Danielle "Dani" Goldstein-Waldman (born February 6, 1985) is an
American-Israeli
, native_name_lang =
, image =
, caption =
, population = 110,000–150,000
, popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...
show jumper
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...
. In July 2019 Goldstein, as part of Israel's four-rider squad, qualified to represent
Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Israel competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with its largest contingent to date − a delegation of 90 athletes, 55 men and 35 women, who competed in 15 different sports. This was almost double the previous number of 47 athletes who repre ...
in Tokyo.
Early and personal life
Danielle Goldstein is a native New Yorker who grew up on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Her parents were professional
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
players, with her father Stuart ranked number one in the world and her mother nationally ranked in squash, and her father now works in real estate. She is Jewish, and felt drawn to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
after traveling there on a Bat Mitzvah trip, at the age of 12.
She attended
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, where Goldstein earned a BA in global economies and development, and played competitive tennis. She lived in
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
, for six months studying
urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
.
Goldstein wears up to 1,000 special colorful hair extension feathers in her hair, that she makes herself to match her hair color, which she changes every four months. It takes more than six hours to put them all in. She also has a unique riding clothing style, in that she wears midriff-bearing
sports bra
A sports bra is a bra that provides support to the breasts during physical exercise. Sturdier than typical bras, they minimize breast movement and alleviate discomfort. Many women wear sports bras to reduce pain and physical discomfort caused b ...
s and
yoga pants
Yoga pants are high- denier hosiery reaching from ankle to waist, originally designed for yoga as exercise and first sold in 1998 by Lululemon, a company founded for that purpose. They were initially made of a mix of nylon and Lycra; more special ...
instead of the traditional
jodhpurs
Jodhpurs, in their modern form, are tight-fitting trousers to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff, and are worn primarily for horse riding. The term is also used as slang for a type of short riding boot, also called a ''paddock boot'' or ...
. Asked about her choices in wearing feathers and yoga pants, she said:
"For me, the feathers and the clothing choices I make, I make them for very personal reasons. I make them because I think the feathers are beautiful; I think that they’re fun, and I think why not? I wear yoga clothes not because I want to make some crazy statement, but because I think I look better in them; I feel better in them; I feel more comfortable. When I look in the mirror, I feel better about myself wearing that clothing than when I wear regular breeches."
Her husband Alan Waldman, whom Goldstein married in June 2019, is a
horse breeder
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...
, dealer, and trainer. Goldstein now lives and rides in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
mostly full-time, where she lives and set up an operation in
Putten, Netherlands
Putten () is a municipality and town in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It had a population of
in . It is located in the coastal area of the old Zuiderzee (Southern Sea). To the east of Putten lies the Veluwe, the biggest national par ...
, but comes to
Wellington, Florida
Wellington is a village just west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. As of 2019, the city had a population of 65,398 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making it the most populous village in the state. It is the ...
, where her family owns and operates Starwyn Farms, during the winter season. She also maintains a part-time residence in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel.
She received her
Israeli citizenship
Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law.
Every Jew in the world has ...
in 2009.
Riding career
Goldstein began riding at age eight, and competed in her first grand prix at 16 years of age, winning individual and team
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
s in the North American Young Rider Championships that year. She never represented the United States on a senior team because she always intended to do that for Israel.
In 2010, Goldstein acquired Israeli citizenship while she was living there, and has been competing for Israel ever since. She turned professional in 2012.
In 2013, she represented Israel in the ECCO FEI European Show Jumping Championships, in
Herning, Denmark
Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022) That year Goldstein also served as the chef d’equipe (team captain) for the gold medal-winning Israeli jumping team in the
2013 Maccabiah Games
The 19th Maccabiah ( he, המכביה התשע-עשרה) were held during July 18 to 30, 2013.
The Games brought together 7,500 competing athletes, making it the third-largest international sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and ...
on Kibbutz
Yagur
Yagur ( he, יָגוּר) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Carmel, about 9 km southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council. In it had a population of , making it ...
in northern Israel on the slopes of
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...
, outside of Haifa.
In July 2017 Goldstein won the
Cascais
Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...
-
Estoril
Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has host ...
, Portugal Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) #9 Grand Prix. She finished 9th at the European Championships in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, Sweden.
In February 2019 she was ranked # 43 in the world on the Longines FEI Rankings List. That month she won the $391,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Grand Prix CSI5* at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida.
In May 2019 Goldstein won the Shanghai LGCT Grand Prix, earning over 200,000 euros. She became the first woman to win the competition.
In July 2019 she won the €300,000 LGCT Grand Prix of Berlin CSI 5*.
Also in July 2019 Goldstein, as part of Israel's four-rider squad, qualified to represent
Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Israel competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with its largest contingent to date − a delegation of 90 athletes, 55 men and 35 women, who competed in 15 different sports. This was almost double the previous number of 47 athletes who repre ...
in Tokyo, defeating Poland at an Olympic qualifier in Moscow.
United States Equestrian Federation
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF or US Equestrian) is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917, as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed to the Ameri ...