Reed Kessler

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Reed Kessler
2013 Longines Global Champions - Lausanne - 14-09-2013 - Reed Kessler et Soraya de l'Obstination 2.jpg
Reed Kessler and Soraya de l'Obstination
Personal information
Discipline Show Jumping
BornJuly 9, 1994 (1994-07-09) (age 30)
Armonk, New York, U.S. [1]
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight119 lb (54 kg; 8 st 7 lb)

Reed Catherine Kessler (born July 9, 1994) is a former American show jumping competitor previously based in Europe. [2] At 18 years old, Kessler qualified for the 2012 London Olympics, [3] becoming at the time, the youngest rider to compete in show jumping at the Olympic Games. [4] In 2013, she won the Longines Rising Star Award after winning the 2012 USEF National Jumping title and won the 2013 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Spruce Meadows. [5]

Personal life

She is the daughter of Murray Kessler, President of the United States Equestrian Federation and CEO of Lorillard Tobacco Company. [6] [7]

After competing in the Olympics, she continued showjumping, [8] [9] later pursuing studies at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. [10] She received a Master’s degree in International Security Policy, Conflict Resolution, and Russia and the Post-Soviet States. [11] [12]

Kessler's last international showjumping competition was in 2018. [13] Kessler now works for the Ronald Reagan Institute. [12]

Related Research Articles

Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are limited exclusively to jumpers. Sometimes jumper classes are offered in conjunction with other English-style events. Sometimes, show jumping is but one division of a very large, all-breed competition that includes a very wide variety of disciplines. Jumping classes may be governed by various national horse show sanctioning organizations, such as the United States Equestrian Federation or the British Showjumping Association. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse show</span> A judged exhibition of horses

A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships in a given discipline or breed. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Equestrian Federation</span> Governing body for equestrian sports

The United States Equestrian Federation is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It also recruits, trains, and governs American teams in international equestrian competition at the Olympics and other competitions governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).

Anne Kindig Kursinski is an American showjumper and two-time Olympic silver medalist in team jumping, at Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996. Representing the United States, she was a member of five Olympic teams, forty-seven Nations Cup teams, and three World Equestrian Games teams. In 2017, she was inducted into the Showjumping Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beezie Madden</span> American equestrian

Elizabeth Madden is an American Olympic champion equestrian competing in show jumping. She has two Olympic golds and one silver in team jumping, and an individual bronze. She won the FEI Show Jumping World Cup twice; won two silvers and two bronzes at World Championships; and won two golds, one silver and two bronzes at the Pan American Games. She was the first American to break into the international top three show jumping ranking, and the first woman to win over one million dollars in show jumping prize money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLain Ward</span> American equestrian

McLain Ward is an American show jumping competitor and five-time Olympic medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Lamaze</span> Canadian equestrian (b. 1968)

Eric Lamaze is a Canadian retired showjumper and Olympic champion. He won individual gold and team silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, riding his famed horse Hickstead. Lamaze has won three Olympic medals, as well as four Pan American Games medals and one World Equestrian Games bronze. He is considered one of Canada's best showjumpers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Maher</span> British equestrian (born 1983)

Benjamin Richard Maher MBE is a British show jumper. He represented Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 European Championships in Windsor, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He won the team jumping gold at the London Olympics with Team GB, their first team jumping gold medal for 60 years, and an individual gold for Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also won bronze at the 2011 Europeans Championships in Madrid, Spain. He has won many international Grand Prix, including the Olympia Grand Prix, the King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead and an FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix at Wellington with various rides.

Leslie Burr-Howard is an American equestrian and an Olympic champion in showjumping. She won team gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, as well as team silver at the 1999 Winnipeg Pan American Games.

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Scott Brash MBE is a Scottish showjumper. He began riding the horse Hello Sanctos in early 2012. They competed as part of the British Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London winning a gold medal in the team jumping event. In 2015 he became the first rider to win show jumping's Rolex Grand Slam, all three of the sport's most prestigious events in a single year, earning the sport's biggest individual prize of 1m Euros (£735,000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Springsteen</span> American show jumping rider

Jessica Rae Springsteen is an American equestrian. The daughter of musicians Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, she is a show jumping champion rider who has represented the United States Equestrian Team in international competition and won a silver medal in the Team jumping at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luciana Diniz</span> Portuguese equestrian

Luciana Diniz is a Brazilian-born Portuguese equestrian whose discipline is show jumping. She currently ranks thirteenth on the FEI Rolex Ranking List. In addition to her show jumping work, Diniz is also known for G.R.O.W., an "informal education philosophy" that teaches adults and children. She has also started a documentary series on her horses called the Hoofprint Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Mendoza (equestrian)</span> British female equestrian

Jessica Mendoza is one of the UK's top female equestrian athletes, who broke into the world's top 100 riders, and into the top 10 British showjumping riders in Spring 2015. She is also a regular contributor to the British monthly magazine PONY.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Davis (equestrian)</span> American equestrian

Lucy Davis is an American show jumping competitor and 2016 Olympian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashlee Bond</span> Israeli show jumping rider (born 1985)

Ashlee Bond is an American-Israeli Olympic show jumping rider who competes for Israel. Born in the United States, she is an Israeli citizen. She represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, coming in 11th. Bond will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in both individual jumping and team jumping on 1-2 and 5-6 August 2024 at the Palace of Versailles.

Richard Rankin Fellers is an American former Olympic equestrian and horse trainer. In 2023 he pled guilty to sexually abusing one of his students when she was 17. According to the Washington County, Oregon district attorney, he will serve 30 months in state prison concurrently with a four year federal sentence.

Audrey Coulter is an equestrian who has won several major horse jumping competitions. She is the daughter of financier James Coulter and Penny Coulter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillie Keenan</span> American show jumping rider (born 1996)

Lillie Carmichael Keenan is an American show jumping rider. As a junior rider she won the ASPCA Maclay Finals, the USEF Medal Finals, and the Washington International Horse Show Equitation championship, as well as the USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals and double gold at the North American Young Rider Championship.

Katie Monahan-Prudent is an American equestrian, best known as the 1986 World Champion in team showjumping, and the coach of Olympians Beezie Madden and Reed Kessler. Monahan-Prudent rose to prominence in the 1980s, when she was an Olympic team member, three-time American Invitational winner, and Whitney Cup recipient. In 2016, Monahan-Prudent was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. She owns Plain Bay Farm, located in Middleburg, Virginia, with her husband Henri Prudent.

References

  1. Dunham, Jillian (May 9, 2012). "Teenage Rider May Reset the Bar". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  2. Joyce, Taylor (September 30, 2013). "Kessler Makes A Change". The Chronicle of the Horse .
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Reed Kessler Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. Dunham, Jillian (May 9, 2012). "Teenage Rider May Reset the Bar". The New York Times .
  5. "Reed Kessler & Charlotte Dujardin Honoured at FEI Awards Gala". EquestrianConnection.com. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  6. Dolan, Kerry A. "Bill Gates And The Other Rich Dads Funding Their Daughters' Equestrian Dreams". Forbes. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  7. Print. "Kessler Will Not Seek Second Term As USEF President". www.chronofhorse.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  8. Corum, Camille (September 4, 2013). "Kessler Acquires Cos I Can". The Chronicle of the Horse .
  9. Berreth, Lindsay (January 7, 2013). "Kessler Acquires New Mounts". The Chronicle of the Horse .
  10. "71 Students Inducted into GS Honor Society | School of General Studies". gs.columbia.edu. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  11. "From youngster to international Grand Prix horse: Contagious". www.worldofshowjumping.com. May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Reed Kessler". www.reaganfoundation.org. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  13. "Reed Kessler (10045920)". FEI.org. Retrieved July 25, 2024.