Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Shelby Allen.
For Lucienne Bellissimo (GBR), the path to her 5* debut at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event hasn’t been paved with shortcuts or serendipity. It’s been a long, grueling climb, marked by heartbreak, grit, reinvention, and above all, perseverance.
But as Lucienne prepares to ride down the centerline at the Kentucky Horse Park with Dyri it finally feels like the moment she’s been working toward for over two decades has arrived.
“It genuinely means a ridiculous amount to me,” Lucienne says. “But I’m trying not to let it mean too much—because then you try too hard. And with this horse, it has to be about patience. It always has.”
Dyri is a horse Lucienne’s produced tactfully with this goal in mind, managing his general spookiness with patience and ensuring that she’s elevating his confidence while also developing his strength to become increasingly competitive across all three phases.
Imported from Germany as an eight-year-old, he had spent the early years of his career with an amateur rider, jumping 1.10m and dabbling in low-level dressage. Later, Germany’s Dirk Schrade campaigned him through the 2* level before Lucienne took the chance and brought him home. “He’s by Diarado, which makes him incredibly athletic,” she describes. “But he’s also spooky and a bit fragile mentally. He’d be in the lead and then just stop—see a ditch or water and shut down four or five strides out.”
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Lucienne knew right away that this horse wasn’t going to be a quick project. But she also knew he had something special—if only she could find the right way to bring it out.
Over the past few years, Lucienne has invested heavily in Dyri’s education, traveling the country to expose him to varied questions and atmospheres. From Rebecca Farm to Morven Park, from Stable View to Tryon, she’s carefully built a program around the gelding’s unique needs: long gallops on undulating ground, slow and consistent fitness work, minimal jumping to preserve his freshness, and careful planning of competitions. “He’s better when he has more time between fences,” she says. “And he’s one of those who needs to feel a little cheeky—like he’s got something to say. That’s when he gives you his best.”
This careful production isn’t new to Lucienne—it’s the thread that’s run through her entire riding career. But what’s different this time is that she’s still in the irons.
In the past, she’s produced dozens of international-level horses, only to move them on or experience one setback or the other before they reached their peak. Eventing – and any success one finds within it – takes grit and hard work, and Lucienne has built her program on self-reliance. At just 19, she was running a 60-horse operation in the UK while backing and selling horses to keep the lights on. By her early twenties, she was juggling that workload with a five-year chiropractic degree and a growing reputation for producing sale horses.
“I’ve sold hundreds of horses,” she says. “That’s how I built this business. But when you sell everything, you never get to see how far you can really go. That’s what’s different now.”
Her decision to stay in the saddle is all the more remarkable considering how many times life nearly forced her out of it.
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Sally Spickard.
In 2013, a riding accident shattered her foot and ankle, putting her in a wheelchair for a year. While she rehabbed, she lost several owners and had to sell much of her string. It was a devastating blow—but instead of giving up, Lucienne doubled down. She launched Horse Scout Limited, a platform focused on equestrian services and sales, and hustled to raise capital across Europe to get it off the ground. The business, combined with her unshakable work ethic, bought her the independence she’d fought so hard to earn.
Then, in 2018, another freak accident nearly ended everything. While driving in England, a deer ran into the road. Lucienne swerved instinctively—and in the aftermath, had broken 28 bones, punctured both lungs, and faced another long, painful road back. “I’m full of titanium now,” she says with a dry laugh. “You can see it in my riding—my right shoulder sits lower than my left. But I’m lucky. I’m still here.”
The recovery was grueling, both physically and emotionally. But Lucienne is not someone who quits. “I’ve had some very dark days,” she says. “But after years of not being able to walk, after losing horses and owners and getting knocked down again and again—you come to appreciate the small things. Just getting to make the entry for Kentucky is a privilege.”
She credits that perspective with helping her weather the sport’s many inevitable heartbreaks—including the loss of a promising mare, Diamond Duette, who colicked shortly after her 5* qualification. “That one broke my heart,” she says. “But it happens to all of us. And I’ve learned to take a breath and remember how much joy I got out of producing her up to that point. That’s what keeps you healthy in your head.”
Her philosophy now is simple: stay pragmatic, stay focused, and above all, stay patient. “You’ve got to pick your moment,” she says. “I know my horse. I’ve put the time in. Now we just go out there and do our job.”
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Kentucky won’t be about chasing the win—not yet. The goal is a positive, educational trip for both horse and rider. “He’s fit, he’s strong, and mentally he feels in a good space,” Lucienne says. “He’s been in work since November 1. I’ve taken my time. I haven’t rushed him. I want him to come home confident and happy and feeling like he can do it again.”
Even now, with Kentucky on the horizon, Lucienne continues to think like a producer. “Every year, I make a deal with myself: whichever 13-year-old horse isn’t my top horse, as well as two of my top young horses, I sell. That’s how I keep the business running,” she explains. “I love producing them. But I don’t know how long my body will let me keep riding at this level. So I need the model to work.”
For now, though, Dyri stays. And in just a few weeks’ time, Lucienne will ride into the Rolex Stadium for the first time, not as a seller, not as a groom, not as a spectator—but as a competitor.
“It’s been 20 years in the making,” she says. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted in sport. But I’m not putting that pressure on this weekend. This is just the beginning.”
Want to learn even more about Lucienne? You’re in luck! Her Behind the Barn interview with Frankie Thieriot-Stutes and Lynn Symansky just dropped, and you can watch it below:
EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.
