The daughter of an Irish mother and an English father, Jennifer was raised in Hong Kong until age 5, when her family moved first to New York and then to Princeton, NJ. She began riding in Princeton at age 8.

Jennifer's love of jumping became apparent at an early age. She spent a large amount of time riding in the woods turning her "pony hunters" into "pony jumpers" as quickly as possible, even though there was no pony jumper division at that time. Jennifer once jumped her pony down the steps in the back yard – bare back, at night, with just a halter and lead-rope, the night before a show and after applying a liberal amount of Showsheen  – with predictable results.

At left, Jennifer jumps her mare SF Cassandra at the Samsung Nations Cup in Wellington, FL, in March, 2005. Their four faults in the first round contributed to the first Nations Cup win for Ireland in 2005.

As a junior, Jennifer trained with Maxine Best, mother of 1988 Olympic individual silver medalist show jumper Greg Best. She has also trained with Mike Hennigan, and Ann Selenger and Jill Pierce from Parkside stables.

Jennifer now trains with her husband, Mike Crooks, and Irish show jumping legend Eddie Macken. At right Jennifer and Eddie ponder the Nations Cup course.

Jennifer never made a conscious decision to become a Grand Prix rider. Instead, it was always just a matter of moving on to the next level. On one of her first visits to Spruce Meadows with Mike, who was then training junior jumper Whitney Petrie in the 4'6" division, Jennifer clearly remembers thinking "I'll never be jumping that big!"

Jennifer recently reminisced with Ann, "When we were doing the AA jumpers, who would have thought I'd be where I am today?" Ann replied, "I knew, that if you chose to have the drive, that you had the talent".

At left, Jennifer can be seen at Westlake Center in Seattle, with her mother, Olivia Cox-Fill, her husband Mike, and three of her children, Hunter, Ciara, and little Sophie.

Of her husband Mike, Jennifer says, "I can't stress how important Mike has been in all of this. His training, faith, total dedication, and eye for a good horse have all been critical components of my success."

Olivia is part owner of Jennifer's first-string show jumper, SF Cassandra. Both of Jennifer's parents are very supportive of her show jumping career and she says she wouldn't be where she is today without them!

Jennifer and Mike own Evergreen Equestrian Center and Stella Farm, a full service hunter/jumper barn in Kirkland, WA. Evergreen has a full school program for beginner adult and junior riders, and an advanced jumper program known as Stella Farm. Stella was Jennifer's first true Grand Prix jumper, who passed away in 2002.

At right Jennifer's children get chance to ride the ponies at Evergreen Equestrian. From left to right it's Hunter on Choco, Sophie on Cloudy, and Ciara on Sheena.

Jennifer's stepchildren Sean Crooks (on the left) and Lauren Crooks (at right) are both accomplished jumpers in the junior division. In the front row are Ciara, Sophie, and Hunter. This picture is from a family vacation on Maui.

Jennifer's family has continued to grow. Here we have, from left to right, Sophie, Catherine, Holly, Ciara, and Hunter. Not pictured are the newest additions, Kai and Ruby.