Versailles, France – The U.S. Olympic Jumping Team finished on the podium in today’s competitive Olympic Jumping Team Final, with a close finish between gold, silver, and bronze placings. The team finished on a total of four faults between the three team combinations, which clinched the silver medal. Great Britain took gold on two total faults, while host nation France, took bronze on seven total faults. This is the team’s ninth Olympic medal and third consecutive silver medal since 2016.
“We had a strong one in Rio, and this was stronger—and certainly a stronger [team] than we had in Tokyo. What they pulled off in Tokyo was just miraculous. We have three of the greatest riders that have ever ridden for our country on this team: Kent Farrington, Laura and McLain—and then we brought him,” Ridland said, pointing to Cook and laughing. “What that is, is that’s the present and the future and from the moment we notified Karl, he was honored and excited to be on this team. The first thing he did when we talked about, he says, ‘I’m here to do whatever I need to do to help the other three, to do whatever I need to do to support.’”
“Well guess what he did?” said Ridland. “Because that is one of the hardest things to do - to get a last-minute, two hours before the event [call], and say, ‘Oh, can you bring your white breeches? You’re on.’ And then duplicate it the next day. Hats off to Karl – truly. And of course, we’re very proud of our other combinations too. It just really came together for us today and these guys delivered when it mattered most.”
With the most experience of the three team combinations as a partnership, Laura Kraut (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Baloutinue, her silver-medal partner from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, were the first in the team rotation for the U.S. With their second-place finish yesterday in the Team Qualifier, the team returned second-to-last in the first two rounds of competition. The track, designed by Gregory Bodo (FRA) was technical, massive, and quick to the timers, as combinations across the nations struggled with the time allowed of 79 seconds. Kraut and Baloutinue, a 2010 Hanoverian (Balou du Rouet x Utika) gelding owned by St. Bride’s Farm and cared for by Margo Thomas, showed their poise as ninth out in the team order, producing a strong round for the team and just nudging the A element of the triple combination for a starting score of four for the team.
“Any competitor would have the coulda, shoulda, woulda,” she said. “I’ve gone back, I’ve watched the video like ten times, and it was an interesting mistake. The horse doesn’t normally jump over his front end like that, so I’m not quite sure why that happened, because I felt like I approached it as I normally would. But those things happen, and he was fantastic, yesterday and today. I’m just grateful to have these two alongside me. As I said earlier, when you first interviewed me, I’m like, ‘Come on, boys!’ Yeah, to pull it off, I think I’m proud of the performance. But for sure if I hadn’t had that fence, we would be wearing a different color.”
After riding an impressive round yesterday for the team, Karl Cook (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) and Caracole de la Roque, who were added into the line up as a pre-competition change yesterday, the duo felt the pressure of producing for the team to keep the score competitive, as the Olympic format does not include a drop score and all three team scores count towards the final total. Cook and Caracole de la Roque, a 2012 Selle Français (Zandor Z x Pocahontas d’Amaury) mare owned by Signe Ostby and cared for by Tessa Falanga, delivered, crossing through the timers well under the time allowed and showcasing one of the smoothest rounds of the day. Cook, who has praised the team and his horse, was quick to celebrate but also honestly articulate the mentality of being the reserve combination and getting added into the line up.
“This course requires you to ride on the track that suits the stride you have and the horse you have,” said Cook. “So, if you hit that track then things are so much easier. It was just really focusing on the track, the stride and all that, and I’m just so grateful for Caracole. She’s such an amazing horse. She’s stuck with me the whole time, and I couldn’t be happier.”
With pressure mounting, a 20-minute break before the start of the third round and a re-order of standings based on scores from the first two rotations made the atmosphere even more tense for teams within the top five. As the anchor combination, McLain Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and Ilex, were tasked with executing a round that would keep the team within reach of a podium position, but also not give anything away that would jeapordize the team’s strong score of four faults. Ward and Ilex, a 2013 KWPN (Baltic VDL x Calendula) gelding owned by Bonne Chance Farm and McLain Ward and cared for by Virginie Casterman, were spot on, taking the pressure in stride and delivering a beautiful clear round within the time allowed to definitively secure a podium position. The ultimate final standings would be determined by the anchor combinations of France and Great Britain who followed the duo.
“Obviously this format is a real pressure cooker,” said Ward. “The first time we did this in Tokyo, I looked over at arguably 10 of the best riders in the world, and they were all green. Second time around, we know how it’s going to go. That break [after the first two rotations], it certainly ratchets up the pressure and the excitement, so I think that’s great sport. I thought Ilex felt great yesterday; I thought he felt brilliant,” he continued. “I was in a situation to just protect [against] a bad day and make sure we qualified. But I knew he was in for a good chance today. I believed in him, and my team put me in a great position to try to deliver in a moment, and everybody behind me made my job a little bit easier.”
Ultimately, Great Britain were able to secure the gold medal on a team total of two faults, while the U.S. finished on four, and France completed on seven faults. This is Kraut and Ward’s second consecutive team silver medal. All three combinations will represent tomorrow before starting individual competition on Monday, August 5, with the individual final scheduled for Tuesday, August 6.
Results
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