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. 

Davis, a Los Angeles, California native, started taking riding lessons at the age of five. She grew as a rider and was supported by her family, who had some equestrian background, as her grandfather, Robert Barron Frieze, was a jockey's agent, and her mother rode casually.

Her early riding career was with trainer Chacha Levinson at the Sullivan Canyon Preservation Association. She later moved to train with Archie Cox at Middle Ranch to compete in the hunters and equitation on the A and AA levels. During her time with Cox, Davis won many national championships in the equitation and hunters including World Champion Hunter Rider in 2007.

Davis's international competition debut took place at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC). In 2009, she was the Individual Silver medalist with True Love, and in 2010 was on the Zone 10 Gold Medal winning team.

In 2016, she was selected to compete on the US Olympic Show Jumping Team in Rio de Janiero. She was selected to compete with her top mount, Barron, whom she had competed with in Nations Cups, World Cup Finals, and the 2014 World Equestrian Games. She and Barron went on to secure the silver medal in the team competition and qualified for the individual final.

In 2024, Davis-Kennedy achieved significant results across various events, including multiple CSI and CSIO competitions. Notablly, helping secure first place for the U.S. Jumping Team in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Ireland in Dublin with Ben 431. The pair were then selected to represent the team again at the Longines League of Nations Jumping Final in Barcelona, Spain. She and Ben 431 have also had consistent top ten finishes in Grand Prix events, with a commendable third place at the CSI4* Grand Prix in Wellington, Fla.

In 2025, Davis-Kennedy and Ben 431 were named to the U.S. Jumping Team for the first leg of the 2025 Longines League of Nations hosted in Abu Dhabi. The pair finished just off the podium in fourth place in the Grand Prix and produced a strong round in team competition. 

As a junior rider, Spencer Smith competed at the FEI North American Youth Championships in 2012 and 2013 riding Skara Glen’s Voltan H and was the winner of the 2014 Pessoa/U.S. Hunter Seat Medal Finals. He competed as part of the winning U.S. Young Rider Team Nations Cup team riding IV Ever at WEF in 2015 where the pair also won the CSIOY Grand Prix.

Smith had a breakout year in 2018, representing the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team for the first time in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Rome CSIO5*. That same year he won the first major Grand Prix of his career in the $132,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI3* aboard his Selle Français gelding, Theodore Manciais. The pair went on to collect several more top placings in major international competition in 2018 and and 2019, including a win for the Massimo Dutti Trophy at the Global Champions League in Madrid. 

Spencer Smith represented the U.S. at the 2021 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final CSIO5* in Barcelona, Spain, with Quibelle, where the pair were in impressive form. Later that year, Smith and Theodore Manciais marked another CSI5* win, earning a victory at the GCT/GCL CSI5* competition Samorin, Slovakia.

In 2022, Smith started the year off strong, winning the $140,000 Southern Arches Grand Prix CSI3* at WEF aboard Ayade Hero Z. Smith was selected to the short list for the 2022 FEI Jumping World Championships and represented the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team at CHIO Aachen and the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Ireland CSIO5*.

After taking over the ride on Keeneland in 2024, the pair have become one of the most consistent combinations for the U.S. Jumping Team representing the United States in the 2024 FEI Longines League of Nations St. Gallen CSIO5*, FEI Jumping Nations Cup Dublin CSIO5*, and the FEI Longines League of Nations Jumping Final CSIO5* in Barcelona, Spain. In Dublin, the duo's double clear helped push the U.S. to the top of the podium against an incredibly competitive field. 

Smith’s parents own and operate Ashland Farms, a hunter, jumper, and equitation stable with locations in Lexington, Ky., and Wellington, Fla.

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. 

McLain Ward was introduced to riding before he could walk and has a competitive prowess that only continues to increase with age. In 1990, Ward became the youngest rider ever to win both the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Medal Finals and the USET Talent Derby at age 14. After turning pro, he quickly became the youngest rider to reach the $1 million mark in earnings in 1999, at the age of 24.

Ward is a six-time Olympian, including as a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. teams in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 with his longtime mount, Sapphire. With HH Azur, he was part of the U.S. team that took silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ward was also a team silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games riding Contagious and most recently earned team silver once again, this time aboard Ilex at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

He was a member of the gold-medal winning NetJets^® U.S. Jumping Team for the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 riding Clinta, WEG Normandy 2014 team bronze medalist with Rothchild, and WEG Aachen 2006 team silver medalist with Sapphire. As a Pan American Games athlete, Ward was a part of the gold-medal team in Guadalajara 2011 riding Antares F and won individual gold and team bronze in Toronto 2015 riding Rothchild.

In 2009, Ward rode Sapphire to his first-ever podium finish at the FEI Jumping World Cup Final, finishing in second place. In 2017, he finished the job, winning the FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Omaha with HH Azur.

Ward continued with a strong showing during the 2022 season securing two wins riding Contagious in the Turkish Airlines – CHIO Aachen CSIO5* Grand Prix as well as the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia – Aachen CHIO CSIO5* Grand Prix.

Ward was a member of the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team at the 2022 ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark, with Contagious. He closed out the year by winning the Rolex Grand Prix at CHI Geneva with HH Azur.

In 2023, Ward won the Rolex Grand Prix at The Dutch Masters with HH Azur. At the San Juan Capistrano CSIO5*, Ward helped the U.S. team win the FEI Jumping Nations Cup of USA with Contagious, Grand Prix of the United States with Kasper van het Hellehof, and Winning Round with First Lady. He was named to the U.S. Jumping Team for the 2023 Pan American Games to help the team secure their Paris 2024 qualification. Ward rode his longtime mount, Contagious, helping the team finish with gold and also earning an individual bronze medal. 

With the pressure of the 2024 Olympics mounting, Ward added a new mount to his string, bringing Ilex on board as a potential Olympic mount, alongside his veteran horse, Callas. Ward and Callas earned a second place finish in one of their first starts in a CSI5* Grand Prix of 2023, while both horses were strong for the U.S. Jumping Team, with Ward and Ilex bringing earning the team's only double-clear in their team debut at the Wellington CSIO4* and a strong showing for Callas at the Longines League of Nations CSIO5* in Ocala, Fla. Ward finished the winter season with a second place in the Rolex Grand Prix CSI5* in Wellington, Fla. with Ilex before heading to Europe as part of the U.S. Jumping Team Short List for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

Ward earned top finishes with both Callas and Ilex during their European Tour, which was capped by team selection with Ilex to represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games. The pair also earned an impressive second-place finish in the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen, considered to be one of the most difficult Grand Prix classes in the world. 

Ward and Ilex were competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where they earned a Silver Medal in the Team Finals with teammates Laura Kraut and Karl Cook. 

Ward’s home base is in upstate New York where he lives with his wife, Lauren, who is an avid competitor in the amateur divisions. They have two young daughters named Lilly and Madison.