Richard Rankin Fellers (born October 3, 1959) is an American Olympic

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

and

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. In 2021, the

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with ad ...

ruled Fellers ineligible to participate in the sport, due to charges brought against him.

Early life and education

Fellers, the son of Richard D. and Colleen M. (Smith) Fellers, was born in

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one en ...

. He graduated from

Yamhill-Carlton High School Yamhill Carlton High School is a public high school in the northwest United States, located in Yamhill, Oregon, southwest of Portland. The school was built in the 1930s and was to cost $65,000, with the Public Works Administration providing $27,00 ...

in 1978, and attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

as an engineering major. He left the university in his junior year to start a riding business, and moved to California, where he met Michelle "Shelley" Bramble. In 1987 they returned to Oregon, wed, and started a family. They have a son and a daughter.

Career

According to the U. S. Equestrian Foundation (USEF), when Fellers was eleven years old his birthday present was a two-year-old

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

: "The short, stocky horse had a talent for jumping, and the pair eventually became winners from the West Coast U. S. Grand Prix circuit to

Spruce Meadows Spruce Meadows is a multi-purpose sports facility near Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern family which opened in 1975. The facility contains an equestrian show jumping complex that comprises . The current president and CEO of Spruce Me ...

in Canada." By 1988, Fellers had won the

Arthritis Foundation The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with arthritis in the United States. There are more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis, the nation's l ...

Grand Prix at the Oaks in

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...

three years in a row— twice riding the veteran mount Bailey's Irish Cream, and then on El Mirasol, his own 6-year-old chestnut

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

. In 1998, the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'' reported on his wins at the North American show jumping championships: "In the long history of Spruce Meadows, no one could quite recall a week like Fellers had. Of the nine featured classes over five days of competition, Fellers finished either first or second in every single event." Fellers began riding Flexible, an

Irish Sport Horse The Irish Sport Horse, or Irish Hunter, is an Irish breed of warmblood sporting horse, used mostly for dressage, eventing and show-jumping. It was bred from 1923 by cross-breeding of Irish Draught and Thoroughbred stock. There was some limited ...

stallion, in 2002. According to the USEF Network, Fellers at age 52 and 16-year-old Flexible were the oldest pair in the show jumping finals at the World Cup finals in the Netherlands. Flexible was retired in 2017, and he died of natural causes in 2021. A resident of

Sherwood, Oregon Sherwood is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located in the southeast corner of the county, it is a residential community in the Tualatin Valley, southwest of Portland. As of the 2010 census, Sherwood had a population of 18,19 ...

, Fellers and his wife Shelley operated Rich Fellers Stables in

Oregon City, Oregon ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

starting in 2011. Fellers trained horses there, offering jumping lessons as well as purchasing and selling horses. Harry and Molly Chapman, the owners of Flexible, hired Fellers in 2012 to train their horses and ride their best in competition. In 2021, the

ruled Fellers ineligible to participate in the sport, in connection with a criminal indictment. Fellers has denied allegations that he sexually abused a minor, and his trial is set for Fall 2022.

Selected competitions

Equestrian at the 1991 Pan American Games The 11th Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. Events See also * Equestrian at the 1992 Summer Olympics References

* . * {{Pan American Games Equestrian Events at the 1991 Pan American Ga ...

* 2008 CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament *

2008 CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament – CN International The 2008 CN International was a Grand Prix show jumping event held at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on September 7, 2008 during the 2008 CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament. With a $1,000,000 purse, the CN International is on ...

* 2008 FEI World Cup Jumping Final * 2008, 2012 Show Jumping World Cup *

FEI World Cup Jumping 2009/2010 The FEI World Cup Jumping 2009/2010 was the 32nd edition of the premier international show jumping competition run by the FEI. The final was held at the Palexpo in Le Grand-Saconnex near Geneva, Switzerland from April 14, 2010 to April 18, 2010. M ...

2010 Dublin Horse Show The 2010 Dublin Horse Show was that year's edition of the Dublin Horse Show, the Irish official show jumping competition at Dublin. It was held as CSIO 5*. The main sponsor was Fáilte Ireland. The first horse show was held in 1864 in Dublin b ...

2010 Falsterbo Horse Show The 2010 Falsterbo Horse Show, the official Swedish show jumping horse show, was held between July 8 and July 11 as CSIO 5* and CDI 5*. The first horse show were held 1920 in Falsterbo, in 1969 the first show jumping derby was held here. FEI ...

FEI World Cup Jumping 2010/2011 The FEI World Cup Jumping 2010/2011 was the 33rd edition of the premier international show jumping competition run by the FEI. The final was held at the Leipzig Trade Fair in Leipzig, Germany, from April 27, 2011, to May 1, 2011. Marcus Ehning of ...

2010 FEI World Cup Jumping Final The 2010 FEI World Cup Jumping Final was the final of the FEI World Cup Jumping 2009/2010. It was the 32nd final of the FEI World Cup Jumping show jumping series and was held at the Palexpo in Le Grand-Saconnex near Geneva, Switzerland, from Apr ...

2010 Royal International Horse Show The 2010 Longines Royal International Horse Show was that year's edition of the Royal International Horse Show, the British official show jumping competition at All England Jumping Course at Hickstead. It was held as CSIO 5* and CDI 5*. The 20 ...

2011 CSIO Schweiz The 2011 CSIO Schweiz (English: CSIO Switzerland) was the 2011 edition of the CSIO Schweiz, the Swiss official show jumping horse show, at ''Gründenmoos'' in St. Gallen. It was held as CSIO 5*. The first horse show were held 1884 at St. Gallen. ...

2011 FEI Nations Cup Promotional League The 2011 FEI Nations Cup Promotional League is the 2011 edition of the secondary international team Grand Prix show jumping competition run by the FEI. European Promotional League Standings A team of a country that belongs to one of the 2011 ...

2011 FEI World Cup Finals The 2011 FEI World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany were the Final of four World Cups in different Equestrian sports. They were held in the exhibition halls 1 and 3 at the new Leipzig Trade Fair from April 27 to May 1, 2011. First time ever four ho ...

* 2011 Jumping International de France * 2011 Piazza di Siena * FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 * 2012 FEI World Cup Finals (show jumping and dressage) *

Equestrian at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Individual jumping The individual jumping in equestrian at the 2012 Olympic Games in London was held at Greenwich Park from 4 to 8 August. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in ...

Equestrian at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Team jumping The team jumping in equestrian at the 2012 Olympic Games in London was held at Greenwich Park from 4 to 6 August. Great Britain's team consisting of Scott Brash, Peter Charles, Ben Maher and Nick Skelton won the gold medal in a jump-off, the ...

* 2015 FEI World Cup Finals (show jumping and dressage)

Awards and honors

* Competed in nine annual championships. * On the Bronze winning U.S. team at the 1991

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

in Havana, Cuba. * 2006 West Coast League winner. * Competed in two events at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. * 2012

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 ...

Equestrian of the Year award. * Inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 2012.

References

External links

* (vide, 2:53 minutes)
A Conversation with Richard Fellars
by Paula Parisi * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellers, Rich 1959 births Living people American male equestrians Olympic equestrians of the United States Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in equestrian Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Equestrians at the 1991 Pan American Games People from Coos Bay, Oregon People from Sherwood, Oregon Sportspeople from Oregon Sportspeople from Oregon City, Oregon Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games