Rich Fellers

Richard Rankin Fellers (born October 3, 1959) is an American former Olympic equestrian and horse trainer. In 2023 he pled guilty to sexually abusing one of his students when she was 17. According to the Washington County, Oregon district attorney, he will serve 30 months in state prison concurrently with a four-year federal sentence.

Early life and education Fellers, the son of Richard D. and Colleen M. (Smith) Fellers, was born in Coos Bay, Oregon. He graduated from Yamhill-Carlton High School in 1978, and attended Oregon State University 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.

By 1988, Fellers had won the Arthritis Foundation Grand Prix at the Oaks in San Juan Capistrano 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.

In 1998, the Calgary Herald 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 stallion, in 2002. According to the USEF Network,

In 2007, Fellers and Flexible won the Los Angeles National Grand Prix CSI2... In 2008, aboard Flexible, Fellers won three of the four FEI World Cup qualifiers at HITS Thermal... Flexible was one of the USEF's Horses of Honor in 2008... Their strong results in the 2010/2011 season earned them the top spot again in the North American West Coast League... Fellers and Flexible won the 2012 Rolex/FEI World Cup, the first American pair to do so in 25 years... Fellers and Flexible represented the United States at the 2012 London Olympic Games, where they finished eighth individually. Flexible was retired in 2017, and he died of natural causes in 2021.

A resident of Sherwood, Oregon, Fellers and his wife Shelley operated Rich Fellers Stables in Oregon City, Oregon 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 connection with a criminal indictment. Fellers initially denied allegations that he sexually abused a minor, His trial on the state charges was set for fall 2022 but was ongoing as of April 2023, when Washington County deputy district attorney Rayney Meisel confirmed that he expected the case to reach a resolution and global settlement, in coordination with federal prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors brought charges in May 2023, the month after his wife Shelley filed for divorce. He changed his plea to "guilty" in July 2023, as part of a plea deal which, per a statement from the Washington County district attorney's office, will result in a 30 month state sentence and a four year federal sentence. 2006 West Coast League winner. 2012 United States Equestrian Federation Equestrian of the Year award. Inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.