Riders competing at the highest levels of show jumping are keen to check the Longines Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Jumping World Ranking of over 3,000 athletes when it is updated monthly. In the latest publication of the list, Erynn Ballard of Tottenham, ON, didn’t have to scroll far to find herself at number 29 and the top ranked female show jumper in the world.
Ballard is the first Canadian woman to reach the position since the Longines rankings were digitized in 2010. With only 17 women in the top 100, Ballard knows this is a great achievement and motivation going into the 2022 season. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” the 41-year-old athlete shared. “I think it’s an extremely major accomplishment, I will have this with me for the rest of my life. It’s truly a sport where everyday there is only one winner, the achievement is based on one year of pretty serious results and it’s not something that can happen in one month – that’s the biggest accomplishment.”
Ballard, who began riding at the age of five and entered the show ring a year later, is ranked 29th on the FEI Longines Rankings with 1940 points, with the next closest females on the list are American’s Jessica Springsteen at 37 with 1865 and Laura Kraut at 38 with 1835. Canada’s next woman rider Tiffany Foster is not far behind at 40 with 1800 points.
Erynn Ballard and Nanini Van D’Abelendreef clearing a jump in Wellington, FL
Photo Credit: Sportfot
Ballard started the 2022 season earning the win in two separate grand prix classes, with the first class being the $50,000 Equiline Grand Prix at the Palm Beach Invitational Equestrian Center where she and Nanini Van D’Abelendreef (Kannan x Heartbreaker), a nine-year-old Belgian warmblood mare, co-owned by Esperanza Imports LLC and Ilan Ferder, made it to the top of the leaderboard. “I don’t think there is a better way to start. We have started up in the FEI divisions with some nice results,” said Ballard.
She attributes much of her recent success to working with owner Ilan Ferder. “This is my fifth winter with Ilan, just like everything in life, we are evolving – better horses, better training, better shows and better results. That’s always the process, it’s a team effort and hard work pays off.”
Ballard, who made her Nations’ Cup debut at the 2006 Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ tournament, is also a professional trainer and coach for her family’s business, Looking Back Farm. She offered advice to young athletes who look up to her, “first love your horses, they are the ones who give us these results – learn to understand them and be their partners.” She continued, “we all have to take the good results with the bad ones, you can’t win at 1.40m until you win at 1.30m, surround yourself with people who believe in you and have the tools and knowledge to achieve your goals.”
Ballard is a great role model for up-and-coming riders in a sport dominated at the top by men. She is currently the highest ranked Canadian rider, with women leading results on the world stage for the maple leaf. In addition to Ballard and Foster, Amy Millar is ranked 104 and Vanessa Mannix at 145. Mario Deslauriers holds the third best Canadian position at 63. Ballard’s great year of riding is blazing the trail for other Canadians preparing for the FEI World Championships in Denmark in August.
Looking ahead, Ballard and her team go day by day, but have hopes to gain more experience in Europe before competing in Herning at the end of the summer. “I’m ranked 29th in the world and my results are 99% North American,” she admitted. “In my whole career, I have limited European experiences. For those who believe Europe is the place to be better, it’s not always an option and you can do it based here!”
Ballard is also a big supporter of the Major League Show Jumping tour which she plans to attend again in 2022 with her team of six riders on the Diamond Devils. Based on her current success, she appears to be embodying the team’s motto “Our edge comes from our spirit because there is nothing we can’t do.”
Making it to the top of the world is proof that she can do anything, and Canada is here for it.