Darren Chiacchia (born September 18, 1964 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

) is an American equestrian. He won a bronze medal in team

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, together with

Kimberly Severson Kimberly "Kim" Severson (born August 22, 1973, in Tucson, Arizona) is a highly successful international equestrian. She took several years of dressage lessons before training in eventing, and began with a background in Pony Club. One ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, Amy Tryon and Julie Richards. He also competed in individual eventing, placing 12th. Chiacchia gained national attention in 2008 when he was thrown from a horse resulting in him being in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

, the incident sparked debate about the safety of being an equestrian. He made headlines again in 2010 when a former sex partner whom he dated from February to June in 2009, filed charges and Chiacchia was arrested on felony charges for allegedly exposing the man to the

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

virus, the charges were dismissed as intercourse was defined as only being able to occur between a man and a woman. The case renewed discussion about laws that may discourage people for getting tested for the virus, which can lie dormant for many years. The felony charge against Chiacchia was reinstated in 2013 after the Florida 5th District Court of Appeal reversed the lower court's decision. The felony HIV-related charge was dropped against Chiacchia in February 2017. The prosecution in Marion County entered a nolle prosequi.Florida Drops Darren Chiacchia Felony Case
/ref> Chiacchia owns and operates Independence Farm, full-service breeding, training, and sales barn located in Western New York. He volunteers his expertise as the Chair of the USEA's Events Rating Task Force.

Major Accomplishments

* 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

Horses

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.

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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiacchia, Darren 1964 births Living people American male equestrians American LGBT sportspeople LGBT equestrians Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in equestrian LGBT people from New York (state) Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Equestrians at the 2003 Pan American Games Equestrians at the 2007 Pan American Games Gay sportsmen Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century LGBT people