VideoSome horses need no introduction, and Lafitte de Muze is one of them. With Amanda Steege riding, Cheryl Olsten’s “Lafitte” has earned hunter celebrity status thanks to his many derby wins, distinctive jumping style and philanthropic legacy. (Olsten has donated much of his prize money to the EQUUS Foundation, and Steege said that tally has now gone over $500,000.)
But he’s not resting on his laurels. Over the last two weeks, the 15-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (Darco x Everlychin de la Pomme, by Malito de Reve) topped both the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania on May 28 and the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in Virginia on June 4, in addition to winning the high performance hunter division championship at Devon.
We caught up with Steege to discuss Lafitte’s recent wins, what’s left on her bucket list for the horse, and the gymnastic exercise he does every morning before he shows.
A Two-Week Winning Streak
PH: Talk about this year’s Devon with Lafitte. What were the highlights?
AS: We had a great week with Laffite despite crazy weather. It was cold then rainy then hot then cold and rainy again.
The first day, he was second in the first class, and then he won the second class. That was exciting, because at Devon each of those classes has perpetual trophies, so when I was getting the trophy for the second class on the first day, they said it was the third year in a row he’d won that trophy—and the fourth year out of last five. That was not something I realized.
The second day started with the handy, and he was second, and then he won the stake class. He had a great stake round. His score was 95, and when they presented that trophy, they said he’d won it four of out the last five years. So he was champion in the high performance hunters, and I was leading lady rider.
Last year at Devon, he was champion in the high performance hunters, and he got a 96 in the stake. People have asked me over course of this year if there are certain classes with him that have stood out as being above and beyond, and the one I always mentioned was my stake round from Devon in 2025. But then I felt like the stake at Devon this year might have surpassed it.
Last year at Devon was actually the first year he’s ever been champion there, which is crazy. He was reserve three times, and he’d won a lot of classes there, but the stars had never aligned. It was extra special for the stars to align two years in a row.
To make it even more special, he won the hunter derby at Devon this year. That was also a class he’d never won before. There are a few bucket list classes left for him to win, and that was one of them.
PH: Then you went to Upperville last week, winning the derby there for the third time in a row. Talk about that show.
AS: He went home for a few days before Upperville, and we were like, “Should we even take him to Upperville after doing all that?” It didn’t seem like there was any chance for that to be as exciting. I ended up taking him because he doesn’t have much else on his schedule until the [Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships] in August.
At Upperville I only showed him one day in the high performance division. I just used that day to get ready for the hunter derby. Then he won the derby by 21 points.
Family History At Devon
PH: Going back to Devon, the horse show posted a picture of your great-grandfather riding there. Can you talk about that and what Devon means to you in general?
AS: My mom’s family grew up in Fort Washington, which is about 20 minutes from Devon. They were not horse professionals, but they had horses. That photo is of my great-grandfather showing there in 1913. I think he was 12 years old showing his pony, Rascal.
It’s an extra-special show for us—and I guess for everyone, really. I remember that 2001 was the was the first year I was champion at Devon as a professional rider, because I’d gone to Boston College and not done it for a few years. My grandfather, my mom’s father, would always come to watch me ride there, and that year he brought me that photo.
There were no horse trailers then, so Rascal got tied to the back of the horse and buggy and trotted to the show.
Then my mom, Kathy Steege, showed at Devon as a kid, and I have pictures of that. She likes to tell the story about how she had a naughty pony, and every year at Devon, the course was the same: It started on the left lead with a line on the outside by the grandstand. Every year, like three years in a row, her pony jumped the first jump, cantered up to the second jump, stopped, and she fell off. Then she would have to walk the whole way back to the in-gate, across the Dixon Oval.
PH: You mentioned the Devon derby being a bucket-list class. Are there others you’d still like to win with Lafitte?
AS: Derby Finals is the biggest one. He goes so well there, and he’s gotten a ribbon almost every year. A couple years ago, I won the first round of Derby Finals, and I got to go last in the handy. He went amazing, and then after the last jump, the crowd went wild, and he spooked. We ended up fifth. That’s the major one that’s left for us.
[Steege’s partner and Lafitte’s groom] Tim [Delovich] and I were talking, and I think the only other big important show we go to that he hasn’t been champion yet at is Washington International Horse Show. I’ve only taken him there once, so I don’t know if that will be on our list. Pretty much everything other than that is repeats of previous wins.
All About Lafitte
PH: What does a show week look like for Lafitte?
AS: It really depends; it depends on the show, and it depends on the week and where it is on the schedule. Something we’ve always done with him, but which we’ve really gotten good at doing recently, is gearing him up for certain classes during the year. Tim and I sit down with his owner, and we come up with a plan for the whole year. There are always a few classes we want him to peak for.
Sometimes I’ll just do the derby, sometimes I’ll do a day of the high performance division to get ready for the derby, and some days I decide I want to do both days of high performance; it goes by feel a little bit.
He really likes to show and jump, and his body always feels the best to me the more he jumps. Some horses, if you’re wanting them to peak for the derby, you’re not wanting to jump much during the week, because you want to save their energy or stamina, and he’s not really like that.
He’s not a wild horse, but he gets excited to go to the ring. I like to show him during the week, because if I don’t, I feel like he’s too excited. His body just feels better and looser to me when he’s gotten to jump some big tracks early in the week. But it changes, depending on the time of year, what class it is, and how fit he is.
He has a gymnastic we always do with him the morning before the big class. At this point, I think it’s almost just a mental thing for him, and he knows it really counts when we do that. Tim and I are like, “I don’t know if he needs to do that gymnastic anymore,” but mentally I feel like he’s different if he’s done that in the morning.
PH: What is the exercise?
AS: It’s a rail on the ground, 9’ to a vertical, 9’ to a rail, 9’ to a vertical, 9’ to a rail. He’s always done it, for nine years. It’s a gymnastic I learned from [U.S. show jumper] McLain Ward, and it’s one he uses a lot. It just seems to work for Lafitte.
He’s already very naturally careful, but I think it gets him using all the parts of his body and really thinking about where his feet are.
PH: If Lafitte were a person, what would he be like?
AS: He’s really humble. I think he knows he’s really good at what he does, but I don’t think he has a huge ego. He’s very nice to the other horses. Tim always feels like he sort of coaches the younger horses; he envisions him at night giving the younger horses pointers.
Cheryl has donated over $500,000 of his prize money to charity. It always makes it fun, when you’re winning these big classes with high dollar amounts. It feels like it’s going towards doing something good.
He is quite a celebrity these days. There are so many people who come to Devon or Upperville to see him. He’s so sweet with all the kids, and he’s really sweet with dogs too. He’s a little spoiled but very sweet.
Pre-Ride Mantras
PH: What’s your favorite thing that someone tells you before you go into the ring with him?
AS: We have different little sayings for different times and years. For the last few years, especially with Lafitte, Tim would have this saying of “calmly confident”—to go into the ring relaxed but feeling confident. Now, this many years into our partnership, he’s reminding me to have a good time. He’ll say, “Lafitte is having a good time out there, and he wants you to have a good time.” Or he’ll say, “Just jump around the course the way you jump him around at home,” just loose and relaxed. But “calmly confident” has been our motto for a while. Calm is not always my go-to state of mind.
PH: What’s your favorite thing to tell a student before they go into the ring?
AS: To concentrate on the basics of riding, especially when we get to some of these bigger, more important shows—to remember it’s the same thing we do every week all year, not to reinvent the wheel when you’re out there, to concentrate on your pace, rhythm and your lines and making nice turns. A favorite quote to say is, “Don’t do anything weird out there.”
For More:
Hear more about Amanda Steege’s training philosophies and her partnership with Lafitte in the Practical Horseman Podcast Episode 122, which was released earlier this year.