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2020 Tokyo Olympics | Glory Days
8/5/2021 9:00:00 AM | Athletics
Jessica Springsteen may not have been categorized as a student-athlete in a varsity sport during her Blue Devil days, but she was every bit the student AND the athlete as a Duke undergraduate. While pursuing her academic degree in psychology, she balanced a burgeoning career in the equestrian sport of show jumping. She even turned professional midway through her Duke experience and made a serious run at the 2012 London Olympics, coming up just short as an alternate for Team USA.
Springsteen later missed out on a chance to contend for a berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics when her horse suffered some health issues. But the 2014 Duke graduate fulfilled one of her sporting goals this summer when she was named to the U.S. equestrian team for the Tokyo Olympics.
"Been dreaming of this since I can remember!" she posted on Instagram July 6, the day after the jumping team was revealed. "Endless gratitude for my team, friends and family for helping me make this a reality."
Springsteen is the youngest member of a veteran, accomplished U.S. show jumping team that figures to battle for medals in Tokyo. The other three performers all have been to multiple Olympics and medaled: McLain Ward (fifth Olympics, two gold medals), Laura Kraut (third Olympics, Beijing gold), Kent Farrington (second Olympics, Rio silver).
Entering the Olympics, Farrington is ranked No. 5 in the FEI world jumping rankings, while Ward is No. 10, Springsteen No. 14 and Kraut No. 24. Springsteen had been No. 27 before vaulting up the chart after making the U.S. team. Equestrian is the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete against each other.
Springsteen began riding at the age of 4 or 5 at her family's Stone Hill Farm estate in Colts Neck, N.J. As a teenager she began training at nearby Beacon Hill Show Stables, her passion growing as she rose through the ranks from ponies to horses, and from riding to jumping. Kraut, her current Olympic teammate at age 55, was one of her key trainers during her formative years.
According to NJ.com, Springsteen has earned close to $2 million as a professional equestrian. Her many notable wins in the sport include the 2014 American Gold Cup, a 5-star Grand Prix event in 2016, the 2018 FEI Jumping Nations Cup and the 2020 Longines FEI Nations Cup. She competes around the world, with several stops across Europe each season. She helped secure her Olympic berth by claiming a Grand Prix jumping event in France in June.
Springsteen, 29, is the middle child and only daughter of Hall of Fame music icon Bruce Springsteen and his singer/songwriter wife Patti Scialfa. Jessica credits her parents for the support they provided as she grew in her sport.
"They were always able to motivate me and make me realize how special it is to have found my passion at a young age. I feel lucky that I've been able to turn it into a profession," she told Equestrian Living magazine.
"I really wanted to go to college and have that full college experience to see if there was something that I was as passionate about (as riding). There was never anything that I loved as much, but it was important for me to take that time and immerse myself in school. I loved school. I had such a great experience studying psychology and I'm grateful that I was able to have those four years, and that I was able to study and ride during that time. It was difficult to balance, but it made me realize that I had already found my passion."
Springsteen will ride her 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion Don Juan van de Donkhoeve in Tokyo.
Credit: GoDuke the Magazine
#GoDuke
Springsteen later missed out on a chance to contend for a berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics when her horse suffered some health issues. But the 2014 Duke graduate fulfilled one of her sporting goals this summer when she was named to the U.S. equestrian team for the Tokyo Olympics.
"Been dreaming of this since I can remember!" she posted on Instagram July 6, the day after the jumping team was revealed. "Endless gratitude for my team, friends and family for helping me make this a reality."
Springsteen is the youngest member of a veteran, accomplished U.S. show jumping team that figures to battle for medals in Tokyo. The other three performers all have been to multiple Olympics and medaled: McLain Ward (fifth Olympics, two gold medals), Laura Kraut (third Olympics, Beijing gold), Kent Farrington (second Olympics, Rio silver).
Entering the Olympics, Farrington is ranked No. 5 in the FEI world jumping rankings, while Ward is No. 10, Springsteen No. 14 and Kraut No. 24. Springsteen had been No. 27 before vaulting up the chart after making the U.S. team. Equestrian is the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete against each other.
Springsteen began riding at the age of 4 or 5 at her family's Stone Hill Farm estate in Colts Neck, N.J. As a teenager she began training at nearby Beacon Hill Show Stables, her passion growing as she rose through the ranks from ponies to horses, and from riding to jumping. Kraut, her current Olympic teammate at age 55, was one of her key trainers during her formative years.
According to NJ.com, Springsteen has earned close to $2 million as a professional equestrian. Her many notable wins in the sport include the 2014 American Gold Cup, a 5-star Grand Prix event in 2016, the 2018 FEI Jumping Nations Cup and the 2020 Longines FEI Nations Cup. She competes around the world, with several stops across Europe each season. She helped secure her Olympic berth by claiming a Grand Prix jumping event in France in June.
Springsteen, 29, is the middle child and only daughter of Hall of Fame music icon Bruce Springsteen and his singer/songwriter wife Patti Scialfa. Jessica credits her parents for the support they provided as she grew in her sport.
"They were always able to motivate me and make me realize how special it is to have found my passion at a young age. I feel lucky that I've been able to turn it into a profession," she told Equestrian Living magazine.
"I really wanted to go to college and have that full college experience to see if there was something that I was as passionate about (as riding). There was never anything that I loved as much, but it was important for me to take that time and immerse myself in school. I loved school. I had such a great experience studying psychology and I'm grateful that I was able to have those four years, and that I was able to study and ride during that time. It was difficult to balance, but it made me realize that I had already found my passion."
Springsteen will ride her 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion Don Juan van de Donkhoeve in Tokyo.
Credit: GoDuke the Magazine
#GoDuke
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