Ashlee Bond earns one of only six double-clear rounds in the Nations Cup, but Switzerland takes the victory.

U.S. rider Ashlee Bond, in her first Meydan FEI Nations Cup appearance, soared over the jumps at La Baule, France, picking up an impressive double-clear round and the 130 Rolex Ranking points they represent.

Although Bond led the U.S. charge with an impressive performance, the team could only manage seventh place after Richard Spooner’s Ace retired in both rounds.

At this first Meydan series competition, May 14-17, Switzerland topped Sweden in a nail-biting jump-off, and the 19-year-old Alexander Zetterman, riding for Sweden on his father’s experienced Isaac, had everyone’s attention after a stunning clear and 4-fault performance in his own first showing in a top-level Nations Cup.

The Meydan Group, developer of the largest equestrian complex in the world in the United Arab Emirates, took on sponsorship of the international Nations Cup’s elite circuit, formerly the Samsung Super League, on the 100th anniversary of team show jumping.

The Arabic word Meydan translates to “the arena,” and the sponsors of the new series hope to incarnate this idea of great and historical competition and achievement by upping the prize money to $280,000 and increasing the team competitors to 10.

La Baule has the honor each spring of opening the top tier Nations Cup show jumping. This year the beautiful venue was in even better form after Rène Pasquier, the president of International Jumping of France, and the city of La Baule built 200 more five-star horse boxes, renovated the warm-up arena and improved the ground in time for a seamless show hosting all 10 teams and allowing each room for a fifth rider.

There are three new chefs d’équipe this year on the tour. Laurent Elias replaces Gilles Bertran de Balanda for the French, Emilio Puricelli is the new team manager for Italy, coming in the stead of Roberto Arioldi, and former Olympic champion Otto Becker was on hand for the German team, taking over for Sönke Sönksen.

Also in La Baule were 2008 Olympic Games gold medalists Eric Lamaze and Hickstead. While riders walked the course, Lamaze guided the ecstatic crowd through an explanation of strategy and possibility.

Everyone fell silent for one minute, though, which was held to honor Belgian international rider Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe, 47, who died suddenly last Saturday of a heart attack, shocking and saddening the equestrian community.

Gearing Up

The United States was first to go after the draw, but that didn’t faze Chef d’Equipe George Morris, who has said many times that they’ve already done it all, started from every position, and that his riders know what to do. Morris did explain that the U.S. team doesn’t have “the luxury of location.”

The riders are chosen by a computer scoring system and must be selected by tours of three shows each. So this first team of Christine McCrea with Vegas, Bond and Cadett 7, Laura Kraut and Cedric, Richard Spooner and Ace, as well as Lauren Hough with Naomi, will continue on to Rome (Italy) and St. Gallen (Switzerland).

The U.S. team got off to a respectable start, tying for fourth with France after the first round with 8 faults each. McCrea and Kraut each had one rail in the first round, while Bond clinched her first clear. Spooner had to deal with a challenging situation with Ace, who was having a bad day, and had to retire before finishing the round.

The team continued to drop in the standings from fourth to seventh after a second-round eight-fault score by McCrea on Vegas and one misstep by Kraut and Cedric. Spooner’s second attempt to steer Ace around the course was for naught, as the 11-year-old stallion was still bothered by a quarter crack. Bond posted another clear round and set herself up as one to watch for U.S. fans.

But most of the attention was focused on the Swiss and Swedish teams. After finishing in the bottom rungs of the league last year, (Sweden would have been replaced in the previous system), they both came back strong, surprising even each other, and tied for first position after the first round with 0 faults.

At the end of Round 2, the teams were neck-and-neck as the last riders went out. Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer, in top form all weekend, went out first and performed a perfect line on Carlina IV without so much as nicking wood. The Swiss fans in the crowd went wild.

Then it was up to Peder Fredricson on H&M Arctic Aurora Borealis. If he went clear, Sweden would win the first Meydan Cup with 4 faults. The pressure was too great, though, and the Swede faulted twice.
Therefore, the teams tied with 8 faults each.

A behind-the-scenes powwow decided the two riders for the jump-off. Sweden’s double-clear Svante Johansson with Saint Amour was chosen for Sweden, and the Swiss put up veteran Markus Fuchs, who will be retiring from competition in three weeks and has the experience of starting in 144 Nations Cup competitions.

Fuchs went out in pony-express style, riding a wild clear in 41.65 seconds with La Toya III. Johansson couldn’t catch him and couldn’t stay clear, hitting both the Meydan vertical at fence 4 and the last oxer. The Swiss fans went wild again, signaling that Fuchs would retire on a win.

The Aftermath

Frederic Cottier, a two-time Olympian for France, received praise again this year for his course building. He mentioned that time was a factor, and he shortened it after the first couple started.

“All of the jumps fell, except for No. 1, at some point, so the course was good. I wanted it to be technical and varied,” he said. “My goal was not to empty the horses physically, mentally or morally between two big classes [the Nations Cup and the grand prix]. I wanted to task the riders without exhausting the horses.”

Swiss rider Steve Guerdat, one of the six double-clears, said he wished more designers would build like Frederic.

“It wasn’t possible to have a better course,” said Guerdat. “He builds so that it’s the rider who does most of the work. This is better for the sport, and we save our horses.”

Germany, the reigning Super League champions for the past three years, stumbled but recovered to share third place with the Netherlands. France and Belgium followed, and the United States earned seventh. Italy held its own after a long league absence for an eighth position, while Great Britain and Ireland were both relegated to the sidelines during the second round, following a new rule that the chefs d’equipe are contesting.