BARCELONA, Spain--The U.S. jumping team just missed the podium in the League of Nations Final in Barcelona on Sunday, Oct. 4, finishing fourth behind Germany, Brazil and Belgium.
Laura Kraut on Tres Bien Z (Photo by Digitshots)The team of Laura Kraut on Tres Bien Z, McKayla Langmeier on Riesling van de Gaathoeve, McLain Ward on Jordan Molga M and Kristen Vanderveen on Bull Run''s Jireh, finished on a two round score of 12 faults.
It took a jump-off for Germany to beat Brazil, as both finished the two rounds with four faults, and Belgium was third with five faults.
The course was set by Santiago Varela of Spain, and, in the sign of a really good course, it caused faults at every fence but the last, which interestingly was the biggest but still never fell.
The top eight teams from the League's four qualifiers made the Final, along with the home team of Spain, and under the League's format, in the Final all nine teams made the second round in which only three riders from each team competed, making round two a cut throat, do or die final.
In round one,, Kraut and Ward were clean, Langmeier had just barely a foot in the water for four faults and Vanderveen had five faults for the U.S. to go into round two tied with Brazil with four faults and behind Germany with zero faults and Belgium with one fault.
In round two Kraut and Ward were clean again but Langmeier had two down, the black plank and a really cheap rail at the out of the double.
"FINISHING fourth is irritating," said chef d'equipe Robert Ridland. "You've missed the podium by just one slot. "But the team did well, We had two double clean in Laura and McLain, both with relatively new horses. And McKayla is only 26, and she's on a 9-year-old horse. We beat some good teams."
McLain Ward on Jordon Molga M (File photo) Italy was fifth on 16 faults while the teams from Ireland, 20 faults, Great Britain, 20 faults, and France, 21 faults, all three with top Olympic veterans and medalists, finished sixth, seventh and eighth, with Spain ninth on 36 faults.
Ward volunteered to ride on the team after Paris Sellon's horse had a slight injury.
"Jordan had an illness early in the summer," said Ward. "He's come back really strong. He;s always been a special horse, He got on a plane Friday to get here at the last minute. I'm proud to be here. And I'm proud of my student McKayla. She just had a tick in the water in round one."
"I’m proud of how the team fought in a very competitive final,” said Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland. “Laura and McLain were outstanding jumping double clear in both rounds, despite that McLain's Jordon was probably not at peak fitness. Tres Bien has just gotten better every round."
"Kristen and McKayla were both competing in their first League of Nations Final, and they handled the pressure and the atmosphere really well with solid results throughout the week," he said. "Kristen had never done a Nations Cup before St. Tropez. McLayla rode great. She's on a 9-year-old, so they've both come a long way in a short time.".
"The margins for error at this level are small, and we had a few unlucky moments, but everyone dug deep for the team," said Ridland. "I want to thank the owners, grooms, and support team who make it possible for us to be competitive at these international events.”
With Germany and Brazil tied, their chefs d'equipe chose Richie Vogel on Claudio and Rodrigo Pessoa on Major Tom for the jump-off.
Pessoa went first and had the first fence down, finishing with four faults in 39.48
Vogel went fast over the first fences but slowed for the last, rolling the top rail but just leaving it up to finish clean in 40.85 for Germany to win over Brazil.
With Nations Cup competitions over for the year, Ridland is turning his attention to the next two years, aiming towards the Olympics in Los Angeles.
"The Pan Am Games are the next big thing for us next year," he said. "Now is the time to strategize for the next two years, We're in a good place, but the Germans are where we want to be. Right now, they're the gold standard. We have to figure out how to get there."
