ROESER, Luxembourg--A young team of up-and-coming riders finished 10th in the EEF Jumping Nations Cup Roeser CSIO3* on 30 faults in the last competition on their European CSIO3* tour.
Kelly Cruciotti Vanderveen on Gideon (Photo by Tania Wirth Lahr)That tour provided invaluable European Nations Cup experience for some of U.S. Jumping’s young riders, with four riders finishing inside the top 15 finishers at Roeser.
The team was led by Chef d’Equipe Anne Kursinski.
“Although the results were disappointing for us in the Nations Cup, the experience gained is critical and we are on the right track to continue building for the future," said Kursinski. "I was extremely impressed by how well our riders finished in the Grand Prix. It was an extremely challenging course 1.55m and a qualifying competition for Paris, They really rallied, and it was great to see them all grow on this 3* tour. It’s so important for our program and helps contextualize a lot of skills for our developing athletes. There is a tremendous amount of learning they will take back home with them as they continue their work and preparation to ultimately represent the U.S. on senior and championship teams in the future.”
THE U.S. was the sixth of 13 teams to compete over the Nations Cup course designed by Peter Schumacher of Germany.
Kelli Cruciotti-Vanderveen of Wellington, Fla., went first for the U.S. on Gideon, going clean for a good start for the U.S.
As second in the order, Coco Fath of Fairfield, Conn., on Aventador 5 had eight faults with rails at the oxer and the front rail of the final oxer in the triple combination.
Making her debut on the tour for the team, Elena Haas of Oakland, Calif., on Claude also had eight faults with a back rail at the oxer at six and a foot in the water.
The anchor rider, Michael Hughes of Franklin Lakes, N.J., on Kashmir van d’Oude Pastory was the most experienced rider on the team, but he also had eight fsults with a rail at the A element of the double combination after the open water and at the B element of the triple combination.
The team finished round one on 16 faults.
In the second round, Cruciotti-Vanderveen had four faults with a rail at the A element of the one-stride combination.
Fath had another eight faults with rails down at the oxer and the plank at fence 10.
Haas had five faults with the front rail of the oxer at nine and a time fault.
Hughes had a rail down at the final oxer to add four faults and a time fault for a total of five.
The team ultimately finished with 30 faults for 10th place.
The team from Belgium was first with four faults, with the Irish second on a slower four faults, while Great Britain placed third with nine faults.
In the Grand Prix of Luxembourg CSIO3*, Hughes on Legolas ter Wilgen placed third in an 11 horse jump-off in a time just .02 seconds behind Spain’s Pello Elorduy Ibarzabal.
Ansgar Holtgers on Good Morning B, his mount from the Nations Cup in Peelbergen, finished 11th with four faults in the jump-off.
Cruciotti-Vanderveen and Haas were13th and 14th respectively, each having four faults in the first round.
