Rising United States showjumping star Eve Jobs, daughter of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, was crowned leading lady rider at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida, last week after claiming her best ever result in an international competition.
The 20-year-old finished runner-up to Samuel Parot in Sunday’s $209,000 CSIO4* grand prix riding the 14-year-old mare Venue D’Fees Des Hazalles.
“I’ve actually never been in the top three in a four-star grand prix and this is the best finish I’ve had,” said Eve. “It’s really exciting for me and my whole team. My horses were jumping exceptionally well this week and I felt really confident coming into today. The leading lady rider award is such an honor, especially during CSIO week. There are so many talented lady riders, so to be recognised is a really big honour.”
Eve joined a dazzling roll of honour of leading lady riders during this year’s 12-week WEF including Jessica Springsteen, Beezie Madden, Tiffany Foster, Lauren Hough and Margie Engle. She was presented with a bottle of champagne, a bouquet of flowers and a gift certificate for a shopping spree.
From 43 starters in the grand prix, only Samuel and Eve jumped clear in round one to jump-off against each other. Eve had the final oxer down to finish with four faults plus three time-faults, before Samuel and Atlantis hit an early rail but came home faster.
“Samuel is always extremely fast,” said Eve, whose family was watching her compete “for the first time in a while”.
“You can always count on him to try his hardest and go as fast as he can. So I knew there was almost no way I was going to beat him on foot speed, so I was trying to leave all the jumps up. Unfortunately, I had the last rail. I pushed a little bit too hard. But, as always, he was very fast and very deserving of this win. I’m lucky to be in this company.”
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Eve’s ride Venue D’Fees (President x Alcatraz) came from Belgium nearly two years ago.
“She’s a phenomenal animal,” said Eve. “She’s so sweet and she tries. She really fights for you. She really has helped me in my career, especially being a young rider with not that much experience — not like these guys who are always wonderful! I make a lot of mistakes and she’s very forgiving. She’s taught me an immense amount about the top level of the sport. I’m really lucky to have her.”
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