Hobart and William Smith Colleges

18 December 2024 • Alums • Athletics A HWS Connection to Olympics Equestrian

As we look back at special moments from 2024, Christopher ’94 and Robert Desino ’94 reflect on their horse Cooley Nutcracker's performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Twin brothers Christopher ’94 and Robert Desino ’94 have an exciting connection to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France. They are co-owners of the horse Cooley Nutcracker, who competed in Equestrian Eventing.

Cooley Nutcracker’s rider is Liz Halliday. Both horse and rider made their Olympic debut this year.

The Olympics Equestrian events were held in Versailles, France. Halliday and Cooley Nutcracker competed in Eventing, an equestrian triathlon held on July 27-29. Over the course of 3 days, competition included the dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

The Desinos are the principals of Ocala Horse Properties & Wellington Equestrian Realty. Prior to building their businesses, the brothers trained and competed for the World Championship in rowing. At HWS, the pair were two-time National Collegiate Champions in rowing.

“This has been a lifelong dream to be part of the Olympics,” Chris says. “The path started with a dream for skiing, then rowing and now equestrian. With the horses, it’s certainly a very complicated equation with so many layers, with lots of highs and lows and a huge team effort working towards the ultimate goal.”

Halliday and Cooley Nutcracker had the best dressage test from a U.S. rider since 2008. They recorded a score of 28. Watch the performance here.

The U.S. Olympic Eventing team finished in seventh overall of 16 teams competing.

Robert, Christopher and husband Dilan Bower-Desino ’18, and members of the Desino family had the opportunity to attend the Opening Ceremonies in Paris.  

As for bringing a horse from Florida to France, Christopher says it was a team effort years in the making. “It takes about 5-7 years from the time a horse starts to compete to realize a horses potential to have the talent to compete at the Olympic level. The Olympic team is comprised of three rider/horse combinations and is chosen from a group of U.S. selectors who analyze years of results,” he says. “This year we were very fortunate to have Nutcracker be named to the team along with two of our other horses, who were named as alternates.”

On Saturday, Sept. 28, Christopher and Robert returned to campus for a special dedication ceremony for Hobart and William Smith Sailing. The pair have generously sponsored a new boat for the team dedicated to their mother Angela Desino P'94.