Mill Spring, N.C. – The FEI World Eventing Team and Individual Championships came to a nerve-wracking conclusion on Monday at the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018. The remnants of Hurricane Florence forced the rescheduling of the show jumping phase to Monday. Alan Wade’s show jumping track proved challenging as several rails fell throughout the day. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team remained focused and determined in their quest for Olympic qualification through the jumping phase. Finishing just shy of their goal, the team finished in eighth place on a score of 145.0. They will now focus on the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru to earn their spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Phillip Dutton and Z were the top U.S. combination, placing 13th on a score of 34.0.
“I’ve been through nearly a year cycle with the athletes and their horses, what [the team] can use to our advantage, and what we need to use more of to our advantage,” said U.S. Eventing Squad Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander. “This whole ten months [with the team] has really been about learning as much as possible, and having a very clear picture of what we need to do to put this team together to be a world class team. There are many elements – eventing is quite complex - that we need to get right or be better at – that is a fact. At the end of the day, we were eighth today as a team and that is our gage; we know where we are as a country. We need to put in a lot of work.”
Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Z gave a solid performance in front of the home crowd. The 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Thomas Tierney, Simon Roosevelt, Suzanne Lacy, Caroline Moran, and Ann Jones was in excellent form and put in his second clear round of the event. As the youngest, and perhaps the most inexperienced horse on the squad, Z showed his resiliancy and reliability throughout the competition.
Will Coleman (Charlottesville, Va.) was the designated pathfinder for the team on cross-country, jumping first on Monday, as well. He did well to manage a strong Tight Lines in the final phase. The Conair Syndicate’s 11-year-old French Thoroughbred gelding looked as if he was ready to tackle another cross-country course, but the tension affected his form over fences and he and Coleman tallied 12 jumping faults to finish on a score of 99.2.
Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) and Tsetserleg, Christine Turner’s 11-year-old Trakehner gelding started the jumping course off on the right foot. However, it seemed that the large stadium atmosphere and a few miscommunications on course caused the gelding to drop three rails, tallying a final score 70.7.
After a clean round on cross-country, Lynn Symansky (Middleburg, Va.) and Donner, rode last in the order for the U.S. team. Even with the unusual extra day of rest between phases, the 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by The Donner Syndicate, LLC approached the first half of the course slightly behind the pace. With the increase in speed came three rails for a final score of 40.3 for the combination and unfortunately dropped the U.S. team out of Olympic qualification contention.
The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team will now need to utilize the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru as their qualification opportunity for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“The first part of it is around planning – planning the horses’ immediate futures and further out,” continued Duvander. “I didn’t have a chance to do that this time because of when I came in, the plans were already set. This is an opportunity for me to put a two-year plan together [with the athletes] for the Olympics, and four-year plan for the next World Games. I think that is essential, so that we have all the horses prepared and have ticked all the boxes before we go to a championship.”
Quotable
Phillip Dutton on Z:
“I think he is the best horse I’ve ever had. We are going to work on his fitness. It’s not that natural for him to gallop for ten or 11 minutes yet, but it’s like marathon runners: over time I think he’ll get better and better. He loves it and there hasn’t been a day since I’ve had him that he hasn’t improved. He’s great and he has a great work ethic.”
Symansky on her partnership with Donner:
“I am pretty disappointed, but I am still so proud of the horse. He is unbelievable; he is just incredible. I am not a very emotional person, but I found myself a few times pinching myself on how appreciative I am of the horse of a lifetime. I would like to have brought back a better score for myself and the team, but this is part of the game.”
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