54 American female equestrians

Lynn Rene Anderson was an American country singer and television personality. She is most remembered for her signature recording crossover hit, "Rose Garden". The song was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. Additionally, Anderson had four number one singles and 18 top ten hits on the Billboard country songs chart. She is regarded as one of country music's most significant performers.

Nan Jeanne Aspinwall Gable Lambell was the first woman to ride on horseback across North America alone. She rode from San Francisco to New York from September 1, 1910 arriving on July 8, 1911 on a bet from Buffalo Bill, whose Wild West show she performed in with her husband. She rode her Thoroughbred mare, Lady Ellen, on the journey.

Belle Wilcox Baruch was a noted equestrian and the daughter of financier Bernard Mannes Baruch.

Linda Denise Blair is an American actress and activist. She is best known for playing Regan MacNeil in the horror film The Exorcist (1973), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award. Blair reprised the role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award.

Lida Louise Fleitmann Bloodgood (1894–1982) was an American author and horsewoman in both America and Europe.

Georgina Leigh Bloomberg is the owner of the equestrian team New York Empire, a professional equestrian, and a philanthropist. She is the daughter of Susan Brown and Michael Bloomberg – former New York City mayor, founder of Bloomberg LP.

Catherine Ann Bosworth is an American actress and model. Following minor roles in the films The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Remember the Titans (2000), she rose to prominence with her role as a young surfer in the box-office hit Blue Crush (2002).

Ella Bradna was a Bohemian-born equestrian circus performer in the United States.

Clare Bronfman is a convicted felon, American heiress and former leader of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based near Albany, New York, United States. She is the youngest daughter of billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram liquor chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr. After a brief equestrian career, Bronfman began involvement in NXIVM, a business engaged in criminal activities during 1998–2018, which led to indictments on federal charges, including sex trafficking.

Wanda Harper Bush was an American barrel racer who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1978 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2017. The August 2017 induction ceremony was ProRodeo's 38th annual event, and marked the first time in the event's history that the class of inductees included barrel racers from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). Bush competed in the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA), now known as the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) and won two World Barrel Racing Championships, in 1952 and 1953.

Kitty Canutt, stage name Kitty Wilks, was a professional bronc rider, and the All-Around Champion Cowgirl at the 1916 Pendleton Round-Up in Pendleton, Oregon, for her bucking horse and relay race events. It was at this rodeo that she met Yakima Canutt, a winner of the title of All-Around Cowboy at the Pendleton Roundup in 1917, 1919, 1920 and 1923. They were married at Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana on July 20, 1917, and were residents of Los Angeles in 1920. They divorced ~1920. She married Robert C. Long in 1923.

Mildred Douglas Chrisman is a 1988 National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame inductee.

Tiana Michelle Coudray is an American equestrian and dancer. Her usual horse is Ringwood Magister, but she has also ridden Ravens Choice and especially Saxon Legacy several times. She entered eventing at the Barbury International on July 7, 2011, finishing in 15th place. On September 8, 2011 she finished in 2nd place at the Blenheim Palace International. At Ascott in June 2012 she rode Saxon Legacy to finish 3rd in the BE100 Open and rode Ravens Choice to finish 29th in the BE100.

Lucy Davis is an American show jumping competitor and 2016 Olympian.

Kay Floyd (1948—2015) was an American horse breeder who was the first woman ever to win two NCHA Futurity championships, albeit in the Non-Pro division. She also earned the title of 1988 NCHA Non-Pro World Champion, and in 1991 was inducted into the NCHA Rider Hall of Fame - Non-Pro Division. Floyd owned the stallion, Freckles Playboy (1973-2003), sired by Jewel’s Leo Bars by Sugar Bars out of Gay Jay by Rey Jay, and bred by Marion Flynt. As of 2013, Freckles Playboy ranked 3rd on NCHA's list of all-time leading sires and maternal grandsire sires of champion cutting and performance Quarter Horses with offspring that have earned $24.56 million in NCHA competition. Among his champion offspring were Playfulena, the mare Floyd rode to win the 1987 NCHA Non-Pro Futurity, and Playboys Madera, the mare she rode to earn the title of 1988 NCHA Non-Pro World Champion.

Beau Jesse Garrett is an American actress and model. She began her career appearing in GUESS advertisements in the late 1990s after being discovered by an Elite modeling agent at age fourteen. She made her feature film debut in the horror film Turistas (2006) before portraying Captain Raye in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and Gem in Tron: Legacy (2010).

Margie Goldstein-Engle is an American show jumping equestrian, and a 10-time American Grandprix Association Rider of the Year.

Laura Graves is an American dressage rider. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she won a bronze medal in the team dressage competition. After winning double silver medals at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC, Laura became the first American dressage rider to be ranked No. 1 in FEI World rankings, aboard her longtime partner Verdades.

Isabella Khair Hadid is an American model. In 2016, she was voted "Model of the Year" by industry professionals for Models.com.

Mamie Francis Hafley (1885–1950), born Elba Mae Ghent, was a performer in Wild West shows and rodeos from about 1901 until 1940. She was famous for her daring horse-diving act that involved jumping off a 50-foot tower into a pool of water, for her sharpshooting ability from the back of a galloping horse, and for her high school horse-riding acts.

Liz Halliday is an auto racing driver, equestrian rider, and commentator. She was born in San Diego, California, and currently lives in Sussex, England. She currently races in the Lotus Cup UK series in the Lotus 2-Eleven for John Danby Racing, and is also the owner of Chailey Stud Equestrian Centre, which she acquired in 2011. Halliday is the most successful female driver in American Le Mans with six victories. Halliday has stated that her ambition is to become the first woman to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and to acquire a spot on the United States Equestrian Team.

Joan Olive Robinson Hill was a socialite and equestrian from Houston, Texas. Her unexplained death at age 38 led to her husband, John Hill, becoming the first person to be indicted by the state of Texas on the charge of murder by omission. The case precipitated a series of events that included the 1972 murder of John Hill and, two years later, the fatal police shooting of the man accused of that murder. Adopted as an infant by wealthy oil tycoon Davis "Ash" Robinson and his wife, Rhea, Joan became an equestrian at a young age. She excelled and continued the sport into adulthood, ultimately winning several national titles.

Meredith Sue Hodges is an American equine trainer, competitor, educator, author and TV personality specializing in mules and donkeys, specifically the contemporary saddle mule.

Rebecca Holder is an equestrian who qualified for the Eventing competition of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing from Mendota Heights, Minnesota, competing for the United States in her first Olympics. She has been riding the 12-year-old, Courageous Comet, a gray off-the-track thoroughbred gelding, since 2002. Recent successes include the pair finishing second at the 2008 Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April, 2008. They were in the lead heading into the show jumping but had two rails and fell behind Phillip Dutton and the stunning Connaught. Stadium seems to be the pair's weak point. At The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event in 2006, Becky also went into show jumping in the lead but had 4 rails down and several time faults, dropping them into a disappointing 13th place.

Ashley Holzer is a Canadian-born equestrian specializing in dressage, who has been representing the United States since 2017. She was born in Toronto, the daughter of Moreen and Ian Nicoll, and is married to Charles Holzer. She won a bronze medal in team dressage at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, together with teammates Cynthia Neale-Ishoy, Eva Pracht and Gina Smith. She also competed at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

Lauren Hough is an American equestrian. She was born in Goshen, New York. She competed in team jumping at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Charmayne James is a retired barrel racer who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1992 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2017. The August 2017 induction ceremony was ProRodeo's 38th annual event, and marked the first time in the event's history that the class of inductees included barrel racers from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). James' horse, Gils Bay Boy, nicknamed Scamper, was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1996.

Kathy Daughn is a cutting horse trainer who has won over $4.25 Million in cutting horse competition. She is an honoree in the NCHA Rider Hall of Fame and National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and the first woman to win two NCHA Futurity Open Division Championship titles. Daughn rode The Gemnist to win the 1985 NCHA Futurity, marking an event-record score of 229. After of span of 15 years, she rode Royal Fletch to win the 2000 NCHA Futurity.

Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. Her popularity as First Lady was due to her devotion to historical preservation of the White House, her fashion sense, and her devotion to her children, which endeared her to the American public. During her lifetime, Jackie was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death.

Reed Catherine Kessler is an American show jumping competitor currently based in the Netherlands. At 18 years old, Kessler qualified for the 2012 London Olympics, becoming the youngest rider in Show Jumping history to ever compete at the Games. Kessler trained with her godparents Katie and Henri Prudent for seven years. In September 2013 she began training with Germany's Marcus Ehning and moved to his home base in Borken, Germany. Kessler is also an Ambassador for JustWorld International, a charity supporting education and healthcare in developing countries.

Courtney King-Dye is an American equestrian. She competed in two events at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Nancy F. Koehn is an author and a business historian at Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, where she is the James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, and was a Visiting Scholar during 2011–2013. She is also a member of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in the Economics Department.

Laura Kraut is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion.

Kathryn Hallowell "Kathy" Kusner is an American equestrian and Olympic medalist in show jumping. She was one of the first woman who rode for the United States Equestrian Team (USET), the first licensed female jockey, and the first American women to win an Olympic medal in equestrian competition.

Tad Lucas is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowgirl inductee.

Elizabeth Madden is an American Olympic champion equestrian competing in show jumping. She has two Olympic golds and one silver in team jumping, and an individual bronze. She won the FEI Show Jumping World Cup twice; won two silvers and two bronzes at World Championships; and won two golds, one silver and two bronzes at the Pan American Games. She was the first American to break into the international top three show jumping ranking, and the first woman to win over one million dollars in show jumping prize money.

Lurline Matson Roth (1890–1985) was an American heiress, equestrian and philanthropist from San Francisco, California. She competed in horse shows in the United States, and bred award-winning horses. She donated her estate, Filoli, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Billie McBride was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame for barrel racing in 2018. She won the World Barrel Racing Championship title four times.

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum is an American-born German equestrian who competes at the international level in show jumping.

Mikala Münter is a Danish-born dressage rider, who has been competing internationally for the United States since 2019. She represented Denmark at the 2014 World Equestrian Games, where she placed 7th with the Danish team in the team dressage competition.

Karen Lende O'Connor is an American equestrian who competes in three-day eventing. Although she did not come from a family of equestrians, her interest in horses started at an early age, and she received her first horse for her 11th birthday. O'Connor began competing internationally in the late 1970s, and in 1986 began riding for the US national eventing team. Since then, she had ridden in five Olympic Games, three World Equestrian Games and two Pan-American Games, winning multiple medals, including a team silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and a team bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games. She has also posted numerous wins and top-10 finishes at other international events. As of 2013, O'Connor is not competing, having suffered fractures to two thoracic vertebrae during a fall at a competition in October 2012.

Mary-Kate Olsen is an American fashion designer, former actress and producer. She began her acting career one year after her birth, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television sitcom Full House (1987–1995). They also starred in numerous films together.

Antoinette Van Leer Polk, Baroness de Charette was an American Southern belle in the Antebellum South and French aristocrat in the Gilded Age. Born into the planter elite, the great-niece of the 11th President of the United States James K. Polk and American Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, member of the Van Leer family and an heiress to plantations in Tennessee, she was a "Southern heroine" who saved Confederate States Army personnel during the American Civil War of 1861-1865. After the war, she moved to Europe, where she took to foxhunting in the Roman Campagna of Italy and the English countryside, and later became a Baroness and socialite in Paris and Brittany.

Ashley Nicole Rickards is an American actress, known for her role as Jenna Hamilton in the MTV comedy-drama series Awkward, and as Samantha "Sam" Walker, a troubled young girl in The CW's teen drama series One Tree Hill. She also starred in the 2011 independent drama film Fly Away as Mandy, a severely autistic girl.

Melissa Warburg Rosenberg, better known as Melissa Rivers, is an American actress and television host. She is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers and producer Edgar Rosenberg.

Ann Lois Romney is an American equestrian, author, and philanthropist. She is the wife of businessman and politician, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. From 2003 to 2007, Romney was First Lady of Massachusetts, while her husband served as governor.

Annette Roque is a model and equestrian. Her mother is Dutch and her father is Indonesian.

Carrie Schopf is an American-born Armenian dressage rider. She became the first Armenian equestrian ever to compete at an FEI-level championship.

Eleonora Randolph Sears was an American tennis champion of the 1910s. In addition, she was a champion squash player, and prominent in other sports; she is considered one of the leading all-round women athletes of the first half of the 20th century.

Margaret Cabell Self was an American riding instructor and writer on horsemanship. Born into the Cabell family, notable in Virginia history, Self turned to writing and teaching in order to keep her horses during the Great Depression and made her own mark as one of the Cabell family's most prominent members of the 20th century. She founded the New Canaan Mounted Troop to educate children about horses and horsemanship, and wrote over 40 books.

Jessica Rae Springsteen is an American equestrian. The daughter of musicians Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, she is a show jumping champion rider who has represented the United States Equestrian Team in international competition.

Lara Lea Trump is an American former television producer. She is married to former President Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump, with whom she has two children. She is the producer and host of Trump Productions' Real News Update and a former producer of Inside Edition.

Katherine Elizabeth Upton is an American model and actress. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2011, and was the cover model for the 2012, 2013 and 2017 issues. In addition, she was the subject of the 100th-anniversary Vanity Fair cover.

Lisa Margrit Wilcox is an equestrian riding instructor best known for her success in dressage. Lisa has won ribbons in approximately 660 competitions, including the team silver medal at the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2002 and a bronze medal in team dressage in the 2004 summer olympics.