Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Three U.S. riders are ranked in the top 10 of the FEI World Eventing Athlete Rankings following top performances at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and other spring competitions.
Phillip Dutton, the only U.S. rider in the top 10 in the previous rankings, moved up from seventh to World #4 after finishing all three of his Rolex mounts inside the top 15. HND Group’s Mighty Nice finished fourth, with Fernhill Cubalawn, owned by Tom Tierney, Simon Roosevelt and Caroline Moran, finishing fifth. Tom Tierney and Annie Jones’ Fernhill Fugitive finished 13th.
Boyd Martin moved up from 11th to World #8 after finishing two horses in the top 15. The Blackfoot Mystery Syndicate’s Blackfoot Mystery finished sixth, with the Shamwari 4 Syndicate’s Shamwari 4 in 12th.
Lauren Kieffer made the biggest jump up the rankings of the three, going from 21st to World #9 after taking the USEF CCI4* National Championship with Team Rebecca’s Veronica. She also finished 18th with Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark’s Monte Carlo.
Looking to other U.S. riders in the top 50, Marilyn Little remained in the 25th spot, Buck Davidson moved from 30th to 27th, and Tamie Smith slipped one spot to 42nd.
Maya Black wins the Biggest Mover Award for sure, moving up 293 spots to now sit 70th in the world thanks to a third-place finish at Rolex with Dawn Dofelmier’s Doesn’t Play Fair, plus a win at The Fork CIC3* and finishing third at Carolina International CIC3*. Go girl go!
Hannah Sue Burnett also made a huge jump up the rankings, from 205 to 79th, after finishing 15th at Rolex with Jacqueline Mars’ Harbour Pilot.
Jessica Phoenix is the highest placed Canadian rider on the rankings, moving from 79th up to 69th place.
Michael Jung has a huge lead in the rankings, holding the World #1 slot with 612 points for Germany. Australia’s Chris Burton is World #2 with 484 points, with New Zealand’s Mark Todd just behind him in the World #3 slot with 483 points.
