Chef

Robert Ridland

Hometown: Irvine, Calif. Birthday: 11/7/1950 Sport/Disciplines: Jumping

The show jumping community always knew Robert Ridland as a great rider, but now they also see him as the brilliant, strategic mind guiding the NetJets Show Jumping team to unprecedented success. Ridland brings several decades of international experience to the U.S. Show Jumping. As an athlete he competed in the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games and won several grand prix competitions throughout his riding career. Ridland has been extensively involved in the governance of the sport, including several terms as a board member of US Equestrian and the United States Equestrian Team Foundation.


Team Leader

Lizzy Chesson

Hometown: Gladstone, N.J. Birthday: 4/3/1977 Sport/Disciplines: Jumping

Lizzy Chesson has been deeply rooted in international equestrian sports for many years. As a groom for her mother, she was part of two World Championship Driving teams. At the age of 22, Chesson was selected to drive a pair of horses in the World Pair Championship in Hungary. Chesson is a graduate of Columbia University where earned a degree in Art History. She began working for US Equestrian in 2006, first in the Show Jumping department as an assistant to then Managing Director Sally Ike. She was then promoted to Managing Director of Jumping in 2013.


Competitor

Kent Farrington

Hometown: Wellington, Fla Birthday: 12/28/1980 Sport/Disciplines: Jumping Olympic Years: 2016, 2020, 2024

Kent Farrington has represented the United States at numerous international championships, including the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, 2015 Toronto Pan American Games, 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and 2011 Guadalajara Pan American Games. In 2019, he became the first U.S. rider to win the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen and the International Jumping Riders Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva in the same year. Farrington was named the 2020 USEF International Equestrian of the Year. Farrington was named to the U.S. Jumping Short List for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games with three horses. Aboard Greya, the duo were strong in their showing for the team, earning top honors in the Rolex Grand Prix of La Baule CSIO5* in June, adding to their fourth-place finish at the FEI Jumping World Cup Finals earlier in the spring.

 

Gazelle

Nickname: G-Mama/G-Unit Owner: Robin Cleary Parsky & Kent Farrington Groom: Denise Moriarty Gender: Mare Breed: Belgian Warmblood Disciplines: Jumping Sire: Kashmir van Shuttershof Dam: Diva 'Ter Elsen' Foal Date: 4/9/2006

Gazelle is one of the most renowned jumping mares in the world with Kent Farrington aboard in the irons. The pair have won more than 30 competitions together at the international level including the prestigious ROLEX Grand Prix of Aachen in 2019 and the ROLEX Grand Prix of Geneva in 2017. The pair represented the U.S. Jumping Team as part of the bronze-medal winning team at the Pan American Games Toronto 2015.


Competitor

Laura Kraut

Hometown: Royal Palm Beach, Fla. Birthday: 11/14/1965 Sport/Disciplines: Jumping Olympic Years: 1992 (alternate), 2000, 2008, 2020, 2024

Laura Kraut is a four-time Olympian, including a team gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games and a team silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games. She was a member of the gold-medal winning NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team for the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018, as well as a WEG Lexington 2010 team member, and WEG Aachen 2006 team silver medalist. Kraut has been a member of numerous medal-winning FEI Nations Cup teams, including a member of the historic first all-women’s FEI Nations Cup CSIO5* Dublin gold-medal winning team and recipient of the Aga Khan Trophy in 2017. More recently, Kraut helped the team earn gold at the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games, where she finished fourth individually with Dorado 212. She was selected to represent the U.S. Jumping Team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, with Baloutinue.

 

Baloutinue

Nickname: Balou Owner: St. Bride's Farm Groom: Margo Thomas Gender: Gelding Breed: Hanoverian Disciplines: Jumping Sire: Balou du Rouet Dam: Utika Foal Date: 4/5/2010

Baloutinue is a veteran mount for U.S. Jumping Team stalwart Laura Kraut. The duo were members of the silver-medal winning team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and went on to help the team take top honors in the prestigious Nations Cup of Aachen CSIO5* just a few weeks later. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be their second Olympics together as a partnership and will be the team's most senior and experienced combination.


Competitor

Jessica Springsteen

Hometown: Colts Neck, N.J. Birthday: 12/30/1991 Sport/Disciplines: Jumping Olympic Years: 2020

Jessica Springsteen was a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. Jumping Team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She amassed numerous top results in her successful youth career, capturing the young rider team silver medal and the young rider individual bronze medal at the 2010 North American Youth Championships, along with a win at the 2008 ASPCA Maclay Finals. In recent years, she has been selected to several Nations Cup teams, including the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Wellington CSIO4* and CHIO Aachen teams in 2021 and the FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Knokke Hippique in 2022.

 

Don Juan van de Donkhoeve

Nickname: Don/Donald Owner: Stone Hill Farm Groom: Josie Eliasson Gender: Stallion Breed: Belgian Warmblood Disciplines: Jumping Sire: Bamako de Muze Dam: Diva van de Donkhoeve Foal Date: 5/22/2009

Acquired by Stone Hill Farm in 2019, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve is a talented stallion who has competed successfully through the FEI CSI5* level. With Springsteen in the irons, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve has become a major contributor as part of the U.S. Jumping Team, competing in the Jumping Nations Cup Wellington CSIO4* and the Jumping Nations Cup of Rome CSIO5* with stellar results. The pair debuted at the CSI5* level in 2019 shortly after their partnership began and have had tremendous success. Most recently the pair placed third in the ROLEX Grand Prix of Rome CSIO5*.


Competitor

McLain Ward

Hometown: Brewster, N.Y. Birthday: 10/17/1975 Sport/Disciplines: Jumping Olympic Years: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024

McLain Ward is a five-time Olympian, including a team silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as team gold medalist at the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games. He was also a member of the gold-medal winning NetJets U.S. Jumping Team for the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018, as well as a WEG Normandy 2014 team bronze medalist, and WEG Aachen 2006 team silver medalist. Ward is a Pan American Games Toronto 2015 individual gold and team bronze medalist as well as Guadalajara 2011 team gold medalist. In 2017, he was the champion at the FEI World Cup Jumping Final. In 2022, he was the winner of the Turkish Airlines – CHIO Aachen CSIO5* Grand Prix and the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia – Aachen CHIO CSIO5* Grand Prix riding Contagious. In 2023, Ward helped the U.S. Jumping Team earn team qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games aboard Contagious, where they secured team gold and individual bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Ward debuted both Callas and Ilex as potential horses for team selection ahead of the Olympics, with his sixth straight selection coming in July, confirming Ilex his mount for Paris 2024.

 

Contagious

Nickname: Poussin Owner: Beechwood Stables LLC Groom: Virginie Casterman Gender: Gelding Breed: Deutches Sportpferd Disciplines: Jumping Sire: Contagio Dam: For Mary Foal Date: 3/28/2009

Contagious was part of the silver-medal winning U.S. Jumping Team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, ridden by McLain Ward. Ward began his partnership with Contagious in the fall of 2018, taking the reins from Reed Kessler. Kessler and Contagious competed extensively throughout Europe during their partnership with much success, and Contagious did not miss a beat when transitioning to Ward's stable. The duo racked up numerous top results, including wins in FEI CSI3*/4*/5* competition across the world, highlighted by wins at the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Turkish Airlines-Prize of Europe at CHIO Aachen in 2022.