Million Dollar Girl
Record-Setting 22-Year-Old Hillary Dobbs and the Jumpers that Took Her to the Top
BY AMBER HEINTZBERGER © Sophie Durieux
dollars in show jumping prize money. It was just after winning her 23rd career grand prix on July 19, 2010 in the $30,000 Vermont Battenkill Grand Prix that the 22-year old Harvard graduate from Sussex, NJ, learned she had surpassed the previous record. “It’s an incredible milestone and I’m honored to have
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accomplished this,” says Hillary, who has broken several records in her short career. She made history in 2008, becoming the youngest ever
to win the $200,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix at the age of 20, breaking the record set by two-time Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward. Earlier that summer, Hillary became the youngest rider to ever win the prestigious Falsterbo Derby in Sweden. She has several other “firsts” to her name. Hillary beat Ward’s title as the Leading Open Rider at the Washington International Horse Show. And on August 8, 2010 she added her 24th career grand prix win when she and Marengo successfully defended their title to win the $30,000 Manchester & The Mountains Grand Prix, presented by Hand Motors, also at the Vermont Summer Festival.
58 September/October 2010
aking headlines is old hat for Hillary Dobbs, but even this phenomenal young show jumper was excited when she recently became one of the youngest riders to earn more than one million
ROAD TO SUCCESS Hillary and her twin sister Heather grew up on the family’s horse farm in New Jersey. Both of her parents rode for fun and with her first lead line show at age five Hillary was smitten, becoming more enthusiastic and competitive as the years went on. The daughter of former CNN news anchor and current
radio show host Lou Dobbs and Debi Dobbs, Hillary said that her parents have always been supportive. “When I couldn’t drive, my parents drove me six hours each way to my trainers’ and to all the shows, or they both flew to Hickstead or Dublin to watch me in a Nations Cup,” she says. “There’s always been emotional support.” As a child, Hillary dreamed of becoming an equitation
rider, so she was naturally drawn to trainers Missy Clark and John Brennan in Warren, Vermont, who have produced national champions for more than a decade. She recalls, “My sister and I begged and begged to ride with John and Missy! We made a big presentation to our parents with posters and facts and figures and made a persuasive case.” While equitation gave her a foundation, she was
captivated by the speed and height of the jumpers. Eventually the adrenaline rush of successfully jumping a grand prix course determined her future. In 2007 she competed abroad for the first time on the
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