Nice people have been an inspiration in Justin Flach’s equestrian odyssey since day one. That’s when a bunch of 7- and 8-year-olds welcomed him to their up-down lessons several years ago. “Their open, welcoming attitude toward me – even though I was this out-of-place 30-year-old man – has been sort of a through line for me,” says Justin.
The Area VI Beginner Novice Champion in 2023 and 2025, Justin has come a long way in his horsemanship since then and his appreciation for the sport’s supportive culture has only grown.
He began riding at the insistence of his wife, lifelong equestrian Margreta “Meg” Flach. “We decided to take a weeklong riding trip on the Southern coast of Spain,” Justin explains. “Having seen me too scared to trot on an earlier trail ride, she put me in those classes.”
A Beach Ride Beckons
Seven months later, Justin displayed very different emotions galloping on the beach in Spain. “Meg knew at that point that I was not going to stop riding when we got home. From the joy she saw on my face while we were galloping, she knew it was not something I was doing just because she asked me to.”
Justin continued with lessons in the St. Louis area where he and Meg lived at the time. That progressed to buying his first horse and competing in small shows on the hunter/jumper circuit. “My wife had the rule that I had to learn to ride hunters before jumpers,” he shares. “She insisted I learn to ride quietly and precisely before taking on the tight turns and angles in the jumper ring.”
The eventing bug bit Justin when he and Meg attended the Kentucky Three Day event in Lexington. “I dreamed of doing something akin to that someday – not at that level, of course!”
In 2018, the Flachs moved to San Diego when Justin, a lawyer, took a new position with U.S. Bank’s Ascent Private Capital Wealth Management division. Southern California’s ample equestrian opportunities were an eye opener compared to Missouri’s.
He competed in San Diego County hunter/jumper circuit shows until 2021 when he had the opportunity to lease an eventing schoolmaster. Then the Sun Series weekends at Copper Meadows in Ramona caught Justin’s attention. Organized by eventer Taren Hoffos and her family, these included a cross-count clinic on Saturday and three-phase horse trial on Sunday. “I had the same feeling I got while galloping on the beach in Spain,” Justin explains. “And that changed what we were looking for in my next horse.”
Hard Lessons
Enter Aracelli, “Ari,” his partner in the 2023 Beginner Novice Area VI Championships. “She has been an interesting horse for me to ride,” he shares. Their successes highlighted a zig-zagging learning curve together.
“A hard lesson she taught me – and one I wish I had noticed earlier – is that she does not love jumping,” Justin says. “She would try really hard for me, because I was her person, but we were having a lot of struggles. It was unclear what was causing the difficulty. Was I, as a rider, not knowing enough to coach her through the experience?”
Ari’s discomfort with jumping was exacerbated by being “a magnet for being charged by loose horses.” That happened at competitions with freakish frequency and the mare’s anxieties around jumping – on cross country or show jumping – increased. Whatever their cause, Justin determined that Ari was “telling us ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’”
A nasty fall while schooling for cross-country in February of 2025 was the final straw needed to “put Ari in a better situation.”
Happily, the mare is happy doing dressage, and it made sense for Meg to take over as her main rider. Justin competed Ari successfully competed through 2nd Level, while Meg and Ari have earned great scores at 3rd Level and are dabbling with 4th Level movements.
Justin and Meg now have five horses between then, including two youngsters and a retiree. “We always try to do what’s best for the horse. I know I am very lucky that my wife could provide Ari another career,” Justin says.
Even before the February fall, Justin and his team had decided that a horse more suited to the sport was needed to progress. He started riding with Bonsall-based professional, Olivia Putrino, the prior year and entrusted her with sourcing his next ride.
A Confident Course
Olivia found V Power AF Z, “Theo,” at Kelly Prather’s program in Ocala, Florida. On trying the now 9-yaer-old Zangersheide gelding, Justin initially preferred another horse he’d ridden. “While trying Theo, I was having a heck of a time keeping my stirrups, so I eventually kicked my feet out of both stirrups and continued.” His confidence without irons on an unfamiliar horse had Olivia and Meg telling him he’d found the right match. “I listened to them because they have way more experience than I do.”
The Flachs bought Theo in July of 2025. Two months later, that no-stirrup epiphany proved fortuitous when the safety arm on one of Justin’s stirrups broke mid-way around a cross-country track. He completed the course successfully and enjoyed a “told you so” text from Kelly Prather confirming that “Theo was the right horse for me at the right moment.”
Justin’s progress was underway even before Theo arrived. First, he took Meg’s advice to focus on enjoying the experience of competing, rather than on the outcome. That set the stage for a “reframing of goals” in early 2025. “My goals were not about getting to this level or winning that show. Instead, I set goals around how I can improve as a rider, be more relaxed and be a better partner to my horse.
“If I could do that, I knew that everything else would take care of itself.”
Serious Fun
Like most of his fellow amateur competitors, Justin juggles riding with a career that makes paying the horse bills possible. He and Meg have always favored a busy life. In St. Louis, Justin’s hobbies including playing in a band, playing hockey and helping a friend coach a high school lacrosse team. The couple started from scratch with hobbies and social connections when they moved to San Diego and horses easily filled up their free time.
Meg, a former teacher, now rides and cares for their horses full time, while Justin views riding as a second job. That means riding in the early mornings or evenings three to five times a week and typically competing once or twice a month – between his eventing and Meg’s dressage shows. “I love it and I’m committed to it.”
Friends often ask how the Flachs handle both being fully immersed in the same activity. “We probably talk about horses all the time, but there is also boundary setting involved. We know how to support each other and help each other, and I could not ride without Meg’s help.”
Eventing’s unique community also contributes to Justin’s progress and – equally important – to his enjoyment of the process.
“The social aspect of the sport is a key component in keeping me grounded at shows,” Justin explains. “The culture of horse sports is very inclusive and everyone wants you to be successful. I may notice this more because I’m pretty social and I’m easily recognizable at shows because there’s not a lot of adult amateur male competitors. But I see that other riders are out there supporting and encouraging everybody. It makes it a lot easier to see the small successes turn into big ones when you have so many people behind you wanting you to do well.”
