Meet Nayel Nassar and Lucifer V

INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE PETERS|BY EMILY HOLOWCZAK|PHOTOS BY GEORGE KAMPER

Aggravated bucks and pinned ears are a commonsight to see when Nayel Nassar’s Lucifer V steps into the show-jumping arena. The 14-year-old Westphalian gelding iswell known for his warm-up antics and requires some special care when getting started in the show ring. Despite his testy behavior, Lucifer and Nassar have seen much success over their brief two years of partnership. While the road to victory wasn’t easy for the pair, Lucifer has become one of Nassar’s favorite and most successful horses.

Nassar was born in Chicago, Illinois, 29 years ago, and grew up in Kuwait. He began riding horses at the age of 5. Both of Nassar’s parents are from Egypt, which allows him to compete for the Egyptian nation. His professional career has seen many victories at top competitions throughout North America, multiple FEI World Cup Finals qualifications, and qualification for the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2014.

Most recently, Nassar became engaged to Jennifer Gates, president of Evergate Stables and a popular equestrian in her own right. (See June/July 2019 issue.) The two met through the horse industry years ago and established a friendship that grew into more. Both riders are based out of Evergate Stables and compete together all over the world.

EQ Living visited Nassar in sunny Wellington, Florida, to learn more about him and his unique horse Lucifer.

What was the beginning of your relationship like with Lucifer?

Definitely rocky. We had a bit of a tough start. The second time I rode him, I tried to get after him, and sure enough I found myself on the ground with bruised ribs. I was out in California—this was post-WEF 2018— and the horse was sent to me. I still remember the first couple of times riding him. I could hardly get him to go anywhere. I would get on and he would mosey into the ring at half speed. I was told that he looks a little lazy to start, so give him time, let him walk around, he just needs to get warm and he’s better.

But no matter how long I gave him, I could hardly pick up the trot. I’d go to put my leg on, and then he’d slow down instead of speed up until he was completely halted. The more leg I would put on, the angrier he would get. He would pin his ears, and eventually, he would kick out with his right hind, and this was all at a complete halt. I was really confused. I had a hard time believing that this was a horse that could jump 1.60 classes. I immediately had my vet come out and look at him, but it was kind of the same deal. We decided to send him in for a bone scan and determine whether he was dealing with any pain. When we sent him in, a few parts of his body lit up, but nothing too unusual for him.

Sure enough I found myself on the ground with bruised ribs.

My vet said, “He’s pretty sore on his side. It’s probably related to why he doesn’t want to go anywhere. You should probably take your foot off the gas a little bit and put him on the lunge line. He probably needs to get his fitness back up.” So, that’s what we did. For the next five or six weeks, I didn’t ride the horse. I was over at Gregory Wathelet’s place training, and we were always going to shows, and nobody wanted to ride him at home when I wasn’t around. So, it made even more sense to leave him on the lunge line. It must have been at least six to eight weeks just getting lunged, just trying to get his body back underneath him. Then I started riding him again. It got slightly better.

Did you ever think about giving up on him?

I considered it. I started riding him slowly at Gregory’s trying to get him fit, but honestly I was a little scared of him. He would be totally fine, and then out of nowhere, he would start bucking and then go to his patented spin move, which was really hard to stay with. It had been a couple of months at that point, and I wasn’t really getting anywhere. I told [Evergate Stables Equestrian Operations Manager], Chris Howard, “I don’t know what to do with this horse. I can hardly flat him; I can hardly jump him at home. I don’t know how you want me to go to a show.” It’s a good thing Chris really knew the horse and believed in him.

He said, “We don’t really know what the horse had been doing before he came to you. Just keep on going. Take him to a show. He probably needs to get his feet underneath him.” So, I did that. I took him to a show and I did 1.25meter. I went in the ring, and he was a completely different animal as soon as he was in the ring. All of a sudden, he was taking me to the jumps, and he was fresh. I touched base with Hardin Towell, and he said, “He’s a ring horse. You just have to get him there.” Then the second day of the show, I went to jump the first jump, and he pulled that same move where he started to buck and then was like, “Ok, now we can get to work.” After taking him home from that show, I felt like I was moving in the right direction. A few months later he began doing his first 1.45 meter and started coming into his own. It was always a struggle to get started, but then when I took him back to California in the fall, he started to win a few classes, and I felt like I was certainly on the right track.

It felt like he had finally given up on testing me, and he was starting to work with me. That was the start of our real progression.

People have this idea about him that he’s kind of wild all the time because when you see him at the show, he always has an abundance of energy. He’s always playing around, and he’s always fresh. But in reality, he’s actually extremely lazy, especially at the barn. Generally speaking, he’s actually a total sweetheart, and he’s mellow at home. He’s like a puppy dog at home, and in the past year-and-a-half he’s really changed in terms of his demeanor. He used to be grouchy and grumpy. He was never wild, but he didn’t give you the impression that he was a happy horse. Now, he’s always looking for treats, he’s kind of in your pocket. I have to say, my groom, Pauline Holmer, who came on board about a year-and-a-half ago, really took a liking to him and spent a ton of time with him, even just out on the trails or hand-walking. I think she developed a strong bond with him. He definitely started to associate that with being in his happy place. Now, home is really his comfort zone, and you see it in his attitude as well. He’s a lot nicer than he looks sometimes!

Do you find working through these challenges rewarding?

Yeah! It’s definitely more work, and sometimes it’s hard to see the finish line. But when you get there, it’s got to be one of the most rewarding feelings, especially taking a horse that was so extreme. In his case, he was really sour towards his job, and making him like it again, and not just like it but reach the peak of his ability, is definitely something that I’m proud of. When it’s such an extreme case, and the horse is so talented, it definitely makes it worthwhile. Of course, I wouldn’t choose that option if I had the choice, but if the work needs to be put in and the horse is worthwhile, then it’s absolutely worth it. Chris Howard assured me along the way that this horse was a fighter and that he really was a winner. All the blood, sweat, tears, and bruises all pay off in the end.

Every time I swing my leg over a difficult horse they tell me, “If you could ride Lucifer, if you could get him going the way you did, then you can definitely get this one going as well.”

What would you consider the most rewarding win that you’ve had with Lucifer?

I’ve had a couple. I have to say, my win in the 2019 Ocala HITS Million was pretty special. It was the turning point where he felt like an established horse on the circuit. Then definitely my week in 2019 at the New York Masters, where he won the speed challenge on Friday, and then he went on to win the grand prix on Sunday. That was actually my first five-star grand prix win. The fact that he could do it after going flat out in a speed class two days prior, I think it showed his versatility as a horse and how far we’d come together as a partnership to be able to do something like that on the same weekend. It was definitely special.

Was the New York Masters your first five-star personally or with Lucifer?

Ever. That was my first five-star grand prix win ever. I think that’s also the moment where he realized how good he was. He went on a roll after that and was outstanding the whole year. He was the only horse who jumped a doubleclear round in our Olympic qualifier, the Nation’s Cup, towards the year’s end. We went on to punch our ticket to Tokyo as well, so he was a pivotal part of our Olympic qualification.

How did you meet Jenn Gates?

We actually met at a horse show: Thunderbird. I was a senior at Stanford, and she was just about to start there the following semester. It was a summer show, and she actually beat me in a class. We got to talking at the prize-giving, just as friends. We really hit it off, and she told me she was going to Stanford, so we exchanged numbers and we chatted about school and horses and things like that. That’s how we originally met. Then a few years later, when the timing was right, we ended up going out on a few dates and got to know each other more personally.