Calgary, AB, Canada– Led by two clear rounds from Olympic gold medalist Beezie Madden, the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team just missed the podium, placing fourth in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup CSIO5* Calgary on Saturday, September 8, at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’. The team of Andrew Welles and Brindis Bogibo, Zazou Hoffman and Samson II, Lucy Deslauriers and Hester, and Beezie Madden and Breitling LS, led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, finished with 20 faults. Germany won gold with six faults, while home team Canada earned silver with 13 faults followed by Ireland with 15 faults for bronze.
Ridland stated, “Beezie goes without saying; her double clean is what you’re used to expecting from her as anchor rider.”
For the other three riders, who only have three Senior Nations Cup performances between them before this week, Ridland noted, “This is their most important Nations Cup experience and certainly the most prize money they’ve jumped for in a Nations Cup. It was a respectable day, finishing fourth with a tough course but a really good course. Leopoldo [Palacios] did a great job. We hoped to do a little better, but it was a good finish. To have these three riders get that experience is invaluable. It was absolutely a productive day.”
Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) expanded thoughts on today’s challenging track from course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela.
“I thought it was difficult,” she said. “It started right off with some pretty impressive fences. Horses that have been here before had an advantage. It was a difficult approach to the water, especially since the time was tight enough. It was also a difficult line to the liverpool; I ended up adding a stride, which wasn’t really my plan. That last jump was really wide. Horses jumped it funny in the first round and jumped it better in the second round, knowing how wide it was. It’s tough jumping here always.”
Welles (Wellington, Fla.) and Brindis Bogibo, Itasca Group LLC’s 12-year-old KWPN; Hoffman (Santa Monica, Calif.), and Samson II, a 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood geldingowned by Woodacres Stables LLC; Deslauriers (New York, N.Y.) and Hester, Lisa Deslauriers’s 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding; and Madden and Breitling LS, Abigail Wexner’s 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion, accumulated eight total faults in the first round.
At only 19 years old, Deslauriers assisted the U.S. team with a fault free round. The U.S. sat in a strong second place position heading into the second round behind Germany who had zero faults and in front of Ireland with 10 faults.
“I thought he went beautifully,” said Madden of her winning mount from April’s FEI World Cup Jumping Finals. “He was right back on form from the World Cup Finals. During the summer we lost that a little bit, but he has recovered. Sometimes after a big championship like that, that can happen. I was really pleased with him today.”
The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team moved into the fourth place following unlucky faults by Deslauriers, Hoffman, and Welles in the second round.
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