"Choosing between my horse Rocket or another horse, 007 (who has already won the Maclay), is a little difficult because they are both such nice horses and Rocket has been really good lately. We will just have to see what happens at regionals." -- Nikko

NIKKO RITTER, 17, is one of a handful of males to compete at the elite junior equitation level, and is one of the best junior riders in the country. At home in Florida, Nikko is the typical teenage boy, obsessed with food and video games. He attends a computer magnet school and plans to pursue computer science in college on the West Coast before he returns to Florida to run the family business, Seabreeze Farm. Nikko was born into a family of riders; in fact, his mother Wendy rode while she was pregnant with him! Nikko's mother and stepfather, Ezequiel, coach Nikko and make their living importing, training and selling horses from Argentina to their list of choice clients. Since horses are always being sold out from under him, Nikko never knows which horse he will be riding. For this year’s Maclay there are two contenders: a young horse from Argentina with a lot of heart called "Rocket Z," or "007" -- a horse that won the Maclay in 2002 -- on loan from a friend. Whichever horse he rides, Nikko’s 2-year-old sister, Katalina, and his older brother, Trevor, will be rooting for him.

Nikko's Video Diary
Find out how Nikko feels as he gets closer and closer to Maclay.

Meet the Trainers
Andre Dignelli
Frank Madden
Kim Prince
Kim Williams

Meet the Riders
Brianne
Chelsea
Lindsay
Maggie
Maria
Natalie

Interact!
Horse talk! Share horse tales here and talk about the show.