Christian Meriwether Kennedy

Christian Meriwether Kennedy died on the evening of Saturday, November 25, 2017. He was killed as a passenger in a car crash in Wellington, Florida. He was 21. Born on April 3, 1996, in Washington, D.C., Christian spent his early childhood in Silver Spring, and then in Baltimore, Maryland, and from the age of six in Iowa City, Iowa. Living close to Ralston Creek, Christian and his friends ran wild, playing night games and kick the can, elaborate sword fights, and making home movies. He also enjoyed kayaking with his father in the waters of the Potomac River. Christian grew up in the era of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies and the latter, in particular, informed his imagination, games, and hobbies. He attended Longfellow Elementary School from 1st grade, graduating from Iowa City High School in the class of 2014. As a four year old, he took cello lessons at Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore and at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City. He was a member of school orchestras in Iowa City from 4th grade onwards. He learned guitar for several years and participated in high school Robotix team competitions. He was a devoted big brother to Alexander, eight years his junior, and passed on his joie de vivre and wily sense of humor. Christian took his first lesson as a hunter-jumper at the age of nine. From that moment there was no turning back. He learned from the start that horsemanship meant much more than simply riding. In the words of Eric Dierks, his obvious compassion towards horses marked him out. Inevitably Christian was tall enough to ride, and then to own Fortune B (Fletcher), a young Belgian warmblood; they learned from and taught each other from that moment on. He was a perfectly balanced rider with an enviable temperament and physique. Over the years he shifted his focus from hunter-jumpers to eventing, before a recognition of his own strengths and interests drew him to dressage. Christian trained with Bill Coester in Iowa City; with Eric Dierks and Trayce Doubek in Tryon, North Carolina; with Ilse Schwartz; and finally with Oded Shimoni, both in Wellington. He attended clinics with Cindy Ishoy, Ralph Hill, and Jaime Price, and worked extensively with Susan Coester, Ellen de Cicco, and Hannah Jungling. In early 2017 he was awarded one of four national scholarships to study with Robert Dover, Chef d'Equipe of the United States Olympic Dressage Team. His friends and family remember his positivity and cheerfulness, his sense of humor, his work ethic. But among these, all people who saw him work with horses describe the unusual connection he manifested. His last trainers, Oded Shimoni and Nataly Leibovitz observed that he had an energy about him to which horses immediately responded. Christian was a particularly attentive son, brother and friend. He was compassionate to all. He was a mentor to his peers and to his elders alike. Christian is survived by his mother, Anne Baber Wallis, his step-father Matthew Edward Clifford Wallis, and his brother, Alexander William Edward Wallis; by his father, Charles Whitney Kennedy, his step-mother Brenna Maloney, and his brothers Liam and Devin Kennedy; his uncle William Wilmer Baber, III, aunt Hiroko Matsushita-Baber, and his cousins Romi and Maya Baber; and by his grandparents, William and Margaret Baber, and Mary Kennedy. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Dressage4Kids (dressage4kids.org) directly in his name or by contacting Lendon Gray (graydressage@gmail.com) or Anne Wallis (anne.wallis@louisville.edu). Funds will focus on two key issues: improving access to the sport for young riders with extraordinary talent but without extraordinary financial means; and developing solutions to minimize the loss to the sport, to the community, to their families and to humanity in general of young people in unnecessary and eminently preventable car crashes. Christian Kennedy's funeral took place at Nan's Cottage, Cartersville, Virginia on Saturday December 9, and his ashes were committed in the Baber section of the Cartersville cemetery.