LA BAULE, France--The U.S. Jumping Team finished ninth in the Jumping Nations Cup of La Baule CSIO5* in La Baule, France, after completing the first round on a score of 13.
Lillie Keenan on Argan de Beliard (Photo by Mackenzie Clark)The team that was, on paper, one of the strongest in the class, didn't have one clean round in a first round in which 12 riders from other teams went clean.
The course wasn't all that hard, as evidenced by the fact that seven riders were double clean, nor was the time in the first round that tight, as only four riders had time faults in the first round, two of which were Americans.
It just shows that even the best riders can have a bad day, but it was just too bad that four "bad days" happened in one day for the U.S.
The course was designed by Grégory Bodo of France and was set on the beautifully manicured grass field of La Baule.
Ireland win on zero faults, with Belgium second on four and Brazil third on eight, followed by Sweden fourth on 16, Great Britain fifth on 16,Switzerland sixth on 17, Germany seventh on 20 and France eighth on 24.
“TODAY did not go exactly to plan. There were some highlights but there were also some things that were not up to par,” said Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “Of course, we always look to learn from these days and aim to comeback with better results next time. We have had a great run of three Nations Cup wins and today was a day of lessons learned.”
Lillie Keenan of New York, N.Y., on Argan de Beliard was clean,, but she had one time fault.
Spencer Smith of Wellington, Fla., on Cassina, had a block off the wall and the front rail at the B element of the double combination at fence 11 for eight faults.
Laura Kraut of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., on Dorado 212, had the A element of the triple combination down and the back rail of the oxer of the single-stride combination down as well as a time fault for nine faults..
McLain Ward of Brewster, N.Y., on Ilex had the B element of the one-stride combination at fence 11 down for four faults for the team’s first round score of 13.
Neither the U.S. nor Italy qualified for the second round, with only the top eight teams returning.
The Rolex Grand Prix of La Baule CSIO5* will start at 8:00 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, June 8.
