Text © World of Showjumping

With USA’s Katie Dinan in the saddle, the 12-year-old mare Out of the Blue SCF (Verdi TN x San Patrignano Cassini, bred by Spy Coast Farm) jumped to a third place at the 2026 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Fort Worth, after finishing 8th the year prior in Basel. Last weekend, the two were part of the second placed U.S. team at the penultimate qualifying leg of the Longines League of Nations™ in Rotterdam (NED). 

To learn about the exceptional mare’s journey to the top of the sport, World of Showjumping spoke to Spy Coast Farm’s Lisa Lourie – the breeder of Out of the Blue SCF, David O’Brien – who has followed the talented mare since her birth, as well as her former rider Shane Sweetnam, her groom Lou Beudin and her current rider Katie Dinan.

“We got Out of the Blue towards the end of her nine-year-old year in 2023,” Katie Dinan tells about the beginning of their journey together. “She's a U.S. bred horse, which is somewhat unique, and she came through the Spy Coast young horse program in the United States. Shane Sweetnam started riding her when she was eight, and he competed her in her first international year.”

“I've been riding her for about two and a half years now,” she continues. “We were on the short-list for the U.S. team for the 2024 Olympics, which gave us an amazing opportunity to go over to Europe and jump with the team there. We were in Aachen in 2024, and then last year we went together to the World Cup Final in Basel and this year in Fort Worth.”

“We came together quickly enough, but we both had to learn to get to know each other,” Katie points out. “She had a great upbringing before I got her, but also still needed some experience. I am very grateful to our coach Beat Mändli; he has helped so much in building our relationship together. He was the one who saw her with Shane and thought she would be a good match for me. Since we've had her, we have always worked on building our relationship. Even though we jumped some big classes already at the beginning, I feel like we've really grown together in the last two years. Everything comes more smoothly now – we have built a strong bond.”

“My first goal for this year was to qualify for the World Cup Final. This summer, the World Championships are held in Aachen, and it's always been a dream of my career to go. That's a dream, so we will see… we will do what we can,” Katie says about the rest of the summer season. 

“We call her Bridie in the stable, that's the name she was given as a young horse. It's an Irish nickname for a strong lady,” Katie tells. “She is a big mare who for sure has her personality and she definitely likes her personal space. She needs to warm up to the people around her, she is not one of those horses that is friendly to everybody. Once you know her and she knows you, she's the kindest horse there is.”

“To work with, she's wonderful. Every time you ride her, she has so much enthusiasm and she could go out for hours galloping. She has so much blood, and she loves to go outside on the trails. We have many trails and this is her absolute favourite thing. She always likes to be moving around, and we try to keep her out of her stall as much as possible,” Katie tells. “As a competitor, she gives you everything in the arena. I have to pinch myself – I feel so lucky to have this horse. She is brave at the jump, she is always trying to think how to clear it and how to help you as a rider. That makes my life a lot easier.”

“My groom Lou has been with our team for a long time, and she has taken care of Bridie for the last two years,” Katie points out. “They have a special bond – I joke that they also have a similar personality. I think having her helps Bridie; she's a horse that gets more comfortable when she knows you and has a consistent program and a groom that is so devoted to her. I think it makes all the difference.”

Lou Beudin has been working with Katie for the past nine years, and has taken care of Bridie since the mare arrived at their barn. “I call her the grumpy lady,” Lou smiles. “She looks grumpy all the time, but she's actually incredibly sweet. She loves her alone time, and she really likes to be quiet – and I try to respect that. I believe we need to listen to our horses and what they need.”

“It was a little bit challenging at the beginning,” Lou explains about creating a bond with Bridie. “It took some time to get to know her, but when I finally understood her, we have grown a great relationship. She always gives us 100% when she goes to the ring, she never wants to disappoint. I think there is an old lady inside her, a nice grandma. She has such a big heart.”

“Wherever she goes, I go,” Lou continues. “We have our routines. In the morning, I go see her first, she gets fed and has her stall cleaned. Most of the time she goes in the paddock first thing in the morning and after she either gets ridden or she goes to the walker. In the afternoons we give her all the care she needs and go out on little walks and for grass.”

David O’Brien has been around Bridie since day one – and is the one who came up with her nickname. “I was there when she was born,” the 37-year-old Irish explains. “I was head trainer at Spy Coast Farm at the time. As a foal, she got up quick and she was very curious. She had a good mother, and I do think the mother stamped a good trait on her.”

“She's always been a super intelligent mare,” he continues. “Coming up the grades, I never pushed her for the young horse classes because she was always going to jump bigger. We had a guy working for us who evented, and I let him bring Bridie to an eventing course at four. At five, I had a girl working for us called Jen Waxman, who rode more American hunter rider style. I thought it'd be good for Bridie to go with a girl at the start as a five-year-old, to find her own way and get self-carriage.”

“From five to seven I competed her,” David explains. “She was so talented, everything was just easy for her. She knew how to take over and fight for it. I left Spy Coast Farm at the end of her seventh year and that's when Shane took over.”

“It gives me great pride because I always expected her to jump big,” David says about following Bridie with Katie. “I always thought a lot of the mare her whole life. To see that she's found a person that understands her is wonderful. I think the two make a good combination. As anybody else, I would love to see them in a couple more championships. If she gets lucky enough to get selected for a championship, I do think she'll excel on the last day.”  

“As with all of my mares, I involved Shane and my training staff in the decision as to who the stallion would be,” Lisa Lourie from Spy Coast Farm explains about Bridie’s pedigree. “Especially when the mares are older, a lot depends on how they can be bred; whether we can use frozen semen or if we have to use ICSI. Here in America, we have to make sure that the semen, first of all, is available, and, secondly, that the quality is good enough.”

“A good part of the equation is her training at Spy Coast,” Lisa continues. “She got a very good start with David O'Brien, who was a young horse trainer at the time and did a very nice job of producing her. We work closely with Shane Sweetnam. Usually when the young horses are around seven-eight years old, he takes over the ride and polishes them off, takes them to Europe and gets them ready for the big ring.”

“Katie has always been a big proponent of American breeding,” Lisa says about following Out of the Blue’s success with Dinan. “Whoever bought this mare, had to have a good program with good horse people in charge. When Katie and Beat stepped forward, they qualified. I knew Katie really loves her horses and takes good care of them, and I know Beat is a good horseman. They met the price and off she went – and we have been thrilled to follow their journey.”

“She always had a great mentality,” Shane Sweetnam tells about his time with Bridie. “As a nine-year-old, basically everywhere we went, she was taking steps in the right direction. At Spy Coast Farm, we always felt she was one of the best ones that we had bred at the time and that she had the potential to go all the way. We had plenty of opportunities to sell her as a young horse, but we always felt she was going to make that final step – which she did.”

“With all these top horses, their mentality is the biggest asset,” Shane points out. “Even as she was learning, she always wanted to do the right thing. She had a lot of ability, but I think her brain was her biggest strength; it helped her make things easy for me, and it looks like she makes life easy for Katie as well. She always wants to give everything she's got.”

“Selling certain horses at certain times is part of my business model, and I always want them to go on better than with me,” Shane continues. “It's great to see a horse that you built a good connection with team up with the new rider and go on doing well. It makes me proud and happy; it's been a great story – and I believe there is more to come for them.”

25.6.2026 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.