RIDER
spotlight
by Danielle Demers photos by Ashley Neuhof
ADRIENNE STERNLICHT big success & bigger goals
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fter rounding off 2019 with consecutive Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifier wins in Thermal, CA and Las Vegas, NV aboard her new superstar mount Benny’s Legacy, and with her wildly talented – and undoubtedly world-famous – mare Cristalline’s return to competition, 2020 holds a great deal of promise for 27-year-old international show jumper and Greenwich, CT native Adrienne Sternlicht. Though these are still early days in her international riding career, Sternlicht is no stranger to notable success; 2018 also marked a standout year. Competing on the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) in Tryon, NC alongside her mentor McLain Ward, and longtime idols Laura Kraut and Devin Ryan, Sternlicht’s scores helped the U.S. secure the show jumping team gold medal for the first time in 32 years. Horse & Style had the pleasure of catching up with Sternlicht during the few quiet holiday weeks before the start of the winter
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· winter 19/20
season to learn more about how she got her start in riding, her current string of horses, and her next big goals – both within and outside the equestrian world. Horse & Style: How old were you when you began riding and how did you get your start? Were horses always in your family? Adrienne Sternlicht: I began riding at age six. I was at my best friend’s house for a playdate, sat on a horse in her backyard and refused to get off! After that, I started taking lessons at a local barn. My family was, and still is, entirely uninvolved in horses! My parents are very supportive but neither of them ride or have a personal investment in the sport outside of my own career. H&S: Who were some of the people who influenced you as a young rider? Any idols? AS: As a young rider, I was most influenced by Patricia Griffith and Linda Langmeier. I rode at Heritage Farm when I was just beginning to compete, and they gave me an incredible foundation. Linda has been a very important person in both my life and my riding career,
as I started training with her when I went to boarding school. Growing up, I knew nearly nothing about international showjumping so I idolized the few American riders I did know of: McLain Ward, Kent Farrington, Beezie Madden and Laura Kraut! H&S: What do you love and enjoy most about the show jumping sport? AS: The horses! There’s nothing quite like the connection between horse and rider, and I think I’ve come to realize that, especially having spent little time in the saddle as a junior. H&S: 2016 seems to have been a particularly formative year in your career as you began your partnership with Cristalline and started working with McLain Ward. Could you tell us more about that time? AS: In 2016, I graduated from Brown University, so that is when I began riding full-time! McLain had begun helping me in the winter of 2016, but was very clear upfront that he couldn’t commit to me as a full-time student until after the Rio
