It was not a competition for the faint of heart, as seasoned teams sought to outscore their rivals in a close competition. But when all was said and done, U.S. show jumpers Peter Wylde, Chris Kappler, Norman Dello Joio and Judith Garofalo pulled off a solid fourth place finish in Barcelona, with only 24 faults.

Peter Wylde and Fein Cera (Holsteiner, Landadel-Bella Hop) led the way for the team—they finished the first round with four faults and added a clean round on the second try. Chris Kappler and Primeur 58 (Westfalen) were close behind with eight faults, four in each round. Norman Dello Joio and Peace Train (Oldenburg) finished with 12 faults, four faults in the first round and eight in the second. This marks only the second year of Super League competition, and the first in which the United States took part.

“The Super League is essential as preparation for Olympics and World Equestrian Games because those shows are our opportunity to compete against the best the sport has to offer,” says Sally Ike, Director of Show Jumping at USEF. “In many sports it’s by going against the best that you improve your game—so we sent a team to Barcelona and they got the job done.”

Because of the tight schedule surrounding Olympic Selection Trials, the U.S. Team had to rely on a long list of talented riders for the Super League. The final round of competition in Barcelona marked only the third Super League competition in which Olympic riders were able to represent the United States.

Thanks are in order for all riders and horses that contributed to the fourth place finish in the overall Super League standings, including Kimberly Frey, Judy Garofalo, Candice King, Laura Kraut, Aaron Vale, Molly Ashe, Sheila Burke, John French, Lauren Hough, Katie Monahan Prudent and Mark Leone.

For more FEI Super League News and for complete results, visit www.samsungsuperleague.com

ENDS

For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public Relations Manager on (859) 225-6974 or via email at [email protected]. USEF press releases are available on our web site – www.usef.org.