Early career Ryan joined forces with his father
Eric Harnden for the 2007–08 season, as his second. The team, which also included brother
E. J. and
Caleb Flaxey at lead won
the Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship that season, and would represent
Northern Ontario at the
2008 Tim Hortons Brier. The team would have an unsuccessful Brier, finishing with a 3–8 record. Following the season, Harnden joined forces with
Brad Jacobs, and played with Jacobs until 2022. He would play second for the team from 2008 to 2011 and then lead since 2012, after
Ryan Fry joined the team as third, and E. J. replaced Ryan at second. In their first season together, the team lost in
the 2009 Northern Ontario final to
Mike Jakubo. The following season would be more successful. The team played in one
Grand Slam, the
2012 The National that season, Harnden's first. The team went 0–5. However, the team did win
The Dominion 2010 Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Championship and had a tremendous Brier that season. At the
2010 Tim Hortons Brier, the team finished 2nd after the round robin with a 9–2 record. However, they lost both of their playoff games and would have to settle for a bronze medal.
2010–2012 During the
2010–11 season, the team played in two Grand Slams. They first played in the
2010 World Cup of Curling, where they finished 2–3. The team also played in the
2011 Players' Championship, but Harnden sat the event out, and was replaced by
Ted Appelman. That season, the team would then go on to win their second straight provincial title, by winning
The Dominion 2011 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship. While they had a decent 7–4 record at the
2011 Tim Hortons Brier, it was not enough to make the playoffs, and they had to settle for 5th. For the 2011–12 season, the team entered two Slams, the
2011 World Cup of Curling where they had a 2–3 record) and the
2011 BDO Canadian Open where they made the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the quarter-final. The team would then go on to win
The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, their third straight title. At the
2012 Tim Hortons Brier, they once again finished 5th, but with a worse 5–6 record.
2012–2014 The
2012–13 season would be the team's best season to date. The team welcomed Manitoba-born Ryan Fry at the third position, bumping E. J. to play second and Ryan to play lead. The team would make the playoffs in all three Slams they entered, losing in the quarterfinals of the
2012 Masters of Curling and
2013 The National. They made it to the final in their first ever slam at the
2012 Canadian Open of Curling where they lost to the
Glenn Howard rink. The team won
The Dominion 2013 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship once again, qualifying for the Brier for the fourth straight year. At the Brier, the team finished the round robin with an 8–3 record, good enough for 4th. The team pulled off victories against Newfoundland and Labrador's
Brad Gushue, Ontario's Glenn Howard and Manitoba's
Jeff Stoughton en route to win Northern Ontario's first Brier title in 28 years. The team would later represent Canada at the
2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship where they won a silver medal. The next season, the team won the
2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, earning them the right to represent Canada at the
2014 Winter Olympics. At the Olympics in
Sochi, they led Canada to a 9–3 victory in the men's final, defeating Great Britain to claim the gold medal.
2014–2019 Following their Olympic success, the Jacobs rink once again made it to the Brier
in 2015. After posting a 10–1 round robin record in first place, they won the 1 vs. 2 game sending them to the finals against the defending Brier champions, Team Canada (skipped by
Pat Simmons), which they lost. Later in the season the Jacobs rink won their first career
Grand Slam event, winning the
2015 Players' Championship. At the
2016 Tim Hortons Brier, the Jacobs rink once again tore through the round robin, going undefeated to finish in first place. However, they ran into trouble in the playoffs, losing to Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1 vs. 2 game and to Alberta in the semifinal. They did rebound in the bronze medal game, defeating Manitoba to finish third overall. The
2016–17 season would be the best to date for the Jacobs rink on the
World Curling Tour, winning two slams, the
2016 Boost National and the
2017 Humpty's Champions Cup. At the
2017 Tim Hortons Brier, the team would once again make the playoffs, after posting an 8-3 round robin record. However, they lost both of their playoff games, settling for fourth place. The Jacobs team played in the
2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials attempting to head to the Olympics again, but his team would finish with a disappointing 3–5 record, missing the playoffs. The team again represented Northern Ontario at the
2018 Tim Hortons Brier, making it to the playoffs with an 8–3 record, but lost to Alberta's
Brendan Bottcher rink in the 3 vs. 4 game. The next season, the Jacobs rink won the
2018 Tour Challenge Grand Slam event. A month later, the team won the
2018 Canada Cup, their first Canada Cup title, defeating
Kevin Koe's rink in the final. The team had
Marc Kennedy playing third, filling in for Ryan Fry, who was on sabbatical following unsportsmanlike behaviour and excessive drinking at the 2018
Red Deer Curling Classic. The team once again represented Northern Ontario at the
2019 Tim Hortons Brier. The team went 9–2 in the round robin and championship round combined. Jacobs lost the 1 vs. 2 game to
Kevin Koe and the semifinal to
Brendan Bottcher resulting in the team getting the bronze medal.
2019–present The following season, the team officially added Kennedy to the line-up at third with Fry going to play with
John Epping. In their first event, the
2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the team went undefeated up until the final where they would lose to former teammate Fry and Team Epping. Team Jacobs won three straight
Grand Slam events, at the
Tour Challenge,
National and the
Canadian Open. They would win the
2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship for the sixth year in a row. At the
2020 Tim Hortons Brier, they battled through two tiebreakers before losing to
Newfoundland and Labrador's
Brad Gushue in the 3 vs. 4 game, all within the same day. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the
Players' Championship and the
Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Team Jacobs played in two tour events during the
2020–21 season, winning the
Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and losing in the qualification game of the
Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Jacobs was chosen to represent Northern Ontario at the
2021 Tim Hortons Brier. At the Brier, they finished with a 7–5 record. ==Personal life==