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Richard SPOONER

Richard SPOONER is an American athlete and competes in Jumping.
Name Richard SPOONER
FEI ID 10002623
Gender Male
Date of Birth 02/08/1970
Competing for United States of America - USA
Registration Jumping 2025
Last update 23/02/2023
FEI Database


Jumping 70x70
General Interest
Nicknames The Master of Faster (chp.coth.com, 11 Jul 2019)
Hero / Idol Austrian jumper Hugo Simon. (globalchampionstour.com, 10 Apr 2016)
Injuries In 2006 he competed with a broken leg at an event in Indio, CA, United States of America. "I was riding a horse the night before in the practice area. She fell and I landed with my leg in between the horse, the ground and my stirrup. A chiropractor friend tweaked my leg and said it probably wasn't broken, so I thought I'd do the grand prix the next day. I had my leg on ice all night and couldn't walk the course. I tried to ride with stirrups in the warm-up but the pain was unbearable, so I did the class with no stirrups. It wasn't until the next day that I found out my leg was broken." (esmtoday.org, 28 Aug 2013)
Sporting philosophy / motto "Follow your own path. Everyone is different. Be creative, be willing to take risk. Stretch your comfort zone to try new things and new ideas." (theplaidhorse.com, 14 Jul 2018)
Awards and honours He has been named Pacific Coast Horse Show Association Grand Prix Rider of the Year on more than 10 occasions. (globalchampionstour.com, 10 Apr 2016) He was named US Grand Prix Rider of the Year in 1999, 2000 and 2001. (globalchampionstour.com, 10 Apr 2016)
Famous relatives His mother Ginny owned and operated J. Alden Enterprises, a training stable located at the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center in California, United States of America. (noellefloyd.com, 04 Feb 2016; discovery.com, 28 Nov 2007)
Other information MOVE TO FRANCE After spending increasing amounts of time in Europe over a period of about 10 years, he moved his training operation to France in 2013. Two years later he returned to California, United States of America. (globalchampionstour.com, 10 Apr 2016; FEI NAL, 05 Aug 2015; proequest.com, 16 Jan 2013) OTHER ROLES He has served as member of the board at the United States Equestrian Federation. (usef.org, 26 Sep 2022)
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport? He first tried riding at age 10, but did not start competing until he was age 16. He became a professional jumper four years later.
Why this sport? His mother loved horses and owned a training stable. "I had no interest in riding, only in horses. When my mother introduced me to them, I was hooked and a hole in my life was filled. I did not know that I was missing that piece, but I found out quickly that I was."
Further Personal Information
Family Wife Kaylen
Languages English