(Photo Monskoo / www.photomonskoo.com)
Sopot, Poland – A warm and windy day set the stage for 10 teams to contest the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Poland CSIO5*. A tough track designed by Szymon Tarant (POL) tested the combinations over the two rounds. The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team put forth a respectable effort to finish seventh on 20 faults.
Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland emphasized that the athletes and horses are preparing for the road ahead, with this Nations Cup serving as a designated CSIO/CSI Observation Event for team selection for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. “The reason we are here is to go through the motions and make sure that these horses and riders are tested and we see where we are against the top competition in the world,” said Ridland. “Today was a good test and, in reality, we were one rail out of a podium position.”
Adrienne Sternlicht (Greenwich, Conn.) and Bennys Legacy, Starlight Farms 1 LLC’s 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding, were the first pair in the ring for the U.S., tallying four faults in round one with a tactful clear round in round two. Anchor combination Brian Moggre (Flower Mound, Texas) and Balou du Reventon, Ann Thompson’s 15-year-old Oldenburg stallion, delivered a lovely clear round followed by a four-fault round. Lucy Deslauriers (New York, N.Y.) and longtime partner Hester, Lisa Deslauriers’s 16-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, collected four faults and eight faults in their two rounds. Bliss Heers (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Antidote de Mars, 11-year-old Selle Français stallion, had an unfortunate elimination in round one and elected not return for the round two.
(Photo Monskoo / www.photomonskoo.com)
Germany won the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Poland CSIO5* after finishing on zero faults. Belgium finished second on four faults and Ireland was third on 16 faults.
The FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Rotterdam CSIO5* from July 1-4 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands will serve as the next designated CSIO/CSI Observation Event for the U.S. Jumping Team ahead of team selection for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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