Darren M. Chiacchia,

The Short List
2004 U.S. Olympic team member
2003 Pan American Games individual gold medal champion (Windfall II)
2002 World Equestrian Games U.S. team member
2000 U.S. Olympic equestrian team traveling alternate
2007 Pan American Games U.S. Equestrian representative
Did You Know?
Competition Horse: Windfall 2 (1992, Trakehner Stallion; owned by Tim Holekamp)
Chiacchia and Windfall 2 had their best season ever in 2003 when they won the Individual Gold medal in the Pan American Eventing title at Fair Hill
Has had consistent success over the years with top finishes at most prestigious U.S. events -- the Rolex Kentucky Event, the Fair Hill International and the Foxhall Cup
Rode internationally for the U.S. in the Eventing World Championships at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain and the 1995 European Open Championships in Pratoni, Italy
Three months before making his 2002 World Equestrian Games debut, Chiacchia broke both hips in the worst riding accident of his career during the cross-country portion of the Breaumont in Canada
Aided 2000 U.S. Olympic equestrian team as a traveling alternate
Operates Independence Farm, one of the country's top breeding, training and sales barns
Volunteers his expertise as the Chair of the USEA's Events Rating Task Force
Competing in the Olympics is a dream he has been striving towards since he was 14 years old
Better I Do It (14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding by Billion out of Concitia; Owned by Adrienne Iorio)
represented the U.S. at the 1995 Open European Championships in Italy with Fascination Street after a third place-finish in the CCI*** at Rolex Kentucky.
It's Every Day

Known as "the fitness guy" on the U.S. team, Chiacchia cross-trains to improve his fitness as a rider. His workout of choice is a spinning class on a bike, which he says is similar to riding a horse because one must keep the upper body relaxed while the legs are working. He also does the Stairmaster and Bikram yoga. -- NBCOlympics.com
Related Links

Darren splits his year between Springville, New York and Ocala, Florida. When not in the saddle, Darren coaches dozens of students, and away from horses he loves to be outdoors. He enjoys waterskiing, yoga, running and fishing.

Quote

"Sometimes the horse that makes the magazine covers isn't the one you learn the most from. From a teaching standpoint Fascination Street - he was my first team horse and I had my first big placings with him. He was a tough horse. R.G's Renegade was fabulous in a lot of ways and Windfall, he made me known as Windfall's rider. Just by the nature of who he is and being a black stallion he did a lot for the public side of my career. They have all contributed a lot. If my life was void of any of them I would be different".