Jessica Springsteen in France in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
Jessica Springsteen in France in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
Bruce Springsteen's daughter will compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
The Born to Run hitmaker's second child, 29-year-old Jessica Springsteen - who he has with wife Patti Scialfa - has been selected to join Team USA as part of the Equestrian squad and will be heading to Japan for the competitionnext month.
US Equestrian, the sport's national governing body, have confirmed Jessica - who will ride her 12-year-old stallion Don Juan Van de Donkhoeve - will be part of the jumping team alongside Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward, with Brian Moggre and Lucy Deslauriers as reserves.
(L-R) Bruce Springsteen, Jessica Rae Springsteen and Patti Scialfa in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
Jessica's Olympic hopes were dashed in 2016 due to her horse's ongoing leg issues and she was only in the squad as an alternate rider.
However, she has represented her country several times at the FEI Nations Cup and other events and recently admitted she's fulfilling her "dream" in doing so.
She said earlier this year: "My dream is always to represent the United States in championships, so I am definitely always working toward that.
"I feel like I have a really good group of horses jumping great right now, so I will just keep doing my best."
The rider has previously described her parents as her "biggest supporters".
Jessica Springsteen during the Longines Global Champions Tour of London 2019. Photo / Getty Images
She has said: "It's great that [my parents] come and share it as a family — they're my biggest supporters.
"I don't think [my dad] gets as nervous as my mom, but they both really love to come. So I am happy they love it as much as I do."
Equestrian legend Melanie Smith Taylor - who won gold at the 1984 Olympics - previously praised Jessica for "forging her own path" away from her famous father.
She said: "She has said early on that she didn't want to be known as Bruce Springsteen's daughter alone. She wanted to forge her own path. She's really doing that. She is very much at the elite level of the sport because of her performance."
