A showjumping protégé who was groomed and sexually assaulted by his Olympic coach is ‘finally in a good place’ after years of abuse, his mother told DailyMail.com.
Millionaire equestrian star Richard Fellers, 63, was jailed on Tuesday after he admitted abusing Maggie Kehring, 20, while he was training her.
Fellers, who was sentenced to four years in federal prison and 30 months in state prison, first met Magee when he was 14 and idolized her because of her horsemanship and skills.
She admitted that she had feelings for young Ryder at the age of 16 and took her virginity when she was only 17.
Maggie’s mother Carrie, who has since founded the non-profit We Ride Together to tackle sexual abuse in equestrian sport, said her daughter was ‘finally in a good place’.
Maggie Kehring is now ‘in a better place’ after grooming and abuse by Olympic rider Richard Fellers
He said: ‘For a few years he really struggled to get himself back and what happened was constantly on his mind.
‘He’s worked so hard to find himself again, he doesn’t want to let it enter his brain at this point.’
Carey added that at least eight trainers have been arrested in the past eight months on suspicion of abuse within the riding community.
Feller’s abuse of Maggie continued until June 2020 when his wife, Shelly, accompanied them to a show in Michigan. She filed for divorce earlier this year.
Shelley has also been suspended from competitive riding for failing to report the abuse, which she is appealing.
In a statement following his sentencing, Magee said: ‘I have no comment on the Rich Fellers case. The public record speaks for itself.
‘At this time, I send my thoughts to the victims of sexual assault who are navigating the very emotional and difficult legal process.’
The equestrian, who represented the US at the London 2012 Olympics, pleaded guilty to interstate travel for engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. His sentence will run concurrently.
Fellers, who was sentenced to four years in federal prison and 30 months in state prison, first met Magee when he was 14 and idolized her because of her horsemanship and skills.
In a statement following his sentencing, Magee said: ‘I have no comment on the Rich Fellers case. The public record speaks for itself’.
Maggie (pictured in 2021) moved to a small apartment near Feller’s Barn in Oregon when she was 15 – leaving her family in California.
Magee said she was scared of him at first after watching him win the 2012 World Cup on TV, but told CBS she now sees him as a ‘sociopath’ after the abuse.
Allegations of abuse first surfaced in February 2021 when Fellers and his wife were added to the US Center for SafeSport’s provisional suspension list.
Maggie Kehring (right) first met Fellers when she was 14. He is depicted in his June 2021 mug shot
Feller was arrested in June 2021 on suspicion of sexually assaulting Maggie at her apartment in Portland, and was suspended for life.
When Maggie was 15 she moved to a small apartment near Feller’s barn in Oregon – leaving her family in California.
In December 2019 she received a call from Fellers, then 60, who told her ‘I’m crazy about you’ – Maggie said at the time that she was ‘frightened’ and cried.
He told her she was a ‘goddess’, and that he would touch her while they were having dinner with his wife and two children.
After Shelly moved in with the pair, Kehring returned home, where she posted a video of herself crying along with photos of her and Fellers.
The publicity meant that more than a dozen people reported Fellers to the US Center for SafeSports, which was founded by Larry Nassar in the wake of abuse by gymnasts.
Fellers’ wife Shelly is depicted. She filed for divorce from her abusive husband earlier this year and is appealing the decision to ban her from sports for failing to report abuse.
She admitted that she had feelings for young Ryder at the age of 16 and took her virginity at just 17.
Richard Fellers, 63, was seen appearing in court in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to interstate travel to engage in unlawful sexual conduct with a minor
But the teenager was left ‘frustrated’ and took six months to come to terms with what had happened before speaking to SafeSport about the allegations.
Her attorney Russell Prince added: ‘For all the horrible people in the equestrian community who have said horrible things about Maggie, I think there couldn’t be any clearer evidence of what she did. [than this].
‘There are people who sincerely apologize to Maggie Kehring and the Kehring family.’
Fellers, who runs a large equestrian operation in Oregon City, was given a horse for his 11th birthday and soon established himself as a local champion.
In 1989 he purchased a stable yard outside of Portland where he now resides, currently valued at $1.8 million.
She first represented the United States in 1991, when she was part of the bronze-winning US showjumping team at the Pan-American Games in Havana, Cuba.
Fellers was sixth at the London 2012 Olympics on Flexible, a 16-year-old stallion who started riding in 2002.
At the time, Shelley Fellers praised her husband of 25 years as ‘a great husband, a great partner’.
He added: ‘He hates being away from his children and family.’ They have two grown children, Christopher and Savannah.