By Helen Townes
Portraits by Adrienne Morella
It would be an understatement to say that spring 2026 was special for Braden Speck. In April, he and his horse Liam stepped up to the CCI5*-L at the 2026 Kentucky Defender Three-Day in Lexington, where 23-year-old Braden was the youngest rider in the field. Just weeks before, he was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school. These milestones carried even more weight considering Braden faced three major setbacks early in his riding career and still chose to stay in the sport he loves.
Horses have always been a big part of Braden’s life. The Speck family lives in Unionville, Pennsylvania, the epicenter for eventers including neighbors Phillip Dutton, Bruce Davidson and Boyd Martin. Braden joined his older sister Kaelen in riding lessons when he was 6, and rode alongside the grandsons of venerable equestrian Jimmy Wofford, Hudson and Walker. Braden’s parents, Stefan and Sally, never rode but were always avid supporters.
However, Braden’s introduction to riding was hardly an indication of his future career as a gutsy eventer. Kaelen and Sally both remember that Braden was terrified to canter on his first mount, Rosenharley Romello—affectionately called Weasel—a Connemara pony. “We would take Braden and Weasel to a sloping hill and make him canter up it; the first few times, he was petrified. Luckily, he started loving it,” Kaelen laughed. Before long Braden was hooked on eventing, and the Speck family was always his devoted cheering section on the sidelines.
“My mom is at all my events, and my dad comes to some of the bigger ones. Mom helps groom, and she’s learned a lot about the sport—and even gives me advice sometimes,” Braden chuckled.
For her part, Sally Speck is open about her commitment to Braden’s success—as well as her nerves. “It’s exciting when he’s done with an event, but during the cross-country, especially, it’s not very fun,” she admitted. “I have to put on my poker face, but my heart is racing, and I can’t really eat anything until it’s over!”
As they progressed in their riding, Braden and his sister, Kaelen, remained with eventing trainer Erin Kinara. However, before he turned 18, Braden faced an unimaginable series of tragic events that tested his commitment to the sport.
Braden was in eighth grade and had outgrown Weasel when he began riding Regal Dancer, a Thoroughbred mare. The pair had just completed Braden’s first Preliminary-level competition in 2017 when tragedy struck. “We were schooling at Windurra when Dancer collapsed on course with a ruptured aneurysm,” Braden remembered. The mare died immediately. Although Braden was not injured, it was an intensely traumatic experience—and also a turning point: Braden had been juggling sports and had to choose between continuing to ride or pursuing hockey.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I decided to commit to riding,” Braden recalled. Soon after he began leasing his next horse, a mare named Moondance. Unbelievably, tragedy struck again. Moon suffered two bouts of colic, and the second was fatal. Again, Braden questioned his path—but then recommitted to the sport.
When Braden was 15, he started riding American Fortitude, aka Wolf, a horse Kaelen had also ridden. Braden and Wolf had two successful competing years before Wolf suffered a freak accident, cutting his leg on a jump cup while schooling and seriously injuring his superficial digital flexor. Even with surgery, the prognosis was bleak. The family made the heartbreaking decision to euthanize the gelding.
An average teenager might have been discouraged by these three major losses, but Braden endured. Today, Braden acknowledges that while this period was difficult, it also inspired his academic pursuit of pre-veterinary medicine in college at the University of Delaware. “Those experiences, losing those horses, motivated me to want to help others prevent what I went through,” he said.
“That played a big role in what he chose to study in college,” Kaelen said. “Losing those horses was such unfortunate luck and definitely influenced his decision to study animal science.”
Fortunately, a special horse came along that would take Braden to the pinnacle of his sport. The late Annie Goodwin shared with Coach Erin that she had a young horse in training that she thought would suit Braden perfectly. They traveled to Aiken, South Carolina, to see the 6-year-old Connemara-cross gelding, BSF Liam, and the connection was immediate. Braden was drawn to Liam’s kind, steady nature, and after his string of challenges, Braden was simply looking for a partner he could enjoy. At the time, the expectation was modest: Everyone agreed the horse might reach the Preliminary or Intermediate level.
“He was kind of a big fat pony when I first met him,” Braden shared, laughing. “He reminded me of a big dog. But when he gets into top training form, he slims down and has the fitness of a Thoroughbred. He has an amazing engine and remarkable intelligence.”
Since partnering in 2019, Braden and Liam have climbed steadily through the levels. In 2020, 2023 and 2024 they earned the USEF McKenna Trophy as the top-performing Connemara or part-Connemara event horse at the Preliminary level and above. They made their Advanced debut at Fair Hill in 2024.
The upward trajectory continued after Braden’s selection to the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 program, where he trained with Shannon Lilley and later spent a week at national camp under David O'Connor. The pair had a setback when competing in the Advanced at TerraNova, when Liam sustained a minor injury during the cross-country that kept them out of the Kentucky Three-Day 4*S and the 4*L at Rebecca Farm that year.
Again, Braden faced the setback with equanimity. “I knew we had to get more qualifier four-star longs in; however, our only remaining options were at Morven Park and TerraNova in the fall. I was worried Liam wouldn’t be ready in time to qualify for the five-star at Kentucky,” Braden remembered. The pair officially qualified for the five-star level with their top-20 finish at the US Equestrian Open Eventing Final at Morven International Horse Park and their eighth-place finish at the four-star long at TerraNova. Kentucky was in their sights again.
As remarkable as the pair’s ascent through the ranks has been, Braden’s ability to juggle a demanding school schedule with year-round training and competing has been impressive. During college, he spent January through March of each year commuting between school and Aiken for training and competitions on the weekends, waking at 3 a.m. to travel from the University of Delaware to South Carolina and back again for classes on Monday.
In addition to the support of his family, Braden credits his girlfriend, Gabby Nguyen, a fellow eventer who also trained with Coach Erin, for her deep involvement in his riding career over the past four years. Gabby is a vet tech with Sports Medicine Associates of Chester County, with Dr. Ashley Taylor, whose clients are mostly eventers. Gabby accompanies Braden and Liam to all their competitions, walking the course with Braden and pitching in as groom. She acknowledged that nerves can be strained at these high-pressure events.
“Braden is very focused when he’s in competition mode,” Gabby said. “When he's nervous, especially about cross-country, he likes to walk the course together and talk me through his thought process.”
“When I’m waiting to go out, I usually run through my plan for the course, fence by fence,” Braden explained. “For big events, I memorize all the minute markers and check my watch in the gallops between fences to see if I need to make up time. Trusting your plan is the best way to stay calm, and usually the nerves go away after the first couple of fences once we’re in a groove.”
Braden and Liam were among the fan favorites in Lexington at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in April. Braden completed his first five-star dressage test on day one with huge smiles and lots of pats for Liam, and fist-pumped after making it clear through day two’s grueling 29-obstacle cross-country. On the final day, he and Liam completed the show jumping phase to a huge crowd of cheering spectators in the Rolex Stadium.
“It was surreal crossing through the finish flags after a clear round on the cross-country,” Braden said. “While I made a few mistakes, Liam kept trying his hardest and his confidence never faltered. He made the cross-country feel easier than I thought it would be. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Coach Erin is thrilled with their success. “I still remember when Braden was learning how to ride, when he was a little peanut! And it's been so neat to watch him develop into the person and rider he is, and see Liam rise to that level as well.”
Even with vet school and a busy career on the horizon, Braden isn’t ready to give up competitive riding. “I hope to get back to the upper levels with Liam once I've graduated and started working as a vet. It will be tough balancing it, but it's possible with good planning.”
Follow Braden on Instagram @bradenspeck_
Photos by Adrienne Morella, adriennemorellaphotography.com
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