Two Women in the World’s Top 10 - and Why It Matters So Much More Than Numbers

You might have missed it in the flurry of start‑of‑season news, but something quite extraordinary happened this month.

For the first time in nearly a decade, two women — Laura Kraut and Nina Mallevaey — have broken into the FEI Longines World Top 10 in Showjumping.

Now, if you’re not someone who checks the rankings every month, that might seem like just another stat. But if you ride, if you’ve ever stood at the edge of an arena wondering if you’re good enough, strong enough, or simply enough, then this moment means something else entirely.

This is about proof.

Laura Kraut — Still Climbing, Still Quietly Breaking Rules

Laura Kraut is 58. Let that sit for a second.

She has just entered the top 10 ranked riders in the world — not in her age bracket, not in some senior category, but the actual top tier of showjumping. That’s not supposed to happen, right? You’re supposed to age out. You’re supposed to stop taking risks. You’re supposed to hand the reins to the younger generation.

Except Laura didn’t.

She kept going. She stayed in the game. And she’s not just participating — she’s at the top of it.

It’s not just her horses or her training programme or the decades of experience. It’s the mindset. The quiet decision to keep showing up, even when the world says your time has passed.

There’s something deeply radical about a woman who refuses to disappear — especially in sport.

Nina Mallevaey — A 26‑Year‑Old With Her Own Kind of Power

Then there’s Nina Mallevaey — 26 years old, French, fiercely talented. She's ranked No. 8 in the world and still feels like she's just getting started.

She’s part of a generation that has come up watching other women fight for space in the sport — and now she’s taking up that space with both hands.

Nina rides with clarity and intent, but not noise. She’s not flashy. She’s efficient. And she’s proof that you don’t need to shout to be heard. You can just win.

In a world that constantly tells young women they have to be everything — pretty and powerful, soft and strategic, liked and respected — Nina is doing it her way. And it’s working.

Why This Moment Matters

It’s not about rankings. It’s about visibility. Possibility.

It’s about a 14‑year‑old girl on a cold morning in Ireland, or Belgium, or Brazil, wondering if she’ll ever be good enough to make it. And it’s about her being able to look up at the top 10 and see not one, but two women standing there.

One in her 20s. One nearing 60.

Both exceptional. Both completely different.

Both proving that there is no right age to succeed. No one way to win. No single path to the top.

For a sport that claims to be equal, these moments of actual representation matter. Not just symbolically — practically. Because when we see someone else do it, we start to believe we might do it too.

So yes, Laura and Nina being in the Top 10 is a headline. But it’s also a message.

To every rider who’s been told she’s too old, too young, too quiet, too much —

Keep going.

They're not the exception. They're the example.