Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce two up-and-coming athletes have been nominated for this year’s 2023 FEI Awards, with Mimi Gochman (New York, N.Y.) and Christian Simonson (Ventura, Calif.) both nominated in the Longines FEI Rising Star category, designated for athletes aged 14 to 21 who demonstrate outstanding sporting talent and commitment.

Mimi Gochman (19) has been involved with equestrian sport since childhood and has steadily risen through the ranks in the jumping world, debuting at the CSI5* level in 2022 and competing on her first senior U.S. Jumping Team in 2023. Gochman has participated in the U.S. Jumping Pathway Program throughout her career, collecting top honors at the FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships, as well as at the USEF Junior Jumper National Championships, and competed abroad with the U.S. Jumping Development Team. In 2022, she competed on the gold-medal winning North American Team at the FEI Youth Equestrian Games at Aachen. She is currently fourth internationally in the FEI Jumping U25 Ranking List.

Christian Simonson (21) is a top dressage rider coming through the ranks in the United States under the guidance of Olympian Adrienne Lyle. Simonson competed on his first senior U.S. Dressage Team earlier in 2023 in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ USA CDIO3* in Wellington, Fla., and was recently named to the U.S. Dressage Team for the 2023 Pan American Games. He won individual and team gold at the 2021 FEI North American Youth Dressage Championships and is currently ranked fifth worldwide at the CDI1*/CDIO1* level and ranked seventh on the FEI Dressage World Youth Ranking List.

Voting for the FEI Awards closes on Sunday, October 22. Learn more about all of the finalists and cast your vote at fei.org/awards.