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For the last two months, Kristen Vanderveen (USA) and Bull Run’s Jireh (Born Uno 56, Uriko x Colman – bred by Timm Peters) have topped the FEI Combination in Jumping Ranking. Separate from the Longines Rankings, the FEI Combination in Jumping Ranking runs for a calendar year with no carryover points. Additionally, Bull Run's Jireh opened the WBFSH Breeder Rankings for 2026 on top, with 1146 points.

“He's one of the few horses that I've had from the very beginning up to the top of his career,” Kristen tells World of Showjumping about the 12-year-old gelding. “It's been a long journey for us, but it's been fun to do the beginning stages with him, just starting at seven.”

Bull Run’s Jireh was developed by Peter and Lina Glisic. “I've gotten quite a few horses from them,” Kristen explains. “I saw Jireh as a youngster and kind of followed him since his young years, when he was five and six. When he was seven and had jumped a little bit bigger is when I ended up buying him. I got him off the video, just from following his career and knowing that Peter and Lina know me well.”

“My biggest achievements with him include winning a five-star Grand Prix recently in Doha,” Kristen shares. “It was a big deal because it's only the second five-star that I've won, and it had been a while. Also, the qualifying shows coming into the 2025 World Cup Final were a pretty fun and special time with him. Because I have had him since he was young, I always treat him like a bit of my baby. Those World Cup qualifiers were a real turning point in his career; he was ready to go five-star after five- star. That was a cool season where he just was able to really blossom and become the horse he is right now.”

“I don't follow the rankings a lot, just to keep my head clear,” Kristen reflects. “Therefore, it was a bit of a surprise to me to top the FEI Combination in Jumping Ranking, but I think the consistency that we've built as a partnership is getting to be shown and rewarded now. However, for me, every show and the program with him is rewarding already – I enjoy the process. He's such a winner and he's a competitor, and each show is fun because he's very consistent. I can really rely on him, he is always ready to be competitive, and I think that has helped us.”

“My plans have changed a lot, seeing that we were in Doha when the war in Iran started,” Kristen tells about her goals for the rest of the season. “There were then no more flights to go directly back to America, so we had fly to Europe and then fly to America, which is quite expensive. Therefore, we have this unique time now that we're going to just stay in Europe and show. Hopefully, we will be jumping five-star shows here in Europe and spending most of our summer here, and then probably go back to Doha.”

13.5.2026 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.