Bruce Springsteen’s equestrian daughter Jessica says her parents are ‘so proud’ and ‘so happy’ that she is competing in the Olympics this summer.
The 29-year-old, who is ranked 14 in the world in show jumping, clinched a spot on Team USA’s show jumping team for the Tokyo Olympics and is currently in quarantine with her teammates ahead of the games.
Speaking about the accomplishment on the Today show this morning, Jessica said her Grammy-winning dad, 71, and musician mom Patti Scialfa, 67, ‘were so excited’ when she made the team after a lifetime of supporting her in the sport.
‘They were so excited. They’ve supported me since I was little, and this has been a huge dream of mine ever since I can remember,’ she said.
Exciting: Bruce Springsteen’s equestrian daughter Jessica says her parents are ‘so proud’ and ‘so happy’ that she is competing in the Olympics this summer
Big deal: The 29-year-old clinched a spot on Team USA’s show jumping team for the Tokyo Olympics and is currently in quarantine with her teammates ahead of the games
Family: Jessica said her Grammy-winning dad, 71, and musician mom Patti Scialfa, 67, ‘were so excited’ when she made the team after a lifetime of supporting her in the sport
‘The sport has become such a passion for them as well, and we’ve been on this journey together, so they’ve been so proud of me, so happy,’ she added.
Jessica is set to ride horse Don Juan Van de Donkhoeve, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion, in the Olympics after securing her spot on the four-strong squad during a competition in France last month.
She was previously an alternate for the London 2012 team, but didn’t make the cut for Rio 2016.
The Rumson, New Jersey native was one of four names announced by the sport’s governing body, US Equestrian, in June — alongside Kent Farrington, 40, Laura Kraut, 55, and McLain Ward, 45.
They are competition in the only Olympic sport where men and women compete against each other — and a competition wherein the athletes often have decades of experience.
‘The sport has become such a passion for them as well, and we’ve been on this journey together, so they’ve been so proud of me, so happy,’ she added
Partner: Jessica is set to ride horse Don Juan Van de Donkhoeve, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion, in the Olympics
Team: She was one of four names announced by the sport’s governing body, US Equestrian, in June — alongside Kent Farrington, 40, Laura Kraut, 55, and McLain Ward, 45
‘I’ve admired these riders throughout my career, so to be named to the team with them is such a huge honor,’ Jessica said today. ‘They have so much experience, they all have medals from the Games, so I’m really looking forward to it.’
She’s also looking forward to competing with her equine partner, Don Juan Van de Donkhoeve.
‘We’ve been building our partnership over the last couple years, and he’s everything I would want in a championship horse,’ she said.
‘We have so much trust in our relationship, and he is so powerful and does everything so effortlessly, so for me that gives me a lot of confidence in the ring, and yeah, I can really rely on him.’
Her horse, like all competing in the Games, has a passport to travel — though Kent said his horse has the most stamp, having visited about 50 countries.
She earned spot last month in France when she won the 4* Grand Prix Hubside Jumping Tour with a top time of 36.16 seconds (pictured August 2019)
‘My dream is always to represent the United States in championships, so I am definitely always working toward that,’ she said
Jessica, who is the second of Bruce’s three children with wife Patti, opened up earlier this year about her ‘dream’ of representing Team USA in an international championship, according to NJ.com.
‘My dream is always to represent the United States in championships, so I am definitely always working toward that,’ she said.
‘I feel like I have a really good group of horses jumping great right now, so I will just keep doing my best.’
Jessica, who has made almost $2 million in her equestrian career, is currently ranked third in the country. She clinched the Olympic spot last month in France when she won the 4* Grand Prix Hubside Jumping Tour with a top time of 36.16 seconds.
Shortly after the team announcement was made last month, Jessica celebrated the news on her Instagram Stories, where she re-shared a post from US Equestrian in which she and her teammates were named.
Jessica, who graduated from Duke with a major in psychology in 2014, has been riding horses since the age of four.
Practice: Jessica, who graduated from Duke with a major in psychology in 2014, has been riding horses since the age of four
She trained on her family’s 368-acre farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey, after her parents relocated from Los Angeles in order to raise their children away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.
After she graduated from college, Jessica moved to Valkenswaard in the Netherlands so that she could focus on her sport.
Equestrian gold medalist Melanie Smith Taylor told the New York Post that the Jessica ‘has really come into her own this year.’
Smith Taylor, who won the top honors in 1984, previously said that Jessica has sought to carve out her own path in her sport.
‘She has said early on that she didn’t want to be known as Bruce Springsteen’s daughter alone,’ Smith Taylor said.
The Tokyo Olympics will commence on July 23 and the show jumping competition is due to kick off on August 3 with the individual qualifier, followed by the individual final on August 4.
The team event will begin on August 6 and the final will take place the following day.
Love: Neither her parents nor her boyfriend, Italian rider Lorenzo De Luca, will join her in Tokyo due to COVID-19 rules
Rich kids: Jessica (far right) is pictured with Eve Jobs, Hannah Margaret Selleck, and Georgina Bloomberg
Sadly for Jessica, her family will not be able to watch her make her Olympics debut in person — and neither will her boyfriend, Italian rider Lorenzo De Luca.
In order to maintain health and safety standards amid the ongoing pandemic, the International Olympic Committee has banned athletes’ family members and friends from attending the Games.
Thankfully, the equestrian will have plenty of seasoned shoulders to lean on for advice during the competition.
Jessica is the only member of the four-person team making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, as all three of her teammates have previously competed at the prestigious competition in the past.
McLain Ward, 45, took home the gold both in Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004, and he won the silver medal at Rio in 2016. Tokyo will be his fifth Olympic competition.
Meanwhile, 55-year-old Laura Kraut helped Team USA to win gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing, and Kent Farrington, 40, was a member of the squad who took home silver in Rio.