Horses Came First, Second and Last

In the 1970s, a French coach was commissioned to lead the United States Eventing Team, then in its infancy. Jack Le Goff arrived knowing little English but much horsemanship, and it wasn’t long before his intensive, innovative methods built the foundation of a team that would dominate the sport for much of his 14-year tenure. With an astounding eighteen medals in eight international championships and team gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1976 and 1984, Le Goff created the standard by which modern-day teams are measured. But Le Goff’s techniques could be unforgiving—tough, brutal, and abrasive—earning him critics as well as converts.

In this, his autobiography, Jack Le Goff tells the whole story, from impoverished beginnings in Morocco to the tragic death of his father; from his successes as a competitive equestrian to the partying and womanizing that threatened to derail his career before it even began. We come away with a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of high-level international equestrian sport. We meet the elite riders and horses of past decades, seeing up-close-and-personal how they achieved their successes, faced their failings, and in the end rode for glory under of one of the world’s greatest coaches.