United States Eventing Association

Luke 140 Steps into the Spotlight at Stable View CCI4*-S

Aiken, S.C.—April 4—Boyd Martin has always believed in Luke 140 since he came to his barn in 2019. The fiery bay gelding has completed one five-star, in 2023 at Luhmühlen (Germany) where they were fourth, but injuries have meant he’s had to sit out a couple of seasons and miss out on selection for two Olympic Games, most recently in 2024.

Now the 14-year-old Holsteiner (Landos x Omega VI), owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate, is back to full fitness and aiming for his first Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in less than three weeks. Martin brought him to the Stable View CCI4*-S this weekend for a final prep run, and they’re leading the division on a score of 29.2, moving up from third after dressage with a clear show jumping round.

Martin also slotted into second place with Yankee Creek Ranch LLC’s 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 (Connor 48 x R-Adulgunde) on 30.0 and is third with the Annie Goodwin Syndicate’s 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Federman B (Eurocommerce Washington x Paulien B) on 30.8.

While Martin said it was frustrating to miss out on big moments with “Luke,” knowing he could be one of the best horses in the world, “you can only do your best and do everything you can to prepare him.”

He described Luke as a handful who’s not easy on himself—"just because he jumps so big, and he's wild and a bit wild to ride every single day,” he said. “He's a hard horse to manage, just because he's a nutcase. I’m very grateful I got a Canadian guy called Bradley Champagne who is the only other guy that can ride him when I'm away! I think I've fallen off him seven times this year already. My last fall was on Sunday. We were heading out to the gallops, and he spooked and spun me off. He's a character, but I love him to bits.”

Luckily for Martin, Luke was on his best behavior today, placing third after dressage in front of judges Jo Young and Robyn Fisher. He was placed behind Martin and Commando 3 in first and Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri in second. A clear show jumping round over Chris Barnard’s course bumped him up to the lead when Commando 3 had a rail. Federman B also jumped a clear round to move up from fourth.

“I thought Chris Barnard built a really, really challenging track—it had everything. It was a big course, it was technical, it was in the big pavilion ring that had a lot of atmosphere and electricity. I think it's awesome when we're faced with testing tracks like this, just because the truth finds you. This is how hard it is when you get to the international shows and the five-stars. I think it’s awesome that we can practice in our four-stars with this degree of difficulty.”

Martin is using Stable View as a final run for all three of his horses. “I’m over the moon with the [cross-country] course design and how much effort and energy has been put into the footing,” he said. “The crew here at Stable View have done an incredible job of watering and aerating and aggravating. I've never seen it so good.

“Obviously this is a nerve-wracking competition for a lot of the horses going to Kentucky,” he continued. “I just came down here with three to focus on, and I got here a day early and tried to have a little bit of a dress rehearsal with my warmups for the dressage and show jumping.”

He said his plan with all three horses tomorrow over Helen West’s cross-country course is to go a bit quicker than usual, running at about 75%, so they can have a good fitness run and head into Kentucky with confidence.

“Luke has been going well,” he said. “He obviously had a great run at Luhmühlen a couple years ago and got injured after that, so I've been taking forever getting him back going. We could have made Maryland Five-Star last year, but I ended up just trying to not rush him back and spent a long time building his fitness up. He’s a legend horse, and I’ve been a little bit cautious of where to run him, just to make sure he's fit and healthy coming into Kentucky. My run at [Bouckaert International (Fairburn, Georgia)] was ideal, and I think the course will suit him perfectly.”

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