September 27, 2024 
In a sport where women and men compete against one another as equals, the case for true egalitarianism in show jumping is famously hard to make.
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) reached no. 1 in the world in 2004—the first woman to do so—and held it for 24 months. It’s a feat that hasn’t been repeated since.
At press time, the highest-ranked women in the Longines Rankings were Canada’s Erynn Ballard and Tiffany Foster, currently tied at no. 21, and there were only five women in the top 50, with Stephex Stables’ Kendra Claricia Brinkop (GER), and the USA’s Laura Kraut and Lillie Keenan rounding out the standings.
That’s on par with the 5.8% average of women in the top 50 on the Longines Rankings over the last five years—though it bears noting that COVID-19 took place in the same period.
That total has fluctuated, but generally for the worse. From a high of nine women riders in the top 50 in 2020, it dropped to just two in 2022, then went back up to five in 2024. In other words: two steps forward, one step back.
But there’s reason to hope, at least when one examines a significant new set of metrics on Jumpr.
When filtering by most grand prix wins at all levels this year, three of the top five riders—yes, three—are women.
Leading the pack behind Conor Swail (IRL) is the Netherlands’ Sanne Thijssen at no. 2. At just 25 years old, Thijssen ties Swail for six grand prix wins this year. These include September’s CSI4* 1.60m Grand Prix in Gijon, Spain which she won aboard the 18-year-old (!) Holsteiner stallion, Con Quidam RB.
Erynn Ballard sits at no. 3 with five wins in 2024, including her career-first CSI5* in the 1.60m MLSJ Grand Prix of Vancouver this May with Paris Olympic mount Nikka Vd Bisschop.
Last up: Jörne Sprehe, who topped the 1.60m CSIO5* Longines League of in Abu Dhabi, posting the only double-clear for the winning German team aboard Sprehe Hot Easy.
It’s more impressive when you consider that, just a year ago, there was not a single woman listed among the top-30 grand-prix-winning riders in the world at all levels (Jumpr).
When you adjust the data for *5 grands prix only, 10 women in a total of 50 riders (or 20%) have earned at least one win this year.
And it’s a metric that holds at the 5* level.
Of the 54 *5 classes won last year, women took a total of 11 wins, with only the USA’s Lillie Keenan earning two. (By comparison, 20 male riders earned two or more *5 victories last year.) Similarly, in 2024, only Tiffany Foster has earned two *5 grand prix wins out of eight male riders to earn two or more victories at that level.
All that is to say, winning one *5 grand prix is hard; winning two or more is a statistical rarity for all but a handful of riders, male or female.
Is it premature to say that women are making significant strides in grand prix competition across the board? Probably. And there’s no doubt that many of the same old challenges (see: these and these) are still alive and well.
Yet even as we try to move the needle on multiple *5 wins for female riders, and the return of a woman no. 1 at the top of the Longines Rankings, a global increase in grand prix wins for women at all levels is notable.
We’ll be **watching this space** with our fingers crossed to see if this winning trend continues.
