The U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation has awarded the Whitney Stone Cup to Rich Fellers.

The award is presented annually to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition and high standards of sportsmanlike conduct while serving as an ambassador for the United States and equestrian sport. Fellers was the winner of the 2012 Rolex FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals aboard Mollie and Harry Chapman’s Flexible in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. The pair then went on to finish eighth, the highest-placed American competitors, at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Fellers, of Wilsonville, Ore., was unable to attend the USET Foundation Reception on Jan. 25 in Wellington, Fla. U.S. Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland accepted the award and read Fellers’ acceptance speech in his absence.

“I am humbled to be included with this elite group of former winners. We all talk about having the horse of a lifetime. Mollie and Harry Chapman have, without a doubt, been owners of a lifetime. Their support, confidence and trust in Shelley and me over the years have been amazing,” wrote Fellers. “The majority of my success in the sport has been a direct result of their commitment. Looking forward, my biggest wish for the success we enjoyed this past year is to, in some way, inspire the future stars of our sport.”

Fellers and Flexible will continue to compete in 2013, and Fellers hopes to return to the World Cup Final to defend his title.