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.

Lillie Keenan has represented the U.S. in international competitions including as part of Nations Cup teams at Bratislava (SLV) in 2014; Hickstead (GBR), Spruce Meadows (CAN), and the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona in 2016; Ocala, Dublin (IRE), and Spruce Meadows in 2017; Wellington and Sopot (POL) in 2018; the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona in 2021; and Rome (ITA), Wellington, Aachen (GER), and the ECCO FEI World Championships (DEN) in 2022. 

Keenan was a standout rider from the start, making headlines for sweeping all three divisions in the 2007 USEF Hunter Pony National Championship at age 10, and then repeated the feat the following year. In 2011, at age 14, she competed against professional athletes and bested the class to take the win in the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals. 

As an equitation rider, Keenan collected many of the sport’s top honors, including the inaugural Equitation Challenge at Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Show and the North American Junior Equitation Championship in 2012, The Excellence in Equitation Championship, the Equitation Classic, the USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals, and the ASPCA Maclay Finals in 2013. 

Keenan has been a competitive jumper from an early age. She won team gold at the North American Youth Championship in 2012 and 2013 and individual gold in 2013. In 2013, she rode Pumped Up Kicks to a win in the $125,000 Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson. Her versatility and success led her to earn the title of USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year that year. 

Keenan’s recent top results include a third-place finish in the 2022 CSI5* Paris Grand Prix with Queensland E, as well as a win in the 2021 $37,000 FEI Adequan WEF Challenge Round 1 CSI3* with Argana Van Het Gerendal Z. Keenan won the Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider Award at the first week of the WEF in 2020.  

Keenan graduated from Harvard University in 2019 with a degree in History of Science. She currently trains with McLain Ward. 

Alise Oken is an up-and-coming jumping athlete for the U.S. As a young rider, she competed in the FEI North American Youth Championships in 2010 and 2011, winning the young rider team silver medal in 2010.

Oken competed in her first senior Nations Cup in 2014 with Teirra in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup CSIO3* Lisbon (POR).

In 2018, Oken was a member of the U.S. Jumping Team with Hitchcock VD Broekkant that collected bronze in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup CSIO3* Lisbon (POR).

In 2023, Oken was a member of the winning U.S. Jumping Team in the EEF Nations Cup Uggerhalne (DEN) and won the Drammen Grand Prix (NOR) with Gelvera. Over the summer, the pair aided the NetJets^® U.S. Jumping Team to a third-place finish in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Sweden at the Falsterbo Horse Show. 

Oken and Gelvera began 2024 by competing on the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team for the inaugural leg of the Longines League of Nations Abu Dhabi CSIO5*-LLN (UAE), which earned a sixth-place finish against a talented field. 

Aaron Vale has numerous Grand Prix wins and represented the U.S. in Nations Cups and FEI World Cup™ Finals. 

In 2022, Vale rode Elusive in the FEI World Cup™ Finals in Leipzig, Germany, finishing in 20th place. Vale and Prescott won the $75,000 Lugano Diamonds Welcome CSI4*-W at Split Rock Fort Worth. 

In 2023, Vale began the year with three wins on I.Adermie R 4: the $40,000 1.45M CSI3* Speed and $40,000 1.45M CSI3* Two Phase Special at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) Ocala Winter Spectacular and the $55,000 CSI4* Longines Grand Prix Qualifier at Live Oak International. He racked up four wins over the summer at WEC Ocala with Cristo Beech, Elusive, and I.Adermie R 4. Vale closed out the year with a win aboard Carissimo 25 in the $226,000 BrainJuice Holiday II CSI4* Grand Prix presented by BrainJava. 

In 2024, Vale began the year by representing the NetJets^® U.S. Jumping Team at the Longines League of Nations™ Abu Dhabi CSIO5*-LLN with Carissimo 25. He rode Prescott to the win in the $100,000 MARS Equestrian Grand Prix CSI3* at WEC Ocala.

Vale manages Thinkslikeahorse, a full-service training facility in Williston, Fla., with quality jumpers, hunters, and equitation horses.