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. 

Natalie Dean started riding horses at a young age and quickly decided to focus her career in the jumping ring. She competed at three FEI North American Youth Championships, winning team bronze in 2017, team silver in 2018, and team silver and individual bronze in 2019. Dean and Don's Diamant were members of the U.S. Young Rider Team who earned gold in the 2019 FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Youth Final CSIOY in Opglabbeek, Belgium.

In 2021, Dean made her debut with the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team at the Spruce Meadows BMO Nations Cup CSIO5*, riding Chance Ste Hermelle and helping the team to a second-place finish. 

The following year, Dean rode Chance Ste Hermelle in the $150,000 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Wellington CSIO4*, helping the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team to a third-place finish.

In 2023, Dean again competed on the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team in the $150,000 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Wellington CSIO4*, helping the team to a fifth-place finish while riding Acota M. Dean competed in her first FEI World Cup™ Finals in Omaha, Neb., riding rising star Acota M. Dean continued to build an impressive string of top FEI mounts, earning top finishes around the world.

The 2024 season proved to be a successful year for Dean. She started the year off strong with a win in the $31,020 BrainJuice U25 Grand Prix on Dotcom D'Authuit, followed by a win in the $62,500 FEI Hermès 1.50m CSI4* Grand Prix oboard Oasis van de Bucxtale. With top finishes in many of the major CSI5* Grand Prix classes in Wellington, Dean and Acota M were selected to the U.S. Jumping Team Olympic Short List for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Dean and Acota M represented the U.S. Jumping Team at CHIO Aachen, where she also notched a top placing with Acota M in the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia, and rode for the team in the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup. She finished the year with a win in the $2000,000 MLSL FEI 5* Team Competiton in Thermal, Calif. 

Alessandra "Alex" Volpi has quickly risen to the top levels of jumping's international stage. She competed at the FEI North American Youth Championships in 2019 and 2021 with Foster 39, earning young rider team silver in 2019. Volpi was a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. Jumping Young Rider Team with Taiwan du Landey at the Palm Beach Masters CSIOY. In 2022, Volpi made her U.S. senior debut competing with Berlinda in the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Leipzig, Germany. 

In 2023, Volpi was a member of the winning U.S. Jumping Team in the EEF Nations Cup Uggerhalne with Berlinda, the third-placed team in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Sweden CSIO5* with Berlinda, and was third in the Drammen Grand Prix with Haya Loma N.