Bond Reprises Her Role As U.S. Team Leader In Rome

As a special gift on the 50th anniversary of his first win in Rome, Italy, George Morris’ young protégé Ashlee Bond brought honor to the godfather of U.S. show jumping on the second leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup Tour held at the Rome CSIO.

Under the watchful eye of her chef d’equipe, Bond went double-clear the weekend of May 28-31, logging her second consecutive fault-free league score and leading the U.S. squad to a big win in the ancient city.

Bond’s flawless performance on the first leg of the tour in La Baule, France, earlier in May, unfortunately, couldn’t save the U.S. team from a disappointing seventh-placed finish there. But she helped the squad stage a stunning coup in Rome—the four riders totaled just 4 faults and climbed five spaces in the overall standings to second place.

The 26-year-old Californian’s recent successes with Cadett 7, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Cor de la Bryere—Ginella I), have made quite an impression on the European circuit. One journalist in Rome told Bond quite frankly that people were “flabbergasted with her.”

“I love riding for such a great country, and to be riding for George Morris—it’s an honor, it really is,” Bond said. “I hadn’t come over to Europe before, because I never had the horse, and now I do, and things are really coming together.”

Things came together for all of the U.S. ladies, who seemed right at home in Rome. Lauren Hough and Quick Study and Laura Kraut and Cedric also went clear in the first round. That left what amounted to a practice round for Richard Spooner and Cristallo. Their single fault was the drop score, so the team advanced into the second round in top position with 0 faults.

U.S. fans squirmed to the edge of their seats in Round 2, however, as the French team applied significant pressure. Hough faulted twice for 8 faults, and Kraut had one rail down.

“That triple bar was really big,” Kraut noted. “And the oxer going into the double was really wide and tall. My horse didn’t like the first jump—the [Colosseum] wall.”

Kraut and Cedric cleared both of those fences, but the crowd collectively sighed for them when the light rail on the vertical before a big combination came down.

Meanwhile, the French team posted one eight-fault round (a drop score) and two double-clears, setting up a tie with the United States. So it was up to Spooner to clinch the win, and he didn’t let his fellow riders down. Cristallo gave an exemplary effort, shaving off the victory for the team.

Taking One For The Team

When asked why he even rode in the first round—it wasn’t required, given the three previous clears—Spooner, who had had to retire from both rounds in La Baule, said, “If you hadn’t noticed, I haven’t been having a very good week. I had to ride the round to qualify for the grand prix.

“The course was quite difficult, especially in the first round,” he continued. “It was better in the second round— I got lucky. The footing was amazing, and I think that helped. It was harder than La Baule. They tightened the noose a notch here. In La Baule, I was lucky enough to be the anchor. I had that advantage—to know the score—and when I saw the second rail down, I knew I was just wasting my horse. I felt I’d let the team down.”

“Not today!’’ Kraut interrupted, as the rest of the team nodded in agreement.