Aachen, Germany—July 14 

It all came down to the nail-biting last two rounds as the U.S. and German teams battled it out for the title in the Mercedes Benz Nations Cup at the Aachen CHIO.

But in the end, the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team of Lucy Davis, Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, and McLain Ward put in valiant efforts in a very competitive field to tie with France for second place on 4 faults. Germany won with a zero score, with their team members posting seven clear efforts over two rounds of competition.

Marcus Ehning celebrating a clear round aboard Pret A Tout, which helped the German team clinch victory. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

The German show jumpers had to wait a long time for this home turf victory—the last time they won the Mercedes-Benz Nations’ Cup at the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen, was in 2008.

Three of the German team riders were actually already on the team in 2008: Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Christian Ahlmann, and Ludger Beerbaum. Marcus Ehning joined them, and they jumped under the leadership of coaching duo Otto Becker and Heinrich-Hermann Engemann.  

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum on Fibonacci. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Beerbaum said: “I am very satisfied with our performance. That was definitely one of the better victories!”

After the first round it was a draw between Germany and the USA, both with 0 faults. With the U.S. team drawing first in the order, the pathfinders for the U.S., Ward and Rothchild, had the undesirable job of being the first combination around the course. The pair posted a foot-perfect clear round over the Frank Rothenberger-designed course, and set the tone for brilliant Round 1 performances.

McLain Ward on Rothchild. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Davis and Barron and Kraut with Zeremonie followed suit with clear rounds of their own, allowing Madden to sit out Round 1 with Cortes ‘C’ as the U.S. team had secured a Round 1 total of 0 faults to tie with Germany for the lead.

Lucy Davis on Barron turned in two clean rounds to help the U.S. team to a tie for second. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Laura Kraut and the young Zeremonie also turned in two clear rounds for the United States. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Close behind the leading nations, there was a three-way tie between France, Great Britain, and Belgium, who all sat on 4 faults.

In Round 1 for Germany, only Ahlmann and Epleaser van’t Heike made a small mistake and picked up 4 faults in the triple combination in front of the Mercedes-Benz Stand and were thus the drop result. Ehning, Beerbaum and Michaels-Beerbaum jumped clean to keep Germany on 0.  

Christian Ahlmann on Epleaser van’t Heike. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Round 2 proved to be a nail-biter down to the last ride. Ward was not able to duplicate his Round 1 success, putting 12 faults on the board. With Germany’s first rider going clear, the pressure was on the rest of the U.S. team to deliver. Both Davis and Kraut again marked flawless rounds, but were matched by their German counterparts.

France was also able to post three clear rounds to put them on a two-round total of 4 faults, leaving no room for error for U.S. anchor combination Madden and Cortes ‘C’. The pair started the round strong, but had a foot in the water at Fence 6, sealing the second-place tie with France.

Beezie Madden didn’t have to jump Round 1 with Cortes ‘C’, and then they had just a foot in the water in Round 2. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Phillipe Rozier’s clear second round on Rahotep de Toscane helped the French team tie for second. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

“We planned our European tour as preparation for the Olympic Games and there is no better or harder place to compete than here at Aachen,” said U.S. chef d’equipe Robert Ridland. “We are very pleased with where our riders are. We have done five Nations Cups in Europe and we have been second four of those times. We feel confident. We came here for the preparation against the best in the world and we got it.”

“It was a memorable day for me at Aachen for sure,” said Kraut, who won the STAWAG-Prize aboard St. Bride´s Farm Confu earlier in the afternoon. “The Nations Cup course was very fair. There are a lot of horses here that are going to the Olympics, so I think it was built to be difficult, but not take a lot out of the horses. Overall it was a brilliant design. Zeremonie has grown up so much in the course of these European observation events. I am honored to have been named as an alternate [to the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team] and I think the mare proved today that she’s ready to step up if needed.”

Laura Kraut on Zeremonie. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

After the prize-giving ceremony, an extremely high-spirited national coach, Becker, chatted about the stress that he had experienced in the run-up to Aachen, because he had to take the decision to place the Olympic candidate, Daniel Deusser, on the reserve bench: “I didn’t want it to be understood as a signal for Rio!”

It has still not yet been decided, who will ride at the Olympic Games. Especially since Ahlmann, Ehning and Beerbaum have two horses on the shortlist.

“Fortunately, we have this luxurious problem,” commented Becker

Michaels-Beerbaum’s double clear on Fibonacci should stand her in good stead in the selection processs. “Fibonacci flew this evening,” Michaels-Beerbaum said. “I put some sticky stuff on boots for the second round, so that I felt a bit safer.” 

See full Mercedes Benz Nations Cup results.

McLain Ward on Rothchild after Round 2. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Lucy Davis on Barron. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

The German team accepting their prizes. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

The sun setting over the Aachen stadiu made a dramatic backdrop for Lucy Davis’ round on Barron. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

A crowd of photographers waited to capture Laura Kraut and Zeremonie’s efforts. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Barron and Lucy Davis on their way to one of their two clear round efforts. Photo by Shannon Brinkman