Aachen, Germany – With a double-clear performance, Devin Ryan (Long Valley, N.J.) and Eddie Blue were one of four clear rounds the NetJets U.S. Show Jumping Team laid on the grass in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup CSIO5* Aachen on Thursday, July 19, at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen.

Led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, the U.S. team finished in fifth and included Laura Kraut riding Zeremonie, Margie Engle riding Royce, and Beezie Madden riding Darry Lou. The athletes are all shortlisted athletes to compete in the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 (WEG) in September.

In addition to Ryan’s double-clear rounds with LL Show Jumpers, LLC’s nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Eddie Blue, there were also clear rides from Olympian Margie Engle (Wellington, Fla.) and her veteran 14-year-old Oldenburg stallion Royce, owned by Gladewinds Partners, LLC, in round one, as well as four-time Olympian Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) on Abigail Wexner’s 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion Darry Lou in round two). Olympic gold medalist Kraut (Wellington, Fla.) posted an uncharacteristic eight faults in each round with Zeremonie, an 11-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Old Willow Farms LLC.

“Devin [Ryan’s] double-clear rounds are impressive; it’s his first time at Aachen. The reality is we had a bad night, but we still had four clean rounds,” said Ridland. “We have to look at [Aachen] as part of our preparation for the WEG and we are putting all the pieces in different situations throughout the summer. Some nights just aren’t our night. We set a high standard for ourselves; we set the bar high and when we’re not on the podium we consider that things didn’t end up the way that we wanted it to, and that’s true. However, this is all part of the process to prepare ourselves for the WEG.”

The U.S. team finished on 16 faults. The home team of Germany topped the podium with four faults, while Ireland placed second on six faults and the Netherlands was third with nine faults. Ryan and Eddie Blue were one of only three double-clear performances on the day.

Full Results can be found here.

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The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members.

Photo Credit: Shannon Brinkman Photography