Falsterbo, Sweden – The U.S. Dressage Team, under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Betsy Steiner, had a day of solid performances at the first day of Nations Cup competition at CDIO5* Falsterbo. On Friday at the Falsterbo Horse Show presented by Longines, the U.S. combinations performed the Grand Prix Test, to sit fifth thus far in the Nations Cup.

Susan Dutta (Wellington, Fla.) and Currency DC, Tim Dutta Inc.’s 15-year-old bay Oldenburg gelding, had the unenviable position of being the first pair down centerline, but earned a respectable 66.68%. Next in the ring for the U.S. were Devon Kane (Wellington, Fla.) and Diamante Farms’ 12-year-old Danish warmblood gelding, Destiny, receiving a score of 65.20% in their first European Nations Cup appearance. Brian Hafner (Penngrove, Calif.) and his longtime partner Lombardo LHF, Rebecca Hafner and his own 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding, received a score of 67.76% from the judges. Catherine Haddad Staller (Wellington, Fla.) and Rowan O’Riley’s Mane Stream Hotmail, a 13-year-old chestnut Oldenburg gelding, were the final combination and earned the top score of the day for the U.S. Team with a score of 69.92%.

The Nations Cup competition continues Saturday with Dutta and Kane riding the Grand Prix Special and Haddad Staller and Hafner performing the Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday. The team scores will be decided by combining the top three Grand Prix scores and the top three scores from the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle.

Find out more about CDIO5* Falsterbo.