Bruce Springsteen's Daughter Just Made Team USA's Olympic Equestrian Team
Bruce Springsteen was born to run, but Jessica Springsteen was born to ride.
Having a famous father is probably hard, especially when that famous father is Bruce Springsteen. Turns out, he's not the only big shot in the family, though. The Boss' daughter, Jessica Springsteen, has her own accomplishments to tout. For one, she's going to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with the United States' equestrian team, according to Team USA.
Jessica shared the exciting news on Instagram, posting a photo of herself and her horse. Bruce wasn't in the photo, but he's surely a proud papa.
"Been dreaming of this since I can remember! Endless gratitude for my team, friends and family for helping me make this a reality," she captioned the Instagram announcement. "We are Tokyo bound!! Honored to be a part of this team with @laurakraut @teamkpf and @mclainward.official. There's no horse in the world I'd rather be on this journey with, thank you Don! You're my horse of a lifetime. Let's go USA!"
The 29-year-old will join Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, and McLain Ward at this year's Olympic games, according to Olympics.com. This isn't the first time the musician's daughter has had her eye on the gold either. In 2012, she was an alternate in the London Olympic Games. She didn't get to compete that year but has plenty of accolades from other events, including the 2014 American Gold Cup and the 2017 Falcon Stakes CSI 5. In other words, she's a big deal in the horse-riding community.
According to Olympics.com, Jessica's been riding almost as long as she's been walking, having learned to ride horses when she was four on her family farm in New Jersey. She has since been named among the best equestrians in the US (she's ranked 27 in the world, according to NPR) and her teammates aren't half bad either. McLain won gold in Athens in 2004 and again in Beijing in 2008. He also won a silver medal in Rio in 2016. Farrington won silver in the 2016 games in Rio as well, and Kraut took home the gold in Beijing in 2008.
It's safe to say that this team will probably bring home at least a few medals from Tokyo. According to Olympics.com, team leader Robert Ridland said "I feel very confident that the seasoned group of riders that we will be sending to Tokyo is in top current form and peaking at just the right time. We're looking forward to the next few weeks ahead and are aiming to deliver a strong performance for Team USA in Tokyo."
The Tokyo 2020 Team Jumping qualifiers and final are set to take place August 6 and 7. Bruce will surely be rooting for Team USA (specifically for Jessica and her horse Don Juan van de Donkhoeve) from home.