Eight teams will fight for the top slot at the Feb. 19 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup in Ocala, Fla. HITS Inc. has announced the participating athlete list class, held at HITS Post Time Farm. For the second consecutive year, the HITS Ocala event is the only official U.S. qualifier for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Final held in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 22-25.
The HITS Organizing Committee, in conjunction with the U.S. Equestrian Federation, invited select nations to partake in the event.
The riders selected for the U.S. team are:
Beezie Madden
Lauren Hough
McLain Ward
Todd Minikus
Ali Wolff
Robert Ridland will serve as chef d’equipe.
The other teams competing are:
Australia: Chef d’Equipe Stevie Macken
Thaisa Erwin
Tom McDermott
Scott Keach
Harley Brown
Matt Williams
Canada: Chef d’Equipe Mark Laskin
ADVERTISEMENT
Ian Millar
Jonathon Millar
Amy Millar
Chris Sorensen
Mac Cone
Colombia: Chef d’Equipe Marcel Delestre
Roberto Teran
Daniel Bluman
Mark Bluman
Fernando Cardenas
Mauricio Guevara
El Salvador: Chef d’Equipe Cate Boon
Diego Muyshondt
Juan Manuel Bolanos
Paulo Santana
Ireland: Chef d’Equipe Robert Splaine
Kevin Babington
ADVERTISEMENT
Cian O’Connor
Shane Sweetnam
Richie Moloney
David Blake
Mexico: Chef d’Equipe Norman Dello Joio
Alberto Michan
Eugenio Garza
Federico Fernandez
Jose Antonio Chedraui
Santiago Lambre
New Zealand: Chef d’Equipe Craig Martin
Luke Dee
Claudia Hay
Sharn Wordley
Kirk Webby
On Feb. 18, immediately following the $34,600 FEI Thursday Grand Prix, each chef d’equipe will declare the order in which he wants his team members to compete.
“The world’s leading high performance riders, including Olympic gold medalists, World Cup champions and FEI Nations Cup victors, will congregate at HITS Ocala next week for the only official stateside Nations Cup, and judging by the entries, a spectacular performance is in store,” said HITS President and CEO Tom Struzzieri. “It is an honor to host this event for the second year, and we are confident that Marion County will continue to live up to its reputation as the Horse Capitol of the World.”
