About Kim

Kim Meier has been eventing at the Advanced level, and all the levels of the sport, for more than 30 years. She's a noted instructor and trainer, and is known for riding her own homebreds at the highest levels. Kim finished 10th at the 2004 Rolex Kentucky CCI****, the United States' most prestigious event, aboard a third-generation homebred, Test Run. She and Test Run went on to complete the 2004 Burghley CCI**** in England, one of the world's most difficult and prestigious events, that fall.

Photo Credit: Molly Sorge

Kim has brought six horses to the Advanced level. Four of them bred by Kim and broke by Kim as well. The first Advanced ride was the 15-hand Charisma, who Kim found as an unbroke 3-year-old for $350. The second was a homebred named Fairly Hyper, a half-Thoroughbred with a big heart who got halfway around two three-stars. Then there was CoPilot, an OTTB, who unfortunately had a tie-up problem, although enough scope to jump around multiple three-stars. Later on, out of Charisma came Chamikazi and Chobalt, who both won at the Advanced level and made it around three-stars (Chobalt completed four three-stars). Finally, Test Run, who was the great grandson of Charisma, got around two four-stars.

Kim has competed at the Advanced level on four different homebred horses. Chobalt, finished eighth in the 1997 Rolex Kentucky CCI***. She also competed Chamakazi, Chobalt's half-brother, at the three-star level. Test Run is the fourth horse Kim has bred, foaled, and trained to the Advanced level. Most of Kim’s homebred horses descend from Charisma, a diminutive, grade horse mare who Kim rode at the Advanced level for many years. Kim rode Charisma around the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day in the 1980s. Charisma was the great-grand-dam of Test Run, her 2004 Rolex CCI**** ride.

Kim is an extremely well respected and well-liked member of the eventing community. She's a horsewoman through and through, making her way as a professional with no outside sponsorship. She always claimed that the only way she could afford an upper-level horse was to breed one, which she did very successfully.

For more than 20 years, Kim ran Seven Hills Farm in Worton, Maryland. An active training facility, Seven Hills also hosted recognized events in the 1990s. Kim taught students, bred horses, trained horses, and entertained friends at Seven Hill. She married Marty Morani in 1986. They subsequently divorced in 2006, but have a daughter, Kelly, now 16.
Photo Credit: Michelle Dunn
Kelly is an active eventer and a C-2 rated Pony Clubber. She competed at the 2006 US Pony Clubs National Show Jumping Championships, on Kim’s old Advanced horse, Chobalt, now 17.

Kim’s farm was devastated in January of 2006 by an outbreak of the EHV-1, neurologic Equine Herpes virus. The disease was brought to the farm by a 2-year-old from the Pimlico (MD) track, and infected four of her home-bred horses, including Test Run. Test Run and a full sister of his survived, but Kim lost Test Pattern, another full sister to Test Run, who was a confirmed Preliminary level mount, and Ting, her daughter’s horse.

Test Run recovered from the EHV-1, and Kim rebuilt his strength carefully. He completed a few Intermediate level events in the fall of 2006, and in January of 2007, Kim traveled to Florida to train with Ralph Hill and compete in the aim of competing at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** again. She and Test Run completed the Ocala Horse Trials at Intermediate level, but a few days later, on Janaury 16, Kim fell from “Merle” while schooling over show jumps in a ring. She sustained damage to her C3 and C4 vertebrae, and was rendered a quadriplegic.

After a month in the Orlando Regional Medical Center, Kim was transferred to the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, NJ. There, she’s working hard to regain function and learn to adapt to her new condition. She has regained limited movement in her arms, with her left arm the strongest.