The jumping community always knew Robert Ridland as a great rider, but now they also see him as the brilliant, strategic mind guiding the U.S. Jumping Team to unprecedented success. Ridland brings several decades of international experience, both as a rider and coach, to the Chef d'Equipe position.

As an athlete, Ridland 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.

Ridland's vast experience as an international course designer helped shaped his analytical approach to the sport. He won the Course Designer of the Year Award twice while building the courses for the U.S. Olympic Trials and numerous international competitions. As an international official, he was the only American to have served as the FEI Technical Delegate for four FEI World Cup Finals. As a television commentator, he worked for many years as the color analyst for ESPN and CBS, as well as two stints for NBC at the Barcelona and Athens Olympic Games.

Since being named the U.S. Jumping Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor in 2013, Ridland has led the U.S. team to team bronze medals at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and team gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C. Under his guidance the team has medaled at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, 2019 Lima Pan American Games, and most recently secured team gold at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. The U.S. Jumping Team has earned three consecutive team silver medals in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

Karl Cook began riding at eight alongside his mother, Signe, and sister, Annie Laurie. What soon followed was a lifelong passion for horses. Between 2007 and 2009, Cook’s trajectory was that of a successful Junior/Young Rider competing in the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) for three consecutive years, winning team and individual gold in 2007 and team and individual silver in 2008.

Based out of Pomponio Ranch South in Rancho Santa Fe, California, Cook has continued to produce top results throughout his professional career with the help of coach and mentor Eric Navet (France), competing in three FEI World Cup® Finals and multiple NetJets® U.S. Jumping Teams including at the 2023 FEI Nations Cup® Final in Barcelona. Ranking among Cook’s most notable Grand Prix wins are Hampton Classic 2022, American Gold Cup, $1 Million Coachella Cup, Major League Show Jumping Top Individual Rider in 2023, CSI5* Rolex Grand Prix of Rome in 2024, and winning Silver for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2024 season has been a strong showing for Cook and his string. With Caracole de la Roque, Cook took second in the prestigious Rolex Grand Prix in Wellington, Fla., before being named to the U.S. Jumping Team Short List for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The duo were strong in their Nations Cup competitions, and exceled in each of their Grand Prix classes, securing top honors in the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome CSIO5* in May and earning a second-place finish at the Rolex Grand Prix of La Baule CSIO5* in June. 

Cook and Caracole de la Roque were selected as the alternate athlete combination for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The pair ultimately competed on the team and helped secure the Team Silver Medal alongside teammates Laura Kraut and Mclain Ward.

Kent Farrington’s roots in equestrian sport were seeded in Chicago, Illinois, where he began riding at the age of eight. He quickly made his mark, ascending through the junior ranks before turning professional in 2000. He has since gone on to represent the United States at numerous international championships, including as part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the bronze medal-winning team at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, both with the KWPN gelding Voyeur.

In 2011, Farrington and Uceko represented the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, where the team won gold. In 2015, he rode Gazelle as part of the bronze medal-winning team at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

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. In 2020, Farrington brought home numerous victories, including a top finish aboard Gazelle in the coveted $213,300 American Gold Cup Grand Prix CSI4*, besting a competitive jump-off of 15 combinations. At the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Fla., Farrington set the tone early with a win in the $214,000 Marshall & Sterling/Great American Insurance Grand Prix CSI4* aboard longtime mount Creedance. He was named USEF’s International Equestrian of the Year for 2020.

Farrington’s early 2021 results included wins in the $137,000 NetJets Grand Prix CSI3* at WEF 3 with Austria 2, the $73,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI5* with Creedance, and the $25,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Spring 4 Grand Prix with Kaprice. Over the summer, Farrington competed Gazelle as an individual at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Next, he scored several wins with Austria 2, Gazelle, and Orafina at Spruce Meadows. Farrington and Gazelle won the $213,300 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington CSI4*-W at the National Horse Show. Farrington then partnered with Creedance to win the Trophée de Genève at CHI Geneva to close out the year.

Farrington began 2022 with a win in the $75,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Championship CSI5* on Easy Girl during week five of WEF. He and Orafina won the $75,000 Adequan WEF Challenge Round IX CSI5* during week nine of WEF. The pair scored another win $140,000 Bainbridge Companies Grand Prix CSI3* during week two of the ESP Spring Series. Farrington traveled to Thunderbird as part of the NetJets^® U.S. Jumping Team, riding Landon in the Nations Cup and winning the $186,900 Longines Grand Prix CSIO5* with Orafina. Heading to Spruce Meadows, Farrington and Orafina tallied three separate wins. The pair won again at Ottawa in the $215,000 RBC Grand Prix CSI5*. Farrington and Orafina continued their winning ways taking the $139,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI3* in Tryon and the $74,200 CWD Jump-Off Challenge CSI5* in California.

In 2023, Farrington won the CHF140,000 Florida Coast Equipment CIS3* Grand Prix with Landon during week two of WEF. He partnered with Orafina to win the $226,000 Adequan^® Grand Prix CSI4* at Desert Circuit IV on the West Coast. Back on the East Coast, Farrington and Toulayna $226,000 Horseware Ireland CSI4* Grand Prix during week 10 of WEF. Farrington partnered with Landon to take first in the Grand Prix and help the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team win gold in the 2023 FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Mexico at San Miguel de Allende CSIO5*. The pair were members of the U.S. team again and helped secure bronze at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Canada at CSIO5* Langley. Farrington earned CSI5* wins at Spruce Meadows with Creedance, Landon, and Toulayna. He rode Toulayna and Creedance to a one-two finish in the $145,000 CSI3* Grand Prix of Michigan at Traverse City Horse Shows as well as earning CSI3* and CSI5* wins with Creedance in the following weeks. Farrington tallied another win with Toulayna in the CSI5* Kubota Grand Prix at Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) Toronto.

Farrington made his third Pan Ameircan Games appearance in Santiago, Chile, earning team gold and individual silver with Landon. Back in North America, he took top prize in the $38,500 Strength and Speed Challenge and the $80,000 1.50m International Speed Challenge with Creedance at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Farrington closed out 2023 with a win in the Trophée de Genève with Toulayna at CHI Geneva. 

Farrington began 2024 with wins in the $62,500 Adequan® CSI4* WEF Challenge Cup with Landon and $116,100 Adequan® CSI5* WEF Challenge Cup CSI 5* with Toulayna during weeks 4 and 5 at the WEF. He debuted both Greya and Toulayna at the championship level in 2024, securing a fourth-place finish with Greya at the 2024 FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The pair were named to the U.S. Jumping Short List for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The duo were strong in their showing for the team, earning top honors in the Rolex Grand Prix of La Baule CSIO5* in June to secure their nomination to the team. 

Farrington and Greya travelled to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where, due to an unforseen circumstance, they were unable to compete.

Charlotte Jacobs has been a up-and-coming talent within the U.S. Jumping pathway since her junior years. Jacobs attended the FEI North American Youth Championships from 2011-2013, earning team silver, and team gold, alongside an individual bronze in 2012 in the junior division, as well as collecting an individual silver in the young rider division in 2013. 

In 2022, Jacobs made her Nations Cup debut for U.S. Jumping in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Lisbon CSIO3* in Portugal and FEI Jumping Nations Cup Madrid CSIO3* in Spain with Edocenta.

In 2023, Jacobs was called up to her first senior team, helping the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team finish third in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Canada CSIO5* with Edocenta. Aboard Rincoola Milsean, Jacobs fininshed second in the $145,100 Meijer CSI3* Grand Prix during week one of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.

The 2024 competition year proved to be a breakout season for Jacobs, who won the $35,000 Welcome Speed Cup CSI4* and placed third in the $225,000 Kentucky Invitational Grand Prix CSI4* with Rincoola Milsean. The duo went on to win the $200,000 CSI5* MLSJ Team Competition and the Odlum Brown Grand Prix 1.50m CSI4* in Vancover, B.C just a few months later. Jacobs and Rincoola Milsean notched another win in the $120,000 Agero Grand Prix 1.50m CSI3* in Traverse City, Mich.