At the FEI World Driving Pairs Championship, held Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in Topolcianky, Slovakia, the team from the United States (Misdee Wrigley-Miller, Rachael Blanchard and Scott Dancer) finished fourth overall on a score of 303.25. All three U.S. drivers finished in the top half of the individual standings. 

Hungary earned team gold (260.02), Germany silver (272.86), and the Netherlands won bronze (298.06). Hungary’s Vilmos Lazar picked up individual gold on a score of 130.57, Sebastian Warneck of Germany took silver with an overall total of 135.78, and bronze went to Zoltan Lazar from Hungary with a score of 136.27.

Blanchard, of Upperville, Va., earned second in cones before going on to finish 23^rd overall.

“As you can imagine, we are elated with the fourth place finish in the Nations Cup,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber. “Moreover, Rachael’s second place finish in the cones demonstrates that the future of the U.S. pair driving is bright.  [Team coach] Michael Freund did a remarkable job at molding horses and drivers into this wonderful team effort.”