Text © World of Showjumping
“For me, a small-town girl, being able to come out to all these shows with incredible five-star athletes has been a dream come true,” Giavanna Rinaldi tells World of Showjumping. For the past year and a half, the 25-year-old American – currently ranked 367 on the Longines Ranking – has worked for Enda Carroll’s Ashford Farm in Bocholt, Belgium.
“This probably is the job that I have been dreaming of since I was really young,” she says. “I have a good string of horses and I always have a super team of staff around me. Enda and his team have put a lot of trust in me. I find that when I'm trusted to be more independent, that is when I work my best. We go to nice shows and there is always somebody there to support me, whether it's Michael Cristofoletti – he is the coach and has helped me a lot with my riding – or someone else from our team. Everything is taken care of and well planned.”
All in from the very beginning
“It's not your typical story, as I don't come from a riding family,” Giavanna tells about her childhood. “I grew up in a small town in Illinois. There was a stable about five minutes from our house and because our house was in the middle of nowhere, you always had to go past it to reach the town. My mother took me on a pony ride one day, where you just sit on the pony and walk around in circles. After the first time I did that, I couldn't get enough, and every time my mother drove past the stable, she was hoping that I was sleeping because otherwise I would cry and scream; I wanted to go to the ponies. You had to be four-years-old before you could start taking lessons, and until I was old enough, I just had to go sit on the ponies! Once I started taking lessons, I was 100% on it from there.”
My parents tried to get me to do every other sport possible besides riding because they realized how expensive it was
“My family did what they could for me, but I wasn’t able to own a team of horses for myself, so I had to figure out how I could get that,” Giavanna continues. “My parents tried to get me to do every other sport possible besides riding because they realized how expensive it was. I got lucky enough to find my way to Alex Jane at Our Day Farm and that's when I started to get more serious about my riding. I moved to him when I was just 14 and stayed there my whole junior career. He really helped me get my foot in the door with a lot of good people. I became a catch rider; nearly every week, whether we were in Wellington or travelling during the summer, I always had good horses to ride.”
After her junior years, Giavanna tried to go to college. “Everybody that I spoke to told me that was the way I should go, it was the standard route,” she explains. “I did give it a go, but after about half a year, I told my parents that I couldn't do it – I really just wanted to ride full-time. I had no doubts in my mind; riding was what I wanted to do. I wanted to jump right into it, get a job as a working student or as a riding groom. I felt like I could learn a lot more doing that than sitting in a classroom.”
European experience
A family friend helped Giavanna connect with Helena Stormanns in Germany and she ended up staying in Eschweiler for nearly four years. “That gave me a lot of experience out in Europe and it was something that I had dreamed to do. It was very much an eye opener for me, and I learned all the ins and outs. I had only done a handful of international shows before coming out to Europe, so that was a huge change for me. I loved every minute of it and I got a lot of good opportunities with Helena.”
It was very much an eye opener for me, and I learned all the ins and outs
After her time in Germany, Giavanna got a good job opportunity in the States. “I left Germany and went back home, where I stayed about a year and a half. I was doing my own thing, riding for a few people, and I had a few good horses at the time, so I was able to go to good shows."
"Then I got in contact with Enda, who was looking for a rider, and at the time, I was thinking about what my next steps were. Enda offered me a great opportunity and I am very glad I took the leap to go to Europe again. I've really enjoyed it so far. We have a good team of horses, great team of staff, everybody works really well together. At any given moment I have around ten horses. It's a nice number; not too many, but enough to continue going to some nice shows. We get a few six- and seven-year-old horses on, which I really enjoy, but typically the ones I have are eight or older. We also get some older horses in; I've had a few ready-to-go Grand Prix horses as well, which is nice support for the young, up-and-coming ones.”
Someone needs to take a chance on you
In 2022, Giavanna recorded her biggest success yet when topping the CSI5* 1.60m ‘Pan American’ Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows with Cosmona (Cosmeo x Bogegarden’s Apollo). “I would say the biggest challenge as a young rider is finding the starting point, getting your foot in the door somewhere,” she says about her career path. “Somebody has to take the chance on you; you have to have somebody who will trust in you and invest in you. Finding the right people is the most difficult thing. And also, when you make good connections, you must keep them. You must keep everybody on your side. It's all a give and take and in the end, you have to simply work really hard every day and make your own opportunities – because normally, opportunities are not coming to you, you must create them.”
You have to simply work really hard every day and make your own opportunities
“Also, I believe it is important not to rush anything. You can go on doing this sport forever; there is no time limit. A lot of people would maybe compare themselves to others and feel like they are in a rush to keep up – which is sometimes true – but I do believe that everything good takes time. You must be patient and trust the process.”
“You have to learn as much as you can,” Giavanna continues. “My favourite thing to do is watch the warm-ups. When I'm flatting in the mornings and all the five-star riders are riding around, I take extra time just to be able to stop and watch them. The two people that I have looked up to since I was young are Laura Kraut and Beezie Madden. They are both incredible athletes and growing up, I watched them on TV. Now, actually being able to know them and ride at the same shows is such a cool experience. I literally worshipped them growing up; I would watch every single thing they did, how they warmed up, how they flatted, what they did with their horses in the morning, I would watch them in the ring. I really just wanted to ride like them – and still do.”
Big goals
Horses are Giavanna’s first love and her biggest source of inspiration. “What motivates me the most are the horses,” she tells. “I love horses and I always try to do what's right by them. I want to improve myself every day, but I also find a lot of joy in improving the horses, whether they're younger ones that are moving up the ranks or older ones."
The hardest part is to try and learn from mistakes
"Obviously, there are also bad days, and it can be difficult for me to pick myself up because I'm very hard on myself. I am my own worst critic, which is why I love having people like Enda and Michael around me because they motivate me to be better. I struggle sometimes with a bit of self-doubt. If I have one really good result, I hang on to that for a while just to remind myself that I can do this and I can trust the process, trust my horses and trust the team around me. For me, it's super important not to linger on bad results too long, because that only takes you further down. The hardest part is to try and learn from mistakes. I study my videos, I give myself a handful of times to watch them and sometimes I even delete them afterwards to make sure I don't go back, so I can forget about it and truly learn to be better next time – for both myself and my horses.”
“My top goal would be to represent my country at the Olympics,” Giavanna says about her dreams for the future. “That's very, very far away for me, but it would definitely be my biggest ambition. I would also like to consistently get results on four- and five-star level, and be able to walk in the ring and know that I can go in and win. I would really like to jump the World Cup Finals, World Equestrian Games, all those massive championships, and be able to represent the States in Nations Cups all around the world. I take a lot of pride in doing the Nations Cup. I did a few junior ones, young rider ones and a few five-stars as well and I really love the team aspect of it. My favorite Nations Cup so far was the one I jumped at Spruce Meadows, it is such a special show.”
Finding your way far from home
One aspect in the sport that Giavanna believes is not talked about enough is the time spent away from home. “I left home when I was 18 and rarely ever came back to the States,” she says. “I left and I was not really thrown to the wolves, but I had to be super independent really fast. I find that's what a lot of the younger riders in the States struggle with; getting a chance to go out to Europe or even just finding an internship."
"You must get out of your comfort zone and go run after what you want to do, but I find the opportunities are a bit limited in the States for young riders who can't financially back themselves. Yes, you can get working student positions and if you're really lucky, you can get a stable with a decent group of horses to keep showing in the States. However, if you want to eventually get to the highest level, I find the only way as a young rider to do it is in Europe. That's the only way you're going to get experienced jumping both sport horses and young horses. Without the young horses, you don't get sport horses, so you must learn how to do both.”
I find the opportunities are a bit limited in the States for young riders who can't financially back themselves
“In Europe, you must be independent and learn how to manage yourself and your day. Many people get homesick – I know that I did in the beginning – but for me, the biggest step in my career was going out to Europe when I was 18. It just depends on the person, but if you are ambitious about the sport, you must take the chance and either leave home or go to a position where you have to travel a lot. It's not an easy step to make, but you do figure out how to manage it.”
“My parents did as much for me as they could, they really did,” Giavanna concludes. “They supported me in so many ways. They have definitely been my biggest supporters ever, and I am so grateful to them for their years of sacrifice and support for me."
10.10.2024 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.