Horse: EL CAMPEON’S CIRKA Z – bay, French Stallion, 1990
Owner: El Campeon Farm
Home: Westlake Village, CA
Born: September 8, 1974
Nicole Shahinian-Simpson is one of only 11 riders to win both the ASPCA Maclay National Championship and the AHSA/Medal Championship, two of the United States’ most prestigious titles for junior riders. The roster of double-award winners reads like a “Who’s Who” in equestrian sports and winning both portends a bright future in equestrian competition.
As with the other double-award winners, Simpson has continued to climb the ranks of equestrian competitors. Following a successful career as a junior rider in the East, she moved to the West Coast where she continues to place well in major Grand Prix events. She rode in the World Cup Final for the first time in 1997.
She is married to veteran show jumping rider Will Simpson. After giving birth to their first child, Sophie, Simpson returned to competition in 1998 with two Grand Prix wins including a victory in the $50,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Devon. She has continued to succeed on the Grand Prix circuit, with several wins in 1999 and five Grand Prix wins in 2000.
In 2001, Simpson finished second in the $75,000 Bayer/USET Benefit Grand Prix Of Indio, which allowed her to be one of 10 riders representing the United States in the Show Jumping World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she tied for 9th place.
In 2002, Simpson won the Grand Prix of California in Del Mar, CA, and the Ariat Grand Prix in Indio, CA, and had top placings in the $75,000 Bayer/USET Benefit Grand Prix of Indio and the $75,000 Grand Prix of Del Mar.
Simpson is currently the head trainer at El Campeon Farms, where she has coached junior rider Eva Gonda to multiple championships in the hunter and jumper divisions. In addition to 5-year-old Sophie, Simpson and her husband have a one-year-old son, Ty William.
She earned a position on the USET squad for the 2002 Show Jumping World Championship at the World Equestrian Games by placing fourth in the selection trial standings on El Campeon Cirka Z.
Career Highlights
2002
