Cultivating the highest standards
in sport.

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Our mission is to cultivate the highest standards of animal welfare and professional conduct in sport, to promote sport horses bred in Maryland, and to maintain the Maryland Sport Horse registry.

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Professional Education

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Horses in pasture

Training horses, caring for them, and teaching riding, each require different skill sets, each of which is specialized. Until we develop a program specific to Maryland, HSM will recognize anyone who is certified or licensed by a program on our list as an HSM Equine Professional.

Mare and Foal Nursing

Our mission is to support breeders in Maryland who are purpose-breeding for sport, regardless of discipline, and to help those breeders market their horses outside the state. Any Maryland breeder that meets our qualifications is eligible for our breeder benefits.

Purpose-Bred Breeding

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Performance Horse Welfare

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The ethical treatment of equines in sport requires us to balance the competitive demands that we place on horses and ponies with and their physical and mental well-being. Our horses are our athletic teammates, not pieces of sports equipment.

Latest News

Brown horse jumping a large show jumping fence

Ryan Keefe and Point Nemo Win “Highest Earner” at the Real Rider Cup

Eventing, Racing, Show Jumping

Ryan Keefe, born and raised in Sandy Spring, and Maryland-bred Thoroughbred Point Nemo, won Highest Earner at the The Real Rider Cup on July 11 at Mereworth Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The pair finished second out of 33 entries. Point Nemo was bred by Dr. & Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau and is by Songandaprayer out of Wood Knot (Kissin Kris). He was trained at the track by Ryan’s father Tim Keefe. Tim Keefe is a past President of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, and as we reported last year, he has been on the Board of The Maryland Jockey Club since 2025. Point Nemo has had post-racing career as an international eventer at the international levels. His international debut was with Ryan Keefe in the CCI2*–S at the Maryland International at Loch Moy Farm in July 2020. Ryan’s younger sister Carlin Keefe moved him up to the CCI3* level in …
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Rising Equestrian Saskia Paul Named Horse Sport Maryland Trainer

HSM Trainer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rising Equestrian Saskia Paul Named Horse Sport Maryland Trainer for Her Commitment to Animal Welfare and Continuing Education WOODBINE, MD — July 3, 2026 — Horse Sport Maryland (HSM) is pleased to announce that it has named up-and-coming professional Saskia Paul as a Horse Sport Maryland Trainer. The Horse Sport Maryland Trainer program recognizes those emerging professionals who prioritize humane, evidence-based training methods and ongoing professional development. Paul has rapidly distinguished herself for developing young horses quietly and patiently and for her focus on equine biomechanics and the emotional well-being of the horse. “Saskia Paul represents the very best of the next generation of professionals in our industry,” said HSM Founder Kim Egan. “She is just the sort of young professional that the Maryland horse industy should be proud of. We would all benefit from more students of the sport like Saskia.” Saskia Paul grew up in …
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Maryland Sport Horses

Thoroughbred bloodlines are the bedrock of the modern performance horse. Not only are Thoroughbreds excellent all-around athletes and keen competitors in their own right, the European performance breeds carry significant amounts of Thoroughbred blood in their pedigrees.

Thoroughbreds have been in Maryland since before the American Revolution. The first recorded Thoroughbred race in Maryland was in 1743 (the Annapolis Subscription Plate), and Selima, one of the foundation mares of the American Thoroughbred, was imported in the 1750s to Belair in modern-day Prince George’s County. The Thoroughbred is the State Horse of Maryland.

A majority of sport horses bred in Maryland carry Thoroughbred blood. Some are full Thoroughbreds. Some are European performance breeds that that are themselves dominated by Thoroughbred blood. Some are Thoroughbreds crossed with a European breed. And still more are Welsh and Connemara show ponies crossed with Thoroughbreds.

The Maryland Sport Horse Registry records five-generation pedigrees of Maryland-bred sport horses and sport ponies.

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