William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk at Badminton 2014. Photo by Jenni Autry.
The final FEI World Eventing Athlete Rankings for 2014 have been released, and William Fox-Pitt finished the year as World No. 1 by a healthy margin, leading second-placed Jonelle Price by more than 80 points. Michael Jung rounds out the top three, followed by Oliver Townend in fourth place and our own Buck Davidson in fifth.
In all, five Americans held spots in the top 25, which ties us with Great Britain and Germany for the national federation with the most riders in the top 20. In addition to Buck finishing in fifth, we also have Boyd Martin in seventh, Marilyn Little in 15th, Phillip Dutton in 19th and Lauren Kieffer in 25th.
Australia has four riders in the top 25, while New Zealand has three. France has two riders near the top of the leaderboard, though that could change depending on the outcome of Maxime Livio’s FEI Tribunal hearing following Qalao de Mers’ positive test for acepromazine at the World Equestrian Games.
Maxime is currently sitting in 13th place on the leaderboard thanks to finishing in fifth place individually at WEG. If the FEI Tribunal rules to disqualify Maxime, he will lose those 140 points, which will drop him well down the leaderboard and push Pippa Funnell into 25th place. His hearing date has not yet been set.
As for other Americans near the top of the leaderboard, Erin Sylvester finishes the year in 34th, with Michael Pollard in 45th and Sharon White in 46th. Jessica Phoenix is the sole Canadian rider in the top 50, rounding out the leaderboard in 50th place. Should Maxime be disqualified, Maya Black will move up one spot on the leaderboard to 50th place.
