Riding High
Meet Manatee County’s own equestrian legend Steve Stephens.
Written by Kendra Gemma
When Steve Stephens finds something he loves, he holds onto it. The Bradenton native now makes his home in Palmetto, and he’s been in the horse business since age 8. That doesn’t mean he’s content sitting still.
Stephens was a professional show jumper in high school through much of his 30s, winning numerous Grand Prix events. Today, he’s a renowned course designer, currently working on designs for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, among other projects, and a manufacturer of props.
How It Started
“My stepfather got me into the horses when I was 8 years old,” Stephens said. “He basically introduced me to riding horses, and I have done it ever since. I’ve never had another job.”
His career began in 1965, while he was still a student at Palmetto High School. “I traveled the equestrian tour. Some of the tour, what we call the indoor circuit, would have conflicted with school, so I took a tutor on my equestrian adventure,” Stephens said.
Despite his schedule, he competed in track and field and played football in high school and graduated in 1968. That same year, he achieved his most favorable victory in the high jump, called puissance, in Madison Square Garden. “I jumped 7 foot 1, which is very tall to be sitting on top of a horse and doing that,” Stephens said.
For all his riding accomplishments, the state of Florida wrote a resolution in his name in the late 1960s. “That’s probably my most honored award that I’ve ever won,” he said. It was signed by the Speaker of the House and the House of Representatives.
Stephens continued to compete through 1986, winning prestigious events including the Cleveland Grand Prix, American Gold Cup, Grand Prix of Montreal, and American Grandprix Association (AGA) Championships.
Shifting Course
Even before he retired as a show jumper, Stephens began designing courses for the sport.
“It’s basically like laying out a golf course,” he explained. “A guy has to know where to put the sand traps, where to put the water, where to put the greens. Watch the slope. That’s what we do.”
A Show Jumping Hall of Fame inductee, Stephens started winning awards for his design work in 1981, when he was named Course Designer of the Year. (He earned it again in 1982.)
His resume backs up his accolades. He designed courses for U.S. events such as Washington International, National Horse Show, Royal Winter Fair, Winter Equestrian Festival, Devon Horse Show, and the American Invitational, as well as international competitions, including the 1987 Pan American Games and the Olympics.
Stephens served as assistant designer for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, Sydney in 2000, and Beijing in 2008, where he was chief course designer.
“My biggest challenge, obviously, was the appointment of the Olympic Games in Beijing,” Stephens said. “That was the highlight of my career so far.”
He’s not done yet. Coming full circle, he’s working on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “I’m designing the obstacles for the competition there. That’s my next big adventure,” Stephens said. “Probably the biggest hurrah for me is being able to say that I’ve done the four Olympic Games.”
Even with all these prestigious events under his belt, some of his favorite projects have taken place here in Florida. Stephens especially enjoyed the experience of producing and designing courses in football stadiums in Tampa and Miami. “That’s a challenge hardly anybody else has done,” he said.
In his storied equestrian career, he’s also been the coach for the U.S. team, who won four Nations’ Cups under his leadership, and a show manager.
“I’ve managed some of the biggest shows,” Stephens said. These include the National Horse Show, held in Madison Square Garden until 2002, the Hampton Classic, the Kentucky Horse Park, and the Winter Equestrian Festival, which houses about 4,000 horses in the winter.
“That’s probably the biggest one,” he said, “and then I was involved in the beginning of the World Equestrian Center in Ocala.”
What’s Next
Although he’s planning to retire from being a designer after the Olympics, he’s not going out to pasture. “It’s very important to stay involved with your sport from the ground up,” Stephens said.
He was recently appointed to manage and serve as technical coordinator for a circuit in Venice. “I don’t have so far to travel, and I can help develop the sport on this coast,” Stephens said. Wellington on the east coast of Florida and Ocala are the state’s two prominent equestrian hubs now.
He also owns Stephens Equestrian Designs, based right here in his hometown of Palmetto. Since 1992, the company has manufactured and produced “horse jumps,” which are the props horses jump over.
His creations contribute to dozens of courses throughout the country, so, although he’s not designing the entire courses, he’s still making his mark in his beloved sport.
Stephens has enjoyed his life and his accomplishments so much that he never wants them to end. “When I die, I want to come back as myself!” he proclaimed.
