Kristen Petzold has always loved Arabians. Her first horse was an Arabian, and she credits that experience with introducing her to not only a remarkable breed, but a close-knit community that would shape her life.
“I’ve been so lucky to have so many horses of a lifetime, and I think partly due to the fact they’re all Arabians,” she said. “The bond you feel with an Arabian is something I haven’t experienced with any other breed of horse. Once I discovered how big the breed community was, I never wanted to leave.”
Over the years, Petzold built a successful career in the Arabian sport horse world, but one horse in particular would leave an unforgettable mark on her life and career: an Arabian mare named HS Diamond Dolly.
A Once in a Lifetime Partnership
HS Diamond Dolly (Nico x KA Julianna) entered Petzold’s life through an unlikely set of circumstances. "Dolly” had been given to a friend, and what began as a simple opportunity to help the horse quickly evolved into something much more meaningful.
During Dolly’s younger years, Petzold rode and developed the mare for her friend. Eventually she became a co-owner, and when fellow owner and Dolly’s rider, Kasey Bedard moved to the same barn, the pair worked together to bring Dolly up through the dressage FEI levels, ultimately reaching Grand Prix.
When Bedard later decided to take a step back from competitive riding, there was no question who to trust with Dolly’s dressage future.
“Kasey wanted her to go to someone who would protect her spirit,” Petzold said. “Dolly was so intelligent, funny, and had so much personality, and we both wanted to preserve that.”
For Petzold, the offer was both surprising and deeply meaningful.
“I was blown away,” she said. “I distinctly remember switching to dressage when I was 14. My dream was to ride Grand Prix, but I was adamant I was going to do it on a horse I had trained, and an Arabian at that too.”
Dolly was the perfect horse to make her dreams a reality.
Reaching the Top Together
Petzold and Dolly quickly became a standout combination in Arabian dressage competition.
The partnership led Petzold to earn her USDF gold medal in 2023 at the Arabian and Half-Arabian Sport Horse Nationals, a milestone many dressage riders spend years pursuing. The same year, they claimed the Grand Prix championship and added victories in the Intermediate II, Half-Arabian Show Hack ATR (Amateur To Ride), and musical freestyle. Their freestyle performance was voted the People’s Choice, which included music from the first and second Top Gun movies.
“It was the most incredible Nationals I’d ever experienced,” she said. “I remember thinking ‘What do I do now?’ It felt like there wasn’t anything we could do to top it.”
After such a successful season, they spent 2024 enjoying a well-earned break from competition. But that didn’t stop Petzold from spending time with her favorite mare.
“I’d wake up at six in the morning just to get on her bareback and go for a trail ride,” she said. “She reconnected me with the reason I fell in love with horses as a little girl in the first place.”
An Unexpected Goodbye
In 2025, Petzold faced a loss she never imagined would come so soon.
After years of partnership, friendship, and shared accomplishments, Diamond Dolly passed away unexpectedly.
“It was sudden and too soon,” Petzold said. “I had planned to show her for another couple of years because she was so healthy and doing great. It’s unfortunately just one of those things about owning horses, you never know when their time will come and you’re never truly prepared for it.”
The loss was devastating.
For the first time since she was eight, Petzold found herself without a horse to ride.
The transition forced her to confront a future that looked vastly different than the one she imagined.
Finding Hope in the Next Generation
Long before Dolly’s passing, Petzold had been investing in the future through her small breeding program, built around her champion stallion, VMA Khahpur Khopi++++\\.
“We’ve been breeding horses for more than 20 years,” she said. “We took a break for a while, but I eventually decided to breed two foals that could one day become my next riding horses.”
Those two foals became Kheckmate CL, known as “Luci,” and Kosmic Kreation CL, known as “Stella.”
The full sisters (VMA Khahpur Khopi++++\\ x Fatinaah) grew up alongside Dolly in a paddock, and Petzold sees reminders of the beloved mare in them every day.
“They have a lot of her quirks and do things I honestly think they learned from her,” she said. “Every so often I see flashes of her in them.”
Some similarities are surprisingly specific.
“Both of them eat their grain the same way Dolly did,” Petzold said. “Luci does this sideways head twisting thing when she wants attention, and it’s really funny because Dolly also used to do exactly the same thing.”
On the day that Petzold let Dolly go, a double rainbow showed up over her body.
“It’s especially wild that it was a double rainbow,” she said. “It was a sign to keep going with the two girls, almost as if she gave me her blessing.”
Coming a Full Circle
This year, Petzold will bring both fillies to the Arabian and Half Arabian Sport Horse Nationals, marking her return to competing following Dolly’s passing.
The moment feels especially significant.
“It feels like everything is coming in a full circle,” she said. “After losing Dolly, there was a period where I wasn’t sure I'd ever come back to horses. It’s hard to put into words what it means to venture back into breeding and the show ring after a big loss, but I'm so proud I was able to bring these two girls here.”
Looking ahead, she plans to continue developing both fillies with the goal of competing them under saddle, and perhaps one day, following Dolly’s hoofprints toward the Grand Prix arena.
“Dolly left such a lasting impact on who I am as a person, rider, and trainer,” Petzold said. “You never move on from a loss like this, but you can move forward. Grief is just a lot of love, and these two girls have truly kept my passion going. I’m not sure where I would be if I didn’t have them in the barn.”
Petzold has begun writing a new story with Luci and Stella, carrying with her pieces of the mare who came before them, ensuring Dolly’s legacy will continue for years to come.