The U.S. show jumping team leapt to the top of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup series standings with a remarkable second consecutive win in the series. They followed up their victory in Rome (Italy) with a nail-biting finish on top at St. Gallen (Switzerland) on June 5. 

“It doesn’t happen often to win back-to back in a top league like this,” said Chef d’Equipe George Morris. “This is a great group; we have five great riders and a bunch of wonderful horses.” The team was Christine McCrea on Vegas, Laura Kraut on Cedric, Ashlee Bond on Cadett 7 and Richard Spooner on Cristallo.
 
After the two rounds of competition, the U.S. was tied with the German team of Marcus Ehning, Carsten-Otto Nagel, Philipp Weishaupt and Franke Sloothaak, with just 4 faults each. The result would be decided by a jump-off between one rider from each team. Morris selected Spooner, who rode Cristallo to two clear rounds to anchor the U.S. effort,  to jump off to break the tie. The seasoned veteran carried the weight of the win back into the ring for the third time.
 
“I could have used any of the three in the jump-off,” said Morris of Spooner, Kraut or Bond. “Richard’s horse was very, very fast in Rome, but I didn’t want to get him any stronger; he was very strong today. I thought maybe Ashlee’s horse was an option. Richard helps Ashlee, but Ashlee was leaning toward choosing Richard, so I said we should flip a coin. Ashlee would have done a great job. Richard is a master craftsman, a master jump-off rider.”
 
Spooner, known across the U.S. jumping community for his uncanny ability to shave seconds off seemingly unbeatable times, put the Europeans on notice that his accelerator was good on both sides of the Atlantic. Riding Cristallo, an 11-year-old gelding owned by Half Moon Bay, Inc., Spooner went head-to-head with Ehning on Plot Blue.
 
Spooner had the disadvantage of going first in the jump-off. He put up a lightning-fast time on the headstrong Cristallo but had the fourth fence down, a tall vertical, meaning that all Ehning had to do was jump clear. The German rider hunted around the course in textbook style, but had the very last fence down with the lightest of rubs. Spooner was more than 10 seconds faster, so his time prevailed.
 
“Richard’s strategy was to really lay it on him,” said Morris. “Marcus is a very fast and smooth rider. If he hadn’t, Marcus could have gone very fast. Richard had a little bad luck at one fence. Marcus played it right and carefully but just hit the last fence.”
 
Bond continued to impress on her first international tour as the 26-year-old rider jumped two clear rounds on Cadett 7 for their third consecutive Nations Cup–an unprecedented achievement.
 
Olympic veterans, Kraut and Cedric had one rail in the second round after a first round clear, continuing their consistent roll through Europe. McCrea and Vegas struggled in the second round and retired but they served as valuable substitutions for Lauren Hough and Quick Study.
 
This puts the U.S. team atop the Meydan FEI Nations Cup standings, with 22 points to Switzerland’s 21. Germany is third with 16.5 points, and the Netherlands is fourth (11.5).

“I’m very pleased; it is very, very important to stay in this league,” said Morris. “This league is our preparation for championships. This gives us a leg up for the summer. Not that we can coast, but it will give everyone confidence.”

The next stop in the series is the Rotterdam CSIO (the Netherlands) on June 18-21. McLain Ward on Sapphire and Todd Minikus on Pavarotti will replace Spooner and McCrea, joining Bond, Kraut and Hough on the tour.