by Joanie Morris

Lexington, KY – Tomorrow, the first horse in the ring of the very first Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ will be representing the United States in La Baule, France. The 10 best Jumping teams in the world go head-to-head to kick off the prestigious summer tour.

Christine McCrea will lead it off for the U.S., the Fairfield, CT rider will ride Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stable’s Vegas – fresh from a good performance at the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas. A Nations Cup veteran, McCrea was part of two very strong efforts in Europe during the Samsung Super League in 2005 and 2007.

Nine other riders will jump before Ashlee Bond, riding second for the Americans will make her first appearance in a European Nations Cup. Aboard Cadett 7 for Little Valley Farms, Bond, from Hidden Hills, CA, also jumped at the World Cup Final – adding to her year of firsts. The 24-year-old rider comes off a string of wins on the West Coast circuit this spring.

The Olympic veterans will be the next in the ring for the US. Laura Kraut and her diminutive gold-medal winning horse from last summer’s Olympic Games will try to pick up where they left off in Europe last year. Cedric, owned by Happy Hill Farm, defied his experience throughout 2008 and was an integral part of the Gold medal effort. He went on to jump immaculately during the last leg of the 2008 Tour at CSIO Barcelona.

Another California rider will round out the American quartet. Richard Spooner and Ace will jump in the anchor position. The legendary Grand Prix rider is known for his uncanny ability in the jump-offs and has won more than 100 grand prix. Ace is owned by Show Jumping Syndications.

George Morris, who guided the U.S. to their Gold Medal at last year’s Olympic Games and numerous Nations Cup wins, will serve in his role as Chef d’Equipe.

The action gets underway in France tomorrow afternoon, for more information please visit: http://www.labaule-cheval.com/2009/pages/accueil.html or visit www.fei.org to sign up for FEITV, where the competition will be available live.

For more information about the U.S. riders please see the USEF media guide: http://www.usef.org/documents/mediaGuides/2009/MeydanFEINationsCup.pdf