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When Margie Goldstein-Engle talks about her greatest horses, she doesn’t dwell on breeding, technique, or training systems. She talks about heart.
“It’s that heart and desire to really want to fight with you,” she said. “Once you do something once, they seem to learn it and it stays inside them. As long as you don’t break their trust, they’ll keep it forever.”
For one of the most decorated riders in American show jumping history—Olympian, World Equestrian Games medalist, and Hall of Famer—that quality has defined her partnership with horses across decades of elite competition. Talent helps, she’ll admit. But the horses who win big for her share something less tangible and far more important.
A Horse Needs Heart
Margie’s longtime partner Saluut was uncanny in his intuition. “If I even thought about turning, he was already turning. If I thought about slowing down, he was already backing himself up. He was so intuitive,” she recalled.
That intuition and willingness to try was built through trust. “Some of the heart comes from building that bond and that trust between the two of you,” she said. “Then they seem to try harder and jump things they normally wouldn’t be capable of.”
In Margie’s world, the best horses are brave partners. And that kind of bravery comes from confidence in the rider.
Foundation of Trust
Publisher Piper Klemm noted that you can’t really test heart in a jumping chute, and Margie agreed: “No, you really don’t know that till you live with them. Some of the heart comes from building that bond and that trust between the two of you. Then they seem to try harder and jump things they normally wouldn’t be capable of.”
That steady, trusting relationship is what allows Margie to ride boldly. She recalls doing “crazy turns” and leaving out strides as a younger rider. It’s a level of confidence that only comes when horse and rider truly understand one another. “I think as long as you don’t break the trust with the horses, they’ll keep trusting you for longer,” she said. “They give you that unconditional try.”
Power of Personality
That trust looks different with every horse. Margie laughs when she talks about her current mount, Jack of Hearts, a horse she almost didn’t try. “I actually told them not to bring him out,” she said. “He was built like a giraffe! But when I got on, I realized he really wanted to figure it out. He’s careful and has a big heart, even if his way of going isn’t traditional.”
Margie’s ability to see potential where others might pass by is part of what’s kept her at the top of the sport for decades. She doesn’t expect perfection. She looks for effort. “They don’t all have to be textbook,” she said. “Sometimes the ones that look different are the ones that fight the hardest for you.”
Lessons From a Lifetime
After hundreds of Grand Prix wins and decades of competition, Margie still believes the best horses teach their riders as much as the other way around. “Every horse is a new lesson,” she said. “You learn to listen to them. The horses are the best teachers that we have.”
That mindset has shaped her longevity in the sport. Even now, she approaches every ride with curiosity and humility. “You have to keep learning,” she said. “The sport changes, the courses change, and every horse teaches you something new.” For her, the most important victories are the invisible ones like the moments of connection, understanding, and shared effort between horse and rider.
Built on Heart
From Saluut’s uncanny intuition to Jack of Hearts’ determination, Margie’s horses all share one defining trait: they try. “It’s not something you can buy or breed for,” she said. “It’s something you earn together.” And perhaps that’s the reason Margie remains such an enduring figure in show jumping.
Want more insight from Margie Engle? Listen to episode 456 of The Plaidcast and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform for conversations with the most influential voices in the equestrian world.
