Rodney Jenkins

Last updated

Rodney Jenkins
Occupation Trainer, former show jumper
Born (1944-07-03) July 3, 1944 (age 80)
Middleburg, Virginia, U.S.
Career wins847+ (ongoing)
Major racing wins
Leonard Richards Stakes (2002)
General George Handicap (2014)
Maryland Million Turf (2015, 2016)
Significant horses
Bandbox, Running Tide, Phlash Phelps
Rodney Jenkins
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis Individual jumping
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis Team jumping

Rodney Jenkins (born July 3, 1944) is a former show jumping rider and member of the United States Equestrian Team (USET), inducted into the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame. He rode showed hunters and jumpers competitively from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, winning a record 70 Grand Prix-level competitions. [1] After retiring from the show ring, he became a race horse trainer. [2]

Contents

Early life

Jenkins was born on July 3, 1944, in Middleburg, Virginia. He graduated from high school in 1961 and began riding professionally in horse shows up and down the East Coast, including Florida winter circuit. Though he defined himself as largely self-taught, he came from an equestrian family, his father, Enis Jenkins, had been a huntsman for several fox hunting groups in Virginia. Jenkins and his two brothers grew up caring for horses and riding in the hunt field. [2]

He began showing professionally at age 17 and soon was running his own show barn, at times riding as many as 50 horses in a day. [3] Jenkins was nicknamed "The Red Rider" because of his red hair. [2]

Even while showing, Jenkins did a little bit of racehorse training and continued to assist his father as a whipper-in on hunts. When Enis died in 1983 Jenkins bought his own farm in Montpelier Station, Virginia. [2]

Professional career

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jenkins dominated the top horse shows. In 1967, he won four out of the six hunter-jumper champions at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden. In the American Horse shows Association (AHSA) "Horse of the Year" awards that year, Jenkins rode winners in five of the six divisions in which he competed.

The horse Jenkins is most famous for riding was Idle Dice, a former Thoroughbred race horse who won 31 grand prix jumping championships, most with Jenkins. [4]

Jenkins won the American Gold Cup five times, four of them in consecutive years (1972-1975), winning his last Gold Cup with The Natural in 1985. He won the Presidents Cup three times and the National Horse Show Grand Prix three times. Internationally, Jenkins finished 8th in the 1974 World Championships at Hickstead on Idle Dice and 6th in the 1980 World Cup Final at Baltimore on Third Man. However, he tended to downplay his own accomplishments and give credit to his horses, once stating, "The horse makes the rider—I don't care how good you are." [1]

Jenkins' professional status prevented him from riding in the Pan American or Olympic Games until rule changes in the 1980s ended the requirement that riders had to be amateurs. [2] Nonetheless, in the early 1970s professionals were allowed to ride in a limited set of international team classes, and thus he rode on sixteen Nations' Cup teams between 1973 and 1987, the team winning ten. [1] Bertelan de Nemethy, the USET coach said "..adding Idle Dice to a show jumping string is like adding Secretariat to a racing stable..".

After the 1980 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee reviewed its "amateurs-only" rules and in 1986, the FEI decided to allow equestrian professionals to compete in the Olympics and the Pan American Games. Jenkins applied and was approved. He rode in the 1987 Pan American Games, held in Indianapolis. In the individual competition, Jenkins won a silver medal riding Czar and the US show jumping team won the silver team medal with the Canadian Team taking the gold. Regarding his Pan American medals, Jenkins said: "All the money I've won with horses, these two pieces of silver mean as much as all the money." [1] He regretted that he never had the opportunity to ride in the Olympics. [5]

In 1987, at age 43, Jenkins had one of his best years, not only competing in the Pan Am games, but also winning the American Grand Prix Association's Rider of the Year award, and becoming the American Horse Show Association's Horseman of the Year. [3]

He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1999, 12 years after Idle Dice, who was the first horse inducted. [6] Jenkins is also a member of the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. [7]

Racing career

In 1989, Jenkins retired from the show ring. As the main option available to retired riders on the show circuit was to teach others, which was not a job he felt he was suited for, he quietly turned to training race horses. At first he trained steeplechasers but turned to flat racing, working primarily out of Laurel Park in Maryland. [2] [3] He credited his show career with giving him knowledge of equine nutrition and a background to promote soundness and good health in his horses. [5]

Selected bibliography

Related Research Articles

David John O'Connor is a retired equestrian who represented the United States in the sport of three-day eventing. He competed in two Olympic Games, winning a team silver at the 1996 Summer Olympics and an individual gold and team bronze at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 1999 Pan American Games, O'Connor took an individual silver and team gold and at the 2002 World Equestrian Games he assisted the US team to gold. After his retirement from competition in 2004, he became involved in the administrative side of international eventing. O'Connor has held top coaching roles for the US and Canadian national eventing teams, and was president of the United States Equestrian Federation from 2004 to 2012. During his career, O'Connor and his horses were awarded many honors, including equestrian and horse of the year awards from several organizations. In 2009, he was inducted to the United States Eventing Association's Hall of Fame, and two of his horses have been granted the same honor. O'Connor is married to fellow international event rider Karen O'Connor, and the pair operate two equestrian training facilities in the eastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen O'Connor</span> American equestrian

Karen Lende O'Connor is an American equestrian who competes in three-day eventing. Although she did not come from a family of equestrians, her interest in horses started at an early age, and she received her first horse for her 11th birthday. O'Connor began competing internationally in the late 1970s, and in 1986 began riding for the US national eventing team. Since then, she had ridden in five Olympic Games, three World Equestrian Games and two Pan-American Games, winning multiple medals, including a team silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and a team bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games. She has also posted numerous wins and top-10 finishes at other international events. As of 2013, O'Connor is not competing, having suffered fractures to two thoracic vertebrae during a fall at a competition in October 2012.

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

Bruce Oram Davidson is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He grew up in a family uninterested in horses, but began to compete in Pony Club events after a family friend introduced him to riding. He began college at Iowa State University, but left in his third year to train full-time with the United States Equestrian Team. In 1974, he married, and his two children were born in 1976 and 1977. His son, Bruce Davidson Jr., has followed in his footsteps to become a top eventing rider.

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.

James Cunningham Wofford was an American equestrian who competed in many international competitions in the sport of eventing. He was most known as a trainer of both horses and riders, and as a retired president of the AHSA and vice-president of the USET.

Gregory Alan Best is an equestrian competitor and coach in the sport of show jumping who won two silver medals for the United States in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea riding the famous Gem Twist. In 1992, Best suffered a fall that shattered his shoulder. After this, he moved to New Zealand, where he rode for the New Zealand League, winning the World Cup Series. He has also served as a New Zealand National Show Jumping Selector, a National Show Jumping Coach and a member of the New Zealand Show Jumping High Performance Committee. Best coached New Zealand's jumpers for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Between 1987 and 2003, Best also garnered 6 FEI World Cup wins. He now conducts coaching clinics in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Along with Gem Twist, horses named Santos and Entrepreneur have been among his champion mounts.

George H. Morris is an American equestrian. He won team silver in show jumping at the 1960 Rome Olympics and is considered a founding father of hunt seat equitation. He was chef d'equipe for the United States show jumping team, which won Olympic gold under his leadership, from 2005 until 2013. He also served as chef d'equipe for the Brazilian show jumping team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Throughout his career, Morris has been a "proponent of the forward seat" and wrote several books on the subject, including Hunter Seat Equitation. Morris trained students at his Hunterdon Stables and traveling clinics, producing nationally and internationally successful riders, including Olympic champions. In 2019, after a United States Center for SafeSport investigation, Morris was banned for life from the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) due to sexual misconduct with minors. Morris is likewise banned from coaching international teams for any country.

Royal Kaliber was a Dutch Warmblood stallion that competed at the Grand Prix level of show jumping, and was part of the United States Show Jumping Team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

William Clark "Bill" Steinkraus was an American show jumping champion.

Joseph "Joe" Halpin Fargis IV is an American showjumper and Olympic champion. Fargis won showjumping individual gold and team gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He won showjumping team silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the owner of Sandron Farm.

Peter Wylde is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion.

Bertalan de Némethy was a cavalry officer in Hungary and later became the show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team. He was influential in developing riding and training methods used by show jumpers today.

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.

Melanie Smith is an equestrian from the United States and Olympic champion.

Francis Davis "Frank" Chapot was an American equestrian who competed at six consecutive Olympic Games - from 1956 to 1976 - and won two silver medals in team show jumping, at Rome 1960 and Munich 1972. Chapot was chef d'equipe of the American equestrian team from 1980 to 2004, leading them to their first Olympic team gold at Los Angeles 1984. Additionally, he coached the American show jumping team from 1968 until his retirement in 2005. Chapot is also known for breeding and training Gem Twist, a champion showjumper named World's Best Horse in 1990. In later life, Chapot became a jump course designer and judge. In 2001, he was awarded the United States Equestrian Federation's Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to horse sport.

Jack Louis Joseph Marie Le Goff was a French equestrian, best known as the coach of the American three-day eventing team from 1970 to 1984. He coached the team to multiple international championships, winning 18 international medals, including several in the Olympics. Le Goff is known for having a large impact on the American eventing world, and the era in which he coached has been called the golden era for American equestrianism.

Peter Leone is an American equestrian. He won a silver medal in team show jumping at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, together with Leslie Burr-Howard, Anne Kursinski and Michael R. Matz. Leone trained with many prominent horsemen including Bertlan DeNemethy, Frank Chapot, George Morris, and Michael Matz. After completing a successful junior career, Peter won the International Jumping Derby in Newport, Rhode Island, then regarded as the most challenging show jumping event in the nation. In 1982, he helped the United States finish fourth in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. Together with his two brothers Armand and Mark, he was named the 1984 Horseman of the Year by the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board in the United States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steffen Peters</span> American equestrian

Steffen Peters is a German-born equestrian who competes for the United States in dressage. He has participated in five Olympic Games, winning a team bronze medal on two occasions and a team silver medal once (2020). Peters has been successful in numerous other international competitions, including winning team bronze at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, two individual bronze medals at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and individual and team gold medals at both 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games. The horse upon which he won many of his titles, Ravel, was retired in 2012. After 2012, his international successes came on Legolas. At the beginning of 2017, Peters handed over the ride on Legolas to his assistant rider Dawn White-O'Connor. Peters is currently working with a new international competition horse, Rosamunde.

Neal Shapiro is an American equestrian and was a silver medalist in team jumping and Bronze medalist in individual jumping in the 1972 Munich Olympics, where he became the first American Equestrian jumper to win two medals and only the third U.S. rider to win an individual medal in an Olympic show jumping event. In 1967, he began driving and training harness horses in trotting and pacing competitions, a career he continued after retiring from competitive show jumping in 1976. He purchased a stable, Hayfever Farm in 1976, and in addition to acting as a trainer, he began a career as a standardbred harness horse owner. In 2007, he moved his stables, Hayfever Farm, to Robbinsville, New Jersey. He continued to train equestrians and horses, and after ending his training career, returned to riding show horses on a limited basis in 1998. He was jumping coach for the US Equestrian Team at the Maccabiah Games in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Emerson</span> American equestrian

Denny Emerson is an American equestrian. He is the only equestrian to have won both an international gold medal in eventing and a Tevis Cup buckle in endurance. In 1972, Emerson was named United States Eventing Association's Rider of the Year. He was a member of the United States Three Day Eventing Team that won the gold medal at the 1974 Eventing World Championships. As of 2015, Emerson operates as a clinician and trainer. He is a regular contributor to The Chronicle of the Horse's "Between Rounds" column. He and his wife, May Emerson, run Tamarack Hill Farms in Strafford, Vermont and Southern Pines, North Carolina.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1999 Rodney Jenkins" (PDF). Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rodney Jenkins thinks like a horse Chronicle of the Horse, retrieved Feb 21, 2011
  3. 1 2 3 Md. thoroughbred trainer leaps into past with show jumping competition The Baltimore Sun, retrieved July 11, 2012
  4. ↑ "Idle Dice" (PDF). Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "From Show Ring To Race Track: Rodney Jenkins and Michael Matz Weigh In". www.chronofhorse.com. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Show Jumping Hall of Fame".
  7. ↑ "National Show Hunter Hall of Fame".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.