AACHEN, Germany --The  U.S. Jumping Team was ninth in the Nations Cup CSIO5*, finishing on eight faults in the first round.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue in the Aachen Nations Cup The team did not qualify for the second round, along with Switzerland, who also finished on eight faults, as only the top eight teams returned for the second round.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue was the only U.S. rider to finish clean, while Katie Dinan on Out of the Blue SCF, Natalie Dean on Acota M, and McLain Ward on Ilex, each had a rail.

Ireland won on a total of zero faults after two rounds, while Mexico was second on a fast four faults, and Great Britain third after two rounds on a final total of four.

The course was designed by Frank Rothenberger of Germany, and the standings fluctuated considerably in the second round.

“Obviously the result today was disappointing for the entire team. We are always aiming for the second round and for the podium and that's a collective mindset, but I thought all of our horses jumped really well and the cards just didn't fall in our favor,” said Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “There were a lot of clears in the first round, which left very little room for error in terms of the first round scores. Laura and Baloutinue jumped a great clear for us and there is still plenty of jumping left this week.”

 

"ALL OF THE chefs d'equipe have been talking about all the Nations Cups having been too soft," said Ridland. "The courses have been trending towards way too lenient. There have been way too many clear rounds. We're not sure why that trend is happening, but riders are out there riding to prevent mistakes instead of riding the course."

"Rotterdam was the absolute extreme of a course not up to a Nation Cup standard, but all the Nations Cups, Rome, LaBaule and here, have been too easy," said Ridland. "The times have been too lenient and the courses too easy."

"We had four good rounds, but three had four faults," said Ridland. "Nobody was bad, overall, the horses jumped well."

Bu tin the first round, five teams, Ireland, Mexico, Great Britain, Sweden and The Netherlands, finished on zero faults, and Belgium, Germany and France had four faults.

There were 24 clean rounds, 13 four fault rounds and three eight faults rounds, so clearly the course was far too easy.

Kraut of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., on Baloutinue, a 2010 Hanoverian gelding, went first for the team and went clean.

In their first Nations Cup appearance together, Dinan of Wellington, Fla., on Out of the Blue SCF, a 2014 BWP/NAD mare, had the back rail of the triple bar down for four faults.

Dean of Palo Alto, Calif., on Acota M, a 2013 Oldenburg mare had the last fence,, an oxer, down when the mare got too stong and got away from Dean' control to also have four faults,

As the anchor rider, Ward of Brewster, N.Y., on Ilex, 2013 KWPN gelding, knew pressure was mounting with the final round and the other nine teams producing clear rounds and the combined team scores tight.

Ward had the B element of the triple combination down, also finishing on four faults, with the team completing the first round on a total of eight faults, which did not qualify the team for round two.

Fences were raised for the eight teams in the second round, but there were still 13 clean rounds, still too many for a normal Nations Cup.

Jumping competition will continue throughout the weekend, with the highlight Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen CSIO5* set to start at 1:00 p.m., 7:00 a.m. Eastern, on Sunday, July 7.

The Grand Prix, as well as all the competitions at Aachen, can be seen live on ClipMyHorse.TV/FEI.TV with a ClipMyHorse.TV Premium Membership.

USEF Subscribers, Competing Members, and Fans receive a 10% discount on ClipMyHorse.TV Premium Memberships.