Versailles, France – The U.S. Olympic Jumping Team secured their qualification for the Jumping Team Final at Paris 2024 today and will move forward to compete for medals tomorrow, Friday, August 2. The team finished with a final total of six faults, behind Germany, who topped the qualifier leaderboard on zero faults as a team. The top ten teams from today’s Jumping Team Qualifier will move forward to contest the Jumping Team Final, which will see teams return in reverse order of standing and start fresh on a zeroed team total.
"Our team jumped really well today and executed our first goal of qualifying through to the team final. We have another day though and need to be prepared for a tough day of competition tomorrow," said Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland. "We obviously had a change to the team this morning, putting Karl and Caracole into the lineup, and they really stepped up to the plate for us in a big atmosphere. Laura and Baloutinue are veterans and set the tone with a clear round right off the bat. Karl and Caracole have been on a real hot streak and rode a well-executed round for our second clear. McLain and Ilex are looking strong, and the entire team is feeling ready for tomorrow's final."
Veteran pathfinders Laura Kraut (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Baloutinue were the first combination in the team rotation for the U.S. Drawing thirteenth in the order of teams, the team was able to see the first few rounds around the massive track designed by Gregory Bodo (FRA) and Santiago Varela (ESP). Beautifully designed and turned out, the course asked proper championship questions of all the combinations on the first day, showing a real shake up in the standings through three rounds with no drop scores. Kraut and Baloutinue, a 2010 Hanoverian (Balou du Rouet x Utika) gelding owned by St. Bride’s Farm and cared for by Margo Thomas, were foot-perfect, navigating through the technically presented course, which saw rails fall in several key combinations.
“My last Olympics with him, I’d been riding him for only a few months months, so I hardly knew him at all. We hardly knew what he liked to eat,” she said. “So, it was really comforting to come here and this time knowing the horse, and I feel like both of us have formed a partnership. And I think he trusts me, and I certainly trust him. We had a warm-up yesterday, but I felt completely confident that he could go in there and do it today. It’s just whether I would myself.”
With the format, a combination can be changed up to two hours before the start of competition, and the U.S. took advantage of their ability to change combinations, putting in Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque for Kent Farrington and Greya. Read the earlier statement here. 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, rode second for the team and with increasing pressure to continue to deliver clear rounds, the duo produced one of the best rounds of the day, clocking the fastest clear round of the class. Cook described his preparation and how he managed his nerves after being changed into the starting three combinations for the team.
“It’s what we were mentally preparing for. When we got called up, we knew it could be close to the start. What we decided was the right strategy was to prepare like we were jumping. Even if we weren’t, you had to prepare yesterday, last night, this morning. I came with blue pants [on today], but I packed everything as if I was showing. Mentally, I was showing,” said Cook.
With the scores constantly changing with all three combinations rounds counting, the clears of both Kraut and Cook gave the U.S. a small bit of breathing room for anchor combination, McLain Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and Ilex. The duo had a light rub at the tall vertical before the water, which added four, and Ward diligently managed the rest of the course to ensure the team only moved forward with minimum faults. Ultimately, 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, crossed the finish just over the time allowed, adding two time-penalties, but securing the team’s qualification. The U.S. Olympic Jumping Team will return second-to-last in tomorrow’s order behind Germany.
“I was thrilled,” said Ward. “I knew going in that we had a big margin of error, so I planned to just be a little conservative and make sure there wasn’t a big blow-up. I mean, you saw Peder [Fredricson’s] horse stop at the wall—and what age is he? — you know, you notice it. I thought it looked so great. It was a very light rub, but not a big deal.”
The Jumping Team Final will begin at 2:00 p.m. GMT+2/8:00 a.m. ET on Friday, August 2, with the top ten teams from today’s Team Qualifier returning in reverse order of standing.
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