‘Riding for Annie': Horse and trainer look to honor late owner at Olympics

The dream can sometimes outlive the dreamer.

It carries on, moving closer to its realization, even after the person who first formulated the vision is no longer there to see it reached.

Chasing the dream, whether it comes true or not, keeps the memory of the dreamer alive.

Annie Goodwin, a former equestrian who died tragically at the age of 32 when her horse fell during a training accident in 2021, will not be at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But her horse Bruno, her trainer Boyd Martin, and her dream will be.

"I truly think," Martin said, "that she'd be cheering us on from up above."

Martin, a three-time Olympian, had been working with Goodwin up until the time of her death when she reached the height of her success in eventing, a competitive equestrian event that includes dressage, cross country and show jumping. Just a few months before her death, Goodwin rode Bruno to a sixth-place finish at the Prestigious Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Three months later, Martin was en route to Tokyo for the Olympics when his phone rang.

"We got a phone call saying there was a horrible accident in a training facility in South Carolina," he said. "Annie was training Bruno, and they had a miscalculation at a jump and, unfortunately, Bruno got his legs tangled up and absolutely cartwheeled and, sadly, killed Annie. And, you know, it was just a surreal moment.

"We were just all in disbelief that something like that would have happened," he said. "And on top of that, it was like Annie was a great rider and this is a great jumper, you know? And it felt like there had to be some sort of misunderstanding or mistake made."

Goodwin had been born into an equestrian family, having been raised in Wyoming on a cattle ranch her family purchased in 1922. Her father would ride horses while tending to the cattle and was a polo player. Her mother trained racehorses and was an eventer.

"So it was just a natural transition, I guess, for Annie to fall into that," her father, Putter Goodwin, said. "She just always loved them from day one."

That love continued to grow through college when Goodwin decided she wanted to pursue eventing. She soon discovered Bruno, whose competition name is Fedarman B, and purchased and imported him from Europe.

"She literally found him on the internet and sent me video of him just free jumping," Putter Goodwin said. "And I mean, he just had such an incredibly natural jump ... just remember her saying, 'Dad, I think this is the one!'”

Goodwin became a full-time professional rider and trainer and opened her own boarding facility on a farm in South Carolina. Her belief in Bruno continued to grow as the chemistry and bond between the two further developed.

"She was a real believer in this horse," Martin said. "And don't forget, she did all the work here. Like, she brought him on as a 3-year-old. She imported him. She taught him how to jump. She took him to the first baby competitions, and she sort of got him up to the the top level of the sport. And, sometimes I feel a bit guilty, actually, you know. Like, I'm sort of here about to put my American team jacket on and compete at the biggest competition in the world. And, you know, it was her doing."

Martin, like Goodwin, had set out to get into the family business at an early age. Both of his parents were Olympians. His mother, a speed skater for the United States, and his father, a cross-country skier for Australia, met at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics

"I grew up in a household in Sydney where sport was a huge, huge importance," Martin said. "It was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to be an accountant or a lawyer or anything. And, as soon as I finished high school, I chased my dream and started training horses."

That path led him to appearances at the Olympics in London in 2012, Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. It also led him to Annie Goodwin and Bruno.

Martin and his wife, Silva, both trained Goodwin, watching as she began to prosper in her career on and off the horse after years of hard work in her business.

"The tragic thing with Annie's passing is I feel like right at that point in time, things had never looked so promising for Annie," Martin said. 

"It just felt like after years and years and years of slugging it out, everything was just starting to come together. And, I truly believe the next window of her life and her career would have been ultra successful ... And, it was sort of taken away."

Martin hopes to give a small part back by honoring Goodwin and her family.

Following Goodwin's accident, Martin called her father to offer his condolences. Martin told him he would be honored to continue riding Bruno in Goodwin’s honor.

“Sure, it was always really emotional initially to come back and see Bruno,” Putter Goodwin said. “The greatest thing for me was to see that partnership between Boyd and Bruno start to come together.”

That partnership took time to develop. 

In one of their early competitions, Martin said Bruno abruptly retreated back to the trailer. The horse was disqualified in subsequent events.   

“Deep down I thought, ‘Holy hell, this is probably not going to work out for me,’” Martin said. “In hindsight, I just think Bruno had only known Annie.”

He soon got to know Martin, the rapport between the two officially formed when they won the Grand Prix Eventing at Bruce’s Field just eight months after Goodwin’s death. The event was held in Aiken, South Carolina – the same city as Goodwin’s farm.

“I don't believe in strange occurrences, but for some reason, on that particular event in that town, Bruno, all of a sudden, lifted a gear and he absolutely smashed the field and won the competition,” Martin said. “And, yeah, from that moment on, we haven't looked back.”

They are looking ahead to Paris. There, they will compete for a gold medal in eventing and help Annie Goodwin’s dream live on. 

"As an athlete you've got to stay ultra focused and try and not let your mind wander of the perfect fairytale ending to this tragic story or what could happen," he said. "How proud Annie would be of her horse that she picked so many years ago completing her dream."