Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam FBW (GER). Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Michael Jung has retaken the No. 1 spot in the latest FEI World Eventing Athlete Rankings, now holding a 17-point lead over William Fox-Pitt. Michael originally took the top slot for the first time in his career after finishing first and third with fischerRocana FST and La Biosthetique Sam FBW, respectively, at Rolex Kentucky CCI4* in April.
Then William reclaimed the lead after winning Badminton CCI4* with Chilli Morning in May. But Michael’s third-place finish with Sam at Luhmühlen CCI4* last month, where William did not have an entry, ultimately boosted him back to the top.
Jonelle Price’s second-place finish at Luhmühlen with Faerie Dianimo moved her up to third in the rankings, with Luhmühlen winner Ingrid Klimke moving up to fourth. Andrew Nicholson slipped down to round out the top five after finishing well down the Luhmühlen leaderboard with Qwanza.
Now on to our Americans! Team USA has four riders in the top 25, with Boyd Martin continuing to lead the way in sixth place. Buck Davidson sits in 13th place, with Phillip Dutton in 20th. All three of those riders have slipped down the leaderboard in this latest rankings update. Of the American riders in the top 25, only Lauren Kieffer has improved on her position, moving up to 21st after finishing seventh at Bramham CCI3* with Veronica.
Looking further down the leaderboard, we have three more Americans in the top 50, with Matt Brown in 31st, Colleen Rutledge in 33rd and Marilyn Little in 34th. Marilyn enjoyed a nice jump thanks to winning the Bromont CCI3* with RF Demeter, and Colleen is continuing her incredible climb after finishing third in the Great Meadow CIC3* with Covert Rights. Remember, Colleen was sitting outside the top 200 before Rolex.
Waylon Roberts is the highest-placed Canadian rider in the rankings, jumping up to 69th from 115th after winning the Bromont CIC2* with Bill Owen, his Pan American Games mount.
With the Pan American Games and the Event at Rebecca Farm coming up in the next few weeks, we’ll almost certainly see some more shuffling on the leaderboard for our U.S. and Canadian riders. Keep it locked on EN as we count down to our live coverage of both competitions.
