France took the lead in the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup after coming out on top this afternoon, May 14, in La Baule, France. The United States landed in second, and Germany and Great Britain tied for third.
At the end of the first round, the United States, France and Great Britain sat in first place with one rail each.
In the second round, the top eight teams returned in reverse order, with the United States going first of the three top teams. Richard Spooner on Cristallo and Mario Deslauriers on Urico put in their second clear trips of the day. Hillary Dobbs took two rails and had 1 time fault on her former junior jumper, Quincy B. McLain Ward and Sapphire rode last in the anchor position and had one rail down, repeating their first-round performance, leaving the United States with 8 points.
The U.S. riders are all short listed for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and their performance in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup events will help determine who rides for the United States at the WEG.
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Michel Robert, Olivier Guillon and Kevin Staut rode three brilliant clear rounds, allowing France to drop Penelope Leprevost’s four-fault round and finishing in first with a total score of 4 points. Great Britain’s 8 faults in the second round left that team tied with Germany for a total of 12 points.
It was a particularly meaningful result for Great Britain, as the team was relegated to the FEI Promotional League at the end of the 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup season and only reclaimed a position in the Meydan League through legal action with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The next Meydan FEI Nations Cup event will take place in Rome, Italy, on May 28.
