Wellington, Fla. – Under the lights of the main arena at Wellington International, the U.S. Jumping Team marked their eleventh win as a team in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Wellington CSIO4* in the event’s longstanding history. The team jumped to a final two round total of zero faults to take a nail-biting win over Ireland, who finished on a final total of four faults. Team Canada took third on 13 faults.
“This is always a very interesting Nations Cup for us because the pressure is on. It’s a home Nations Cup and it’s a big deal for us, and at the same time, it’s early in the year and you also need to play the long ball game,” said Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “There are reasons for everyone being here. We try to start putting the pieces together looking ahead for the season and tonight it worked incredibly for us. It’s a great event and every year you really feel the support and the energy from the crowd and the atmosphere.”
The team jumped lights out in the first round, with the first three combinations each notching a clear effort to begin the night. Karl Cook (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) and Caracole de la Roque led off the team as first in the team rotation, crossing through the timers in a quick 66.21 seconds, securing the team’s first clear. Cook was followed by Marilyn Little (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and La Contessa, who in their first senior team appearance for the U.S. Jumping Team, notched a second clear effort for the team.
As the third combination to test the track for the team, Callie Schott (Wellington, Fla.) and Garant, sealed the deal for a first-round score of zero for the team, crossing through the finish in 67.29 seconds. With the team finishing on zero after the first three rotations, McLain Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) opted to not jump, as their score could not improve the team's overall total.
With the top six teams returning for the second round in reverse order of standing, the U.S. would return sixth in the order, tied with Ireland on zero faults. Cook and Caracole de la Roque, a 2012 Selle Français mare (Zandor Z x Kannan) owned by Signe Ostby and Eric Navet and cared for by Tessa Falanga, added four faults to their score, with three combinations left to come. Little and La Contessa, a 2015 Mecklenberg mare (License x Cornet’s Prinz) owned by Marilyn Little LLC and cared for by Raven Alfieri and Francis Brito Doble, made a triumphant effort in round two, adding another clear round for the team, and finishing as one of only seven combinations in the class to jump clear in both rounds.
Schott and Garant, a 2011 KWPN gelding (Warrant x Verdi TN) owned by Southern Arches LLC and cared for by Valdo Cruz, delivered with a fast clear, joining the evening’s seven other combinations to produce a clear effort in both rounds. With Schott and Garant’s clear, the pressure transitioned to Ward and Jordan Molga M, as the final combination to take to the course.
In his familiar anchor position, Ward piloted newer mount, Jordan Molga M, a 2014 KWPN gelding (Toulon VDL x Dulf van den Bisschop) owned by Michael Smith and cared for by Olga Kruglova, to a much needed clear in the second round to ultimately secure the win for the U.S. over the Irish and push the team to the top of the podium.
This week’s Nations Cup event also marked the exciting launch of the new Ariat U.S. Team Collection for athletes and staff, as well as introduced the new LeMieux U.S. Team horse clothing collection.
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