Will Simpson | |||||||||||||||
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Born | June 9, 1959 65) Springfield, Illinois, U.S | (age||||||||||||||
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William "Will" Simpson (born June 9, 1959, in Springfield, Illinois) is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion. [1]
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Simpson won the gold medal as part of the United States team in team jumping, together with McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, and Beezie Madden. [2]
In 2010 Simpson was featured in the television series A Rider's Story [3] along with his wife, fellow Grand Prix show jumper Nicole Shahinian-Simpson.
Simpson grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He was one of six children, and his mother signed him up for riding lessons alongside his sister. [4] He began riding when he was 11 years old at the Sangamon Pony Club. His first horse was Glenda Jo, a Thoroughbred mare. His mentors were George Morris, Rodney Jenkins and Bernie Traurig. [5]
Simpson worked for Rodney Jenkins before setting out on his own in California. His business is based around riding, training and selling horses. [6]
Simpson was the 2008 Olympics Show Jumping Team Gold Medalist, riding Carllson Vom Dach. Over his career, he has been a five-time World Cup finalist, the winner of over 75 Grand Prixs, and held the World Wall Record for ten years. He currently holds the North American High Jump Record. [7]
Simpson is divorced and has two children, Sophie and Ty. He plays tennis, skis, and cooks. [8]
Ian Millar CM is a Canadian Equestrian Team athlete for show jumping. He is a two-time winner of the Show Jumping World Cup, and an Olympic silver medallist. Due to his longevity and accomplishments, he is often nicknamed "Captain Canada" in his sport. He holds the record for most Olympic appearances by any athlete in any sport (10). A member of Canada's 2012 Olympic Games team, he broke the record when he took part in his tenth Games in London 2012.
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.
Equestrian sports were first included in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris. They were again included in 1912, and have been included in every subsequent edition of the Games. Currently, the Olympic equestrian disciplines are dressage, eventing, and show jumping. In each discipline, both individual and team medals are awarded. Since the XV Olympiad in Helsinki in 1952, women and men compete on equal terms.
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.
Chris Kappler is an American show jumper and horse trainer. He is an Olympic gold and silver medalist, and the winner of over 100 Grand Prixs. He is a founder of the North American Riders Group.
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.
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.
McLain Ward is an American show jumping competitor and five-time Olympic medalist.
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.
Eric Lamaze is a Canadian showjumper and Olympic champion. He won individual gold and team silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, riding 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. He is currently banned from participating in equestrian activities until 2027.
Laura Kraut is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion.
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, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. He won the team jumping gold at the London Olympics with Team GB, their first team jumping gold medal for 60 years, an individual gold for Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and team jumping gold again at the 2024 Paris Summer Games. That win tied him with three-day eventer Richard Meade and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin as the most successful British Olympic equestrians.
Timothy Mark Stockdale was an English equestrian who competed in the sport of show jumping.
Melanie Smith is an equestrian from the United States and Olympic champion.
Georgina Leigh Bloomberg is the owner of the equestrian team New York Empire, a professional equestrian, and a philanthropist. She is the daughter of Susan Brown and Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP.
Rodney Jenkins 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. After retiring from the show ring, he became a race horse trainer.
Daniel Bluman is an Olympic show jumping rider. Born in Colombia, he represents Israel internationally and competed for his country of birth in the past. Bluman qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but did not compete due to a clerical error in his horse's registration. Bluman represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Palace of Versailles in individual jumping and team jumping.
Bernie Traurig is an American equestrian known for his international success in show jumping, dressage and eventing, as well as his coaching and training career. He is the founder of Equestrian Coach, an educational website.
Ashlee Bond is an 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 represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in team jumping at the Palace of Versailles, and with Team Israel came in 9th.