Christian Simonson and his Dutch-bred stallion Indian Rock have risen to No. 7 in the world rankings, marking the highest position achieved by an American rider-horse combination since separate rankings were introduced four years ago. The 23-year-old rider, based in Wellington, Florida and coached by Olympian Adrienne Lyle, climbed from 12th to 7th after securing the reserve championship at the recent World Cup Final in Fort Worth, Texas. Simonson also leads the Dutta Corp. standings for the upcoming national Grand Prix Championships in Ocala, where he will receive a wild card entry despite not meeting all qualification criteria.
The national championships will play a key role in selecting the U.S. team for the Nations Cup in Hagen, Germany, and the World Championships in Aachen later this year. Meanwhile, Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and her horse Mount St. John Freestyle remain No. 1 globally, with Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale moving up to second place. Becky Moody, who won the World Cup Final on her home-bred Jagerbomb, holds steady at fifth in the rankings.
