TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--A young but very impressive U.S. team won the $75,000 Nations Cup in Traverse City CSIO3* after beating a strong team Irish team in a jump-off on Thursday, July 24.
U.S winning team at Traverse CityCanada was third, finishing on eight faults.
The U.S. team of Mimi Gochman of New York,N.Y., on Celina BH. Jacob Pope of Columbia, Md., on Highway FBH, Mia Bagnato of Fishkill, N.Y., on Ballyoskills Big Bucks and Charlotte Jacobs of Wellington,, Fla., on Korbach van de Renger had a total of four faults and tied with the experienced Irish team of Conor Swail, Simon McCarthy, Phillip McGuane and Darragh Kenny after two rounds, necessitating a jump-off of one rider from each team chosen by the chef d'equipe.
Gochman, Pope and Jacobs all went clean in round one while Bagnato had four faults for a round one total of zero,and in round two Gochmman and Jacobs were clean again while Pope had four faults and Bagnato was the drop score of eight.
In round two, while it rained, just two riders, Swail and Gochman had to go during a five minute torrential downpour.
"I haven't seen rain like that in years," said chef d'equipe Anne Kursinski. "Mimi got the worst of it."
Swail, who had been clean in round one, had 12 faults in the downpour but somehow Gochman managed to put in a second clean round.
FOR THE jump-off, Kursinski chose Gochman, to compete against McCarthy, who was riding Gotcha, a top horse he has campaigned for years.
Mimi Gochman on Celina BH (Photo by Megan Giese Media)"Mimi's mare Celina is careful, fast and brave, and Mimi is a fast rider," said Kursinski of her choice for the jump-off.
McCarthy was clean in a fast time of 39.71.
Gochman left out a stride from one to two and galloped to the last fence to finish clean in 38.85 to give the U.S. its second win in a Nations Cup in two weeks. having won in Caledon last week.
"The team was really amazing," said Kursinski. "They were all great. Mimi is the most experienced. Jacob had ridden on a team for me two years ago, so he had a little experience. For Mia, at 18, this was the first time she put on a pink coat and had the U.S. saddle blanket under her saddle. so it was a learning curve for her. Charlotte was excellent. The grey is a new mount for her. She had to go clean in round two for us to get into a jump-off, and she did it. Robert Ridland was here watching the team."
"Mimi was able to leave a stride out from one to two," said Ridland. "She called an audible on that. The plan was to do seven strides, but she nailed the first fence and was able to leave out a stride without compromising the turn to three. Mimi was a super star. These riders in 3 star Nations Cups, that's the plan for the future."
“I’m thankful we had these Nations Cups added to the calendar between here and in Caledon in Canada last week," said Kusinski. "These competitions are a great opportunity for our riders to gain experience and not feel the pressure of stepping directly into a CSIO5* but build confidence that can carry them into the next level. I think overall there are a lot of excellent takeaways and really valuable experience gained for each of these combinations.”
The $117,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City CSIO3* will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 25, to close out the first Nations Cup week at Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City.
The Traverse City Nations Cup CSIO3* will be streamed on ClipMyHorse.TV.
US Equestrian competing members, subscribers, and fans receive a 10% discount on a ClipMyHorse.TV Premium Subscription.
