Leslie Morse is one of the United States most accomplished dressage riders and has represented the United States at five FEI World Cup Finals, earned a Team Bronze Medal at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, won the Exquis World Dressage Masters Grand Prix Special twice, was a two-time alternate to the U.S. Olympic team, and been a multiple National Grand Prix champion.
Leslie is originally from Tarzana, located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. As a child, Leslie’s parents bought her a $650 Appaloosa named Sunspots. She joined the Tarzana Pony Club and went on to eventually earn her “B” rating—along the way, she participated in a USET clinic with Col. Bengt Ljungquist when she was just 14. After high school, she left California with one horse to attend university in Kentucky, competing in three day eventing—and was long listed for the 1984 Summer Olympics. A year later, Leslie returned home with two horses in tow to California and a plan to launch a training business, focusing solely in dressage. She did just that, teaching juniors and amateurs at Mill Creek Equestrian Center in Topanga, CA for many years.
While in Topanga, Morse trained with Robert Dover, who was then based in California, with her Thoroughbred Classic Blend and her Oldenburg stallion Tantienne, continuing her education with such trainers as: Major Anders Lindgren, Bert Rutten and Christilot Boylen. Over the course of the next 10 years Morse pioneered a large training operation in the Los Angeles Equestrian Center amassing 50 training horses along with a tack shop. In competition, Morse found success with several mounts, including the American-bred Dutch warmblood Greystoke, who was the USDF Intermediaire I and II Horse of the Year.
As her clientele expanded, Morse moved to Paragon Farms in Malibu and began traveling to Europe to buy young horses and work with long time mentor, Kyra Kyrklund. There she purchased her most notable partners partnerships with the Oldenburg-approved Dutch stallion Kingston (Voltaire—Gisnette, Burggraaf) and the Swedish Warmblood Stallion Tip Top 962 (Master 850-Horsensia, Chagall), when both were just eight years of age.
With Kingston, Leslie won the United States Equestrian Federation National Championship at the PSG/I-1 level and later also at the Grand Prix level. In 2004, Leslie was named an alternate for dressage at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with Kingston, a distinction that topped a tall list of honors for the year, including a win at the Intermediaire II in Aachen, Germany, and a win at the Grand Prix at Hagen, Germany, at the famous Horses & Dreams competition at HOF Kasselmam 5*with a final score of 72.83%. Adding more wins, in 2005, Kingston and Leslie went on to win the Palm Beach Grand Prix Freestyle, Palm Beach Derby CDI*** and Gold Coast Opener CDI***, and win the Palm Beach Grand Prix Special with Tip Top 962 that same year.
When she came back to California in 2005, Leslie and Kingston were Reserve Champions in the U.S. Freestyle Championship as well. That year Leslie claimed her fourth National Championship title and was named U.S. League Champion with Kingston. Leslie and Kingston went on to the FEI World Cup at Las Vegas, Nevada, placing sixth. It was a whirlwind time for Leslie and the stallions, travelling back and forth to Europe and America. After the World Cup, Leslie took the stallions to Germany, to compete at Hagen--winning with Kingston and finishing top 10 with Tip Top.
Kingston fared incredibly well at many International competitions, and in 2006, when giving him a short break from his rigorous competition schedule at the U.S. Team Training Facility of U.S. Coach Klaus Balkenhol, located in Rosendahl, Germany, Kingston took a wrong step in the field, and suffered what many expected to be a career-ending injury.
Leslie, under the guidance of German Vet Dr. Peter Cronau, U.S. Team Vet Dr. Tim Ober, and other talented horse professionals, spent the following 2 full years focusing on the very careful care and treatment of Kingston. He was rested for a year, and Morse spent the next year bringing him back very slowly. What could have been a tragic loss instead turned out to be what many have described as a miracle – as Kingston returned to full competition. He was later named USDF Horse of the Year, and he and Leslie were twice named as U.S. Olympic team alternates. Kingston was Leslie's first "Love Bug", and maybe her equine soulmate. One of their most memorable performances is perhaps the freestyle to “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” which perfectly expressed the dark bay stallion’s larger-than-life presence.
Morse’s other notable stallion, Tip Top 962, was by no means in Kingston's shadow during this time. Leslie fell in love with the 3-time- Swedish Young Dressage Horse Champion, while watching Kyra Kyrklund ride him every day for the 7 months Leslie spent training with Kyra in England. Leslie brought Tip Top back to the U.S. and began to compete him at 4th level, progressing up the levels as their partnership grew. By 2004 Tip Top had won the USET National Championship at the PSG/I-1 level and later that year showed Grand Prix for the first time while in Germany, and the rest, as they say, is history.
After a successful season in Wellington in 2006, Leslie and Tip Top were selected to represent the United States in the World Cup in Amsterdam. She and Tip Top then competed to a First Place in Raleigh, then Third Place in the USEF National Championships. Tip Top succeeded at many international competitions and earned a top reputation in his own right. The pair represented the U.S. twice in the FEI World Cup Final, and the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.
In Aachen, Leslie and Tip Top helped the United States team to take home a bronze medal and by the end of her tour in Germany that summer, Leslie had moved up to eleventh place on the FEI/BCM Dressage Riders' World Ranking List.
A lifelong horsewoman, Morse built on her international dressage success and her experience handling and training stallions, and developed a successful breeding program in California, with Kingston and Tip Top as sires. After their successful careers, they leave behind a legacy of offspring. Among their progeny is the recognized Swedish warmblood gelding Tip Top’s Sterling, the mare King’s Ruby, and the gelding King’s Excalibur.
In 2017, after suffering two injuries, which precipitated a chronic pain condition, Morse took a break from competition and her breeding operation, and returned again to equestrian sports in 2019. On the world stage, Leslie has enjoyed an impressive career over the 40 years, competing at the top levels of dressage. She’s begun a new chapter, focusing on teaching, giving personalized clinics for trainers and their students, and developing young horses. In 2022, Leslie and her partner moved to Los Angeles, California where they are based year-round and welcome new students and clients.
Leslie is originally from Tarzana, located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. As a child, Leslie’s parents bought her a $650 Appaloosa named Sunspots. She joined the Tarzana Pony Club and went on to eventually earn her “B” rating—along the way, she participated in a USET clinic with Col. Bengt Ljungquist when she was just 14. After high school, she left California with one horse to attend university in Kentucky, competing in three day eventing—and was long listed for the 1984 Summer Olympics. A year later, Leslie returned home with two horses in tow to California and a plan to launch a training business, focusing solely in dressage. She did just that, teaching juniors and amateurs at Mill Creek Equestrian Center in Topanga, CA for many years.
While in Topanga, Morse trained with Robert Dover, who was then based in California, with her Thoroughbred Classic Blend and her Oldenburg stallion Tantienne, continuing her education with such trainers as: Major Anders Lindgren, Bert Rutten and Christilot Boylen. Over the course of the next 10 years Morse pioneered a large training operation in the Los Angeles Equestrian Center amassing 50 training horses along with a tack shop. In competition, Morse found success with several mounts, including the American-bred Dutch warmblood Greystoke, who was the USDF Intermediaire I and II Horse of the Year.
As her clientele expanded, Morse moved to Paragon Farms in Malibu and began traveling to Europe to buy young horses and work with long time mentor, Kyra Kyrklund. There she purchased her most notable partners partnerships with the Oldenburg-approved Dutch stallion Kingston (Voltaire—Gisnette, Burggraaf) and the Swedish Warmblood Stallion Tip Top 962 (Master 850-Horsensia, Chagall), when both were just eight years of age.
With Kingston, Leslie won the United States Equestrian Federation National Championship at the PSG/I-1 level and later also at the Grand Prix level. In 2004, Leslie was named an alternate for dressage at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with Kingston, a distinction that topped a tall list of honors for the year, including a win at the Intermediaire II in Aachen, Germany, and a win at the Grand Prix at Hagen, Germany, at the famous Horses & Dreams competition at HOF Kasselmam 5*with a final score of 72.83%. Adding more wins, in 2005, Kingston and Leslie went on to win the Palm Beach Grand Prix Freestyle, Palm Beach Derby CDI*** and Gold Coast Opener CDI***, and win the Palm Beach Grand Prix Special with Tip Top 962 that same year.
When she came back to California in 2005, Leslie and Kingston were Reserve Champions in the U.S. Freestyle Championship as well. That year Leslie claimed her fourth National Championship title and was named U.S. League Champion with Kingston. Leslie and Kingston went on to the FEI World Cup at Las Vegas, Nevada, placing sixth. It was a whirlwind time for Leslie and the stallions, travelling back and forth to Europe and America. After the World Cup, Leslie took the stallions to Germany, to compete at Hagen--winning with Kingston and finishing top 10 with Tip Top.
Kingston fared incredibly well at many International competitions, and in 2006, when giving him a short break from his rigorous competition schedule at the U.S. Team Training Facility of U.S. Coach Klaus Balkenhol, located in Rosendahl, Germany, Kingston took a wrong step in the field, and suffered what many expected to be a career-ending injury.
Leslie, under the guidance of German Vet Dr. Peter Cronau, U.S. Team Vet Dr. Tim Ober, and other talented horse professionals, spent the following 2 full years focusing on the very careful care and treatment of Kingston. He was rested for a year, and Morse spent the next year bringing him back very slowly. What could have been a tragic loss instead turned out to be what many have described as a miracle – as Kingston returned to full competition. He was later named USDF Horse of the Year, and he and Leslie were twice named as U.S. Olympic team alternates. Kingston was Leslie's first "Love Bug", and maybe her equine soulmate. One of their most memorable performances is perhaps the freestyle to “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” which perfectly expressed the dark bay stallion’s larger-than-life presence.
Morse’s other notable stallion, Tip Top 962, was by no means in Kingston's shadow during this time. Leslie fell in love with the 3-time- Swedish Young Dressage Horse Champion, while watching Kyra Kyrklund ride him every day for the 7 months Leslie spent training with Kyra in England. Leslie brought Tip Top back to the U.S. and began to compete him at 4th level, progressing up the levels as their partnership grew. By 2004 Tip Top had won the USET National Championship at the PSG/I-1 level and later that year showed Grand Prix for the first time while in Germany, and the rest, as they say, is history.
After a successful season in Wellington in 2006, Leslie and Tip Top were selected to represent the United States in the World Cup in Amsterdam. She and Tip Top then competed to a First Place in Raleigh, then Third Place in the USEF National Championships. Tip Top succeeded at many international competitions and earned a top reputation in his own right. The pair represented the U.S. twice in the FEI World Cup Final, and the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.
In Aachen, Leslie and Tip Top helped the United States team to take home a bronze medal and by the end of her tour in Germany that summer, Leslie had moved up to eleventh place on the FEI/BCM Dressage Riders' World Ranking List.
A lifelong horsewoman, Morse built on her international dressage success and her experience handling and training stallions, and developed a successful breeding program in California, with Kingston and Tip Top as sires. After their successful careers, they leave behind a legacy of offspring. Among their progeny is the recognized Swedish warmblood gelding Tip Top’s Sterling, the mare King’s Ruby, and the gelding King’s Excalibur.
In 2017, after suffering two injuries, which precipitated a chronic pain condition, Morse took a break from competition and her breeding operation, and returned again to equestrian sports in 2019. On the world stage, Leslie has enjoyed an impressive career over the 40 years, competing at the top levels of dressage. She’s begun a new chapter, focusing on teaching, giving personalized clinics for trainers and their students, and developing young horses. In 2022, Leslie and her partner moved to Los Angeles, California where they are based year-round and welcome new students and clients.
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- World Equestrian Games Team: Bronze Medal
- 5 - World Cup Representations
- 5 - USA National Championships
- 3 - Bronze Nation Cup Teams - Europe
- 2 - Olympic Games Traveling Reserve
- Hagon Germany: Horses & Dreams - Grand Prix Champion - Kingston
- Hagon Germany: Horses & Dreams - Grand Prix Freestyle Champion - Kingston
- Aachen Germany: Intermediare 11 Champion
- Exquis Masters, Hickstead, England – Champion, GP Special – Tip Top 962
- FEI World Rider Ranking - 10th in World
- 5th Place Grand Prix –Lingen, Germany
- 5th Place Grand Prix Freestyle-Lingen, Germany Reserve Champion Intermediare-Dortmund, Germany
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NATIONAL AWARDS
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ACHIEVEMENTS
CHARITY EVENTS
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APPEARANCES
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CLINICIANS LESLIE HAS WORKED WITH
TRAINERS & MENTORS
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BUSINESSES & WORK
UNIVERSITIES
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MEMBERSHIPS
POSITIONS
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