The 2022 Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Championships took place from August 5 to 14 in Herning, Denmark, bringing together dozens of equestrians from nearly 50 countries. The 10-day event featured competitions in dressage, para-dressage, vaulting, and jumping.
Riding King Edward, Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann, the world No. 1, won the individual gold medal in jumping. It was the first major individual title for von Eckermann and his 12-year-old gelding. Two days prior, the world’s top-ranked pairing helped Sweden win gold in the jumping team event. Sweden is also the reigning Olympic champion in jumping.
US Equestrian sent five riders to Denmark to compete in the jumping competition. The following is a look at those five riders and how they fared at the 2022 FEI World Championships.
1. Brian Moggre
Although he’s just 21 years old, Brian Moggre has been representing the US on the international stage for more than five years. The Flower Mound, Texas native won an individual bronze medal at the 2016 FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) and won young rider team gold the following year at the NAYC. He has also won team gold medals at the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Junior Jumper National Championships/Prix des States in 2017 and 2018. More recently, Moggre finished third in the $406,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix CSI5.
Moggre, who is ranked 27th in the FEI Jumping U25 Ranking, was part of the US team that finished in 11th place at the 2022 FEI World Jumping Championship. Riding Balou Du Reventon, an Oldenburg stallion owned by Ann Thompson and groomed by Lesley Leeman, Moggre was the top-finishing American in the individual event, finishing in 52nd place. He was the youngest rider at the event and, despite finishing the course with four jumping faults and several time faults, Moggre was proud of his performance and how Balou du Reventon recovered from those early miscues.
“Show jumping is such an unpredictable sport. I think the first three fences I might have put a little bit too much pressure on him thinking about the time allowed, and came around to fence four and in that turn he didn’t like so much pressure, and there was a miscommunication, but after that he just jumped [incredibly],” Moggre explained. “I’d go as far [as] to say it felt like one of the best rounds he’s ever jumped after that, so I was pleased that he finished well and we had a nice ending to the course and the week.”
2. McLain Ward
McLain Ward finished second among Americans in the individual competition. The 42-year-old native of Brewster, New York, finished 56th overall following a disappointing run in which he had to retire his Deutsches Sportpferd gelding Contagious. Ward called it a “disappointing week of results” in Denmark but expects he and Contagious to bounce back in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
Ward rode Contagious in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where the US won a silver medal in team jumping. His partnership with the horse dates back to 2018. Before that, Ward won a team silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and team gold medals at the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
3. Lillie Keenan
A 26-year-old native of New York City, Lillie Keenan was a standout rider during her youth, winning team and individual gold medals in the 2013 NAYC. She has since won team medals at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final in 2016, Spruce Meadows in 2017, and the Aga Khan Cup at the 2017 Dublin Horse Show.
Riding Argan de Beliard, a Selle Francais gelding, Keenan finished 69th in the individual competition at the 2022 FEI World Jumping Championship. Keenan rebounded from her uninspiring performance in Denmark with a victory in Leg 5 of 8 for the North American League in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ in November. However, she won the event riding Agana van het Gerendal Z, a horse she had success with earlier in her career.
4. Adrienne Sternlicht
The only other American to compete in the individual competition in Denmark, Adrienne Sternlicht finished 68th out of 103 riders. The 29-year-old native of Greenwich, Connecticut, was riding Cristalline, a 14-year-old Bavarian Warmblood mare she rode to a team gold medal at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018. Sternlicht and Cristalline also won gold at the CHIO Aachen in 2022. Sternlicht has also had international success with Benny’s Legacy and Just a Gamble.
5. Jessica Springsteen
Jessica Springsteen and her horse RMF Zecilie, a Holsteiner mare, were reserves in Denmark. They’ve been riding together since 2018 and have performed well in team and individual CSI5 competitions. A 31-year-old native of Colts Neck, New Jersey, Springsteen won a team silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and an individual bronze medal at the 2010 NAYC.