Herning, Denmark – The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team began their first day of world championship competition in Stutteri ASK Stadium with all four combinations contesting the Speed Round. The first class of the week saw 22 teams and 103 total combinations vie for top placings based on a faults-converted Table C format. The first round of team competition will begin tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. GMT+2/7:00 a.m. ET with the U.S. set to go fifteenth in the order of 22 teams.

Lillie Keenan and Argan de Beliard were the trailblazers, going late in the first rotation of riders to test the Louis Konickx (NED)-designed track, set to 1.55m specs. Keenan (New York N.Y.) is competing on her first championship team for the U.S. this week and piloted Argan de Beliard, a 2010 Selle Francais gelding owned by Chansonette Farm, to a superb first clear round, crossing through the timers in 87.23 seconds.

In her second World Championship appearance for the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team and piloting Cristalline, her gold-medal winning partner from 2018, Adrienne Sternlicht (Greenwich, Conn.) and the 2008 Bavarian Warmblood mare owned by Starlight Farms 1 LLC, looked confident and strong during their trip around the course, but dropped an unfortunate rail midway through the trip and crossed through the finish in 89.07 seconds, which converted to a final score of 93.07.

Aboard Balou du Reventon, a 2006 Oldenburg stallion owned by Ann Thompson, Brian Moggre (Flower Mound, Texas) set a high bar in his first championship appearance with the seasoned stallion, making a decisive and quick effort around the track. The pair crossed through the timers in 83.89 seconds, leaving the rails intact to sit as the highest-placed individual U.S. combination at the conclusion of the day, holding 19th place overall.

As the anchor pair and most veteran combination on the team, McLain Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) went late in the order as the 102nd combination to enter the stadium. Contagious, a 2009 Deutches Sportpferd gelding owned by Beechwood Stables LLC, looked for confidence from Ward after the pair dropped a rail early, but continued to improve in good form throughout the course. Stopping the timers in 81.30 seconds, they finished as a quick four-fault round to hold 29th overall at the conclusion of the day.

Competition begins tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. GMT+2/7:00 a.m. ET with the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team going 15th in the overall order. Ward and Contagious will lead off as trailblazers going 14th, with Sternlicht and Cristalline following as the second combination going 43rd. Moggre and Balou du Reventon will continue again as the third combination going 71st, with Keenan and Argan de Beliard serving as the anchors and set to go 96th in the order.

Order of Go
Results
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