-country day at Kentucky as a first-timer. She admitted it was tempting to look at the crowd and take it all in, but her friend and fellow eventer Meaghan Marinovich Burdick advised against it and encouraged her to stay entirely present during her ride. “I’m so glad she told me that because I had tunnel-vision the whole time,” Kuhn said. “And it paid off today.”
Dorothy had high praise for Kuhn after her cross-country round with Little Hail, despite the nerve-wracking wait for them to come through the finish flags. “It was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever been through. It’s a lot easier when you’re riding because you’re in control. It’s like being the passenger in a car. But I trusted the driver 100%,” she said. “I knew that Ali was going to do her absolute best to take care of the horse, and the proof is in the pudding. She rode to plan, she didn’t let any of the outside stuff happening change her plan and I am very proud of her. She’s an amazing rider.”
Completing Their First Four-Star Event
Kuhn and Little Hail showcased their bright pink colors yet again for Sunday’s horse inspection ahead of the show jumping phase. So why the bright pink? Dorothy explained that the pink is a nod to the Little Hail’s racing silks—pink, black and white—for the Wolfsons’ Harbor View Farm.
Kuhn donned a pink stock tie as she and Little Hail headed into the Rolex Stadium for the final phase of the competition. She said they were both a bit impressed by the electric atmosphere upon entering the arena, resulting in rails at fence one and the triple combination at fence five. But the pair got back on track for the remainder of their round to finish on a high note. “It’s always interesting when you hear the crowd go, ‘Aw!’ And be bummed for you, but you can’t get sucked into that and you have to stay on your path and keep riding well,” Kuhn said. “I actually think I rode better after that because I was like, ‘Oh shoot! We are at four rails. I better sit up.’”
Kuhn and Little Hail finished in 29th place of 53 starters in only their third Advanced level competition together. This was a notable achievement for their first CCI4*-S event and first time at the Kentucky Horse Park’s premier event. “It was an incredible experience. I’m official a four-star rider. I can get my fourth star now,” Kuhn said of a cluster of star tattoos on her right wrist. “I’m thrilled. [Little Hail] is awesome. I can’t wait until the next one!”
For more of our coverage on this year’s Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, click here.
Thanks to Kent Nutrition Group and Blue Seal for our coverage of the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. It includes lead-up events, rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more.
