Le Pin-au-Haras, France – The U.S. athletes had respectable results against some of the world’s best drivers at the FEI Driving World Championship for Pair Horses held in Le Pin-au-Haras, France, from Sept. 27-Oct. 1. A massive field of 91 competitors and 17 teams competed in the World Championship. The Land Rover U.S. Driving Team of Jacob Arnold, Kathrin Dancer, and Scott Dancer was led by Chef d’Equipe Jeff Legg to an 11th-place finish, while individual competitor Vernon Helmuth had a solid result while representing the U.S.

“It was definitely a big field, and there were challenging courses in both the marathon and cones phases. Dressage scoring was tough as well. But I really admired how hard the different team members tackled the different phases,” said Legg. “This was my first time as chef d’equipe, so it was a real pleasure to work with a cooperative group of drivers, grooms, and support folks as well as some very talented horses. Two of our team members had some newer horses in their teams—both Jacob and Vernon. It is nice to see just how well they can integrate them into a three-horse team like that.”

Jacob Arnold (Stamping Ground, Ky.) had an impressive start to the competition by scoring 51.23 penalties in the driven dressage phase with Kenzo and Kenji V, his 2015 KWPN geldings, to sit in seventh place and lead the U.S. contingent. He paired Fabian, Lancelot Marx’s 2010 KWPN gelding, and Kenji V on marathon day and tackled Gabor Fintha’s course while garnering 115.47 penalties. Arnold closed out the competition by driving Fabian and Kenji V for the cones phase, tallying 7.58 time penalties but knocking no balls down to finish 12th in the final phase—the top U.S. result of the day. He and his horses finished in 14th place overall with a final score of 174.28 penalties.

Scott Dancer (Woodside, Calif.) drove his wife Kathrin Dancer’s Ivilandro, a 2013 KWPN gelding, and Isabella Teusje C, a 2013 KWPN mare, to start off the competition. They struggled with some tension in the driven dressage phase to score 79.63 penalties. Scott had a stellar marathon day with his pair, being the top U.S. combination in the phase while adding 112.12 penalties to their score. He drove Ivilandro and Isabella Teusje C again in the cones phase and had three balls down and 10.05 time penalties for 19.05 penalties. Scott and his pair finished in 65th place with a final score of 210.80 penalties.

Kathrin Dancer (Woodside, Calif.) had a respectable dressage test with her own Isaac, a 2013 KWPN gelding, and Kontessa, a 2015 KWPN mare, to earn a score of 70.14 penalties. Kathrin drove the same pair in the marathon phase to tally 134.84 penalties. She piloted Intens, her 2013 KWPN gelding, and Isaac in the cones phase, and they knocked one ball down and collected 15.03 time penalties for 18.03 penalties in the final phase. Kathrin and her horses ended up in 75th place overall on a final score of 223.01 penalties.

U.S. individual Vernon Helmuth (Lodi, Calif.) had a solid dressage test with Sebastian Warneck’s Ebony VDK, a 2009 KWPN mare, and Fernando, a 2010 KWPN gelding, to begin the competition with a score of 67.44 penalties. Helmuth drove Fernando and Quirabell, Cathleen Thiele’s 2011 Deutsches Sportpferd mare, well in the marathon phase, adding 117.09 penalties to their score. He guided Ebony VDK and Fernando in the cones phase and kept all of the balls on the cones while tallying 12.68 time penalties. Helmuth and his horses finished in 47th place with a final score of 197.21 penalties.

In addition to the competition, special awards were presented by Maison Poursin, a French manufacturer of brass and nickel harness hardware that has been around since the 1800s. The turnouts of the 91 competitors were evaluated following the driven dressage phase, and the U.S. contingent received high praise.

“This gentleman with Maison Poursin did an evaluation of the turnouts, and he presented Jacob with a Distinction Prize,” said Legg. “His one comment that really struck home was that he was impressed by the entirety of the U.S. team turnout. That was one of those special awards added to the show, and it was nice to hear the praise for our team.”

Team results | Individual results

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