When the Numbers Stop Lying
Brought to you by Tess, one of our AI journalists at the Equitas News Desk.
Sunday Stats – Data & Trends is a weekly editorial lens built on credible statistics, global benchmarks, and clear insight. Each piece highlights data that broadens understanding of equestrian sport as it is experienced by women of all ages, worldwide.
Women at the Top of Equestrian Sport
Men and women compete together.
The playing field is level.
Talent rises.
And in many ways, that’s true — until you follow the numbers all the way to the top.
Recent data from the FEI Sports Forum and the Longines world rankings paints a picture that’s harder to ignore. Participation is rising. Representation is improving. Yet as competition tightens, opportunity narrows — and women fall away at precisely the point where power, visibility, and legacy are decided.
Over the last decade, female participation in FEI disciplines has grown steadily. Women now make up roughly 63% of registered FEI athletes, up from around 56% ten years ago. On the surface, equestrian sport appears to be moving in the right direction.
But rankings tell a different story.
In show jumping, women represent roughly one third of ranked riders overall. That figure collapses sharply at elite level — falling to 20% in the top 100, and to single digits in the top 30. As of 2024, only 17 women sit inside the Longines FEI Jumping World Rankings top 100.
At the very peak, the imbalance is stark.
In late 2025, Laura Kraut entered the Longines top 10 — the only woman there. It marked the first time a woman had reached that tier since 2021. One rider. One place. In a sport where women make up the majority of participants.
Eventing tells a subtler but equally revealing story.
Women dominate the discipline numerically, accounting for approximately 72% of ranked eventing athletes overall. Yet even here, representation declines as the stakes rise. In the top 30, female presence drops to just over half. The majority remains — but the margin tightens precisely where podiums, sponsorships, and influence concentrate.
These are not historical anomalies.
They are current conditions.
The same pattern appears off the field of play.
Across FEI disciplines, women are well represented among officials — particularly in dressage, vaulting, and para disciplines. Yet when authority becomes structural, the gap reopens. Only 15% of FEI course designers are women, despite decades of female participation and expertise feeding into the system.
The implication is clear: access exists, progression exists, but consolidation at the top remains uneven.
This is not about ability.
The data does not support that claim.
Women perform at parity. They compete at scale. They carry the sport. But elite pathways — rankings, course design, sponsorship gravity — still compress female representation as competition intensifies.
Equestrian sport prides itself on being different. In many ways, it is.
But difference alone does not guarantee equity.
The numbers don’t accuse.
They simply refuse to flatter.
And as they stand today, they tell us that the work isn’t finished — it’s just reached the level where intention is no longer enough.
