Ocala, Fla.—Feb. 19   

Looking at the first-round scores, you would think the United States was going to walk away handily with the win in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup in Ocala. They were the only team sitting on perfect score, and they a two-rail lead over Colombia.

But it is a Nations Cup after all, and clear rounds are harder to come by in the second round. After the first three riders, added faults to their scores, the Americans’ lead had dwindled, and it came down to anchor rider Beezie Madden and Breitling LS. Before the drop score, they were sitting on a 24, while the team from Mexico had a 21.

To a casual observer, things looked quite dire, but as Madden can attest, having a two-rail buffer is a luxury.

“Well I had nice position actually because I could afford to have two rails down and still win, so as an anchor rider that’s one of the best positions to be in, and thanks to these guys we were in that position,” said Madden.

Though she was riding one of her less experienced horses, Madden’s own team experience came into play, and she finished the day with a single time fault to her name, handing the U.S. the win over Mexico (Alberto Michan/Warrant, Eugenio Garza Perez/Bariano, Federico Fernandez/Guru, Santiago Lambre/Johnny Boy) and Colombia (Daniel Bluman/Conconcreto Sancha LS, Mark Bluman/Copa Cabana, Fernando Cardenas/Quincy Car, Roberto Teran/Woklahoma).

“Things were falling apart for a lot of people and I think maybe the sunlight, or the sun going down, had a little effect on the shadows and the sun in your eyes. That’s why I took a little extra time in the second round,” Madden said.

As U.S. chef d’equipe Robert Ridland pointed out, the United States isn’t used to sitting on top following the first round—their MO tends to be coming back from behind.

“I was a little bit worried when we had such a good first round, and clearly the course was not going to ride easy the second time around,” he said. “As Beezie mentioned I think the sun was a factor. I think that the jumps going into the sun, the first line—the liverpool—the triple and particularly the skinny, they all had an effect on the horses, and of course Nations Cups always do that for the second round. The opposite is true in the home lines, the horses know where they’re going. That’s one of the unique aspects of a Nations Cup—that’s one of the reasons it’s so special.”

“When I walked the course I thought it was quite big but straightforward enough,” said McLain Ward, who pulled a single rail with Rothchild over both rounds. “I was actually a little concerned. We had a strong team here ,and we wanted it to be difficult, and I was thinking it might ride a little too easy. But in the end he didn’t have a double clear. Beezie was best with a time fault I believe, and I think that shows a great job. He had no major issues, but of course we like the outcome.”

This was the first competition back for Hough, who underwent surgery for a knee injury two weeks ago, and just got the OK to go ahead and ride again. They were the only U.S. pair to fault in the first round with a rail in the triple, and they pulled a pair of rails coming out of the triple in their second round.

“This was the first time that I’ve jumped this horse in a Nations Cup, and he’s a super talented horse,” Hough said of Cornet. “The first round he held himself a bit at the triple, and I knew I’d have to really ride him strong in the second round, and he held himself even more at the triple, so I was lucky to actually get out of the triple with only two down. Going second in a team, even with the strong team we have sitting here, you fight for every jump, and I had still a long way to go. I found really hard to make it home, and he stepped up to the plate. Thank goodness I have three strong teammates here, and we’re very pleased with the outcome.”

A major topic of discussion throughout the press conference was the increased level of competition in the Americas, with two South American teams edging past the typical front runners.

“We knew coming in the competition was going to be tough,” said Ridland. “When you look down that line-up and we’ve seen that the level of the competition in the Americas I think very clearly since the Pan American Games and we saw it again today, so we had to bring our best team to be able to have a chance to win.

“We did come with our best hand, and we were fortunate to come away with the win,” he continued. “We need that because it’s clear after today it’s going to be tough the next couple Nations Cups when we go next time in the ring in the Furusiyya Nations Cup it’s going to be in Mexico’s home court, and we all saw how strong they were today. We’re just fortunate to be where we are right now.”

The Allen Wade-designed course was jumped 58 times and only eight of those were clear. Many combinations fell victim to the open water, and the Longines triple combination proved to be decisive in many rounds, particularly as the sun began to set over the Ocala Horse Properties stadium, as it rode into the sun.

After finishing the first round on 35 faults, the team from El Salvador, the only team with no drop score, elected to retire for the day. New Zealand’s Sharn Wordley and Barnetta ran into some trouble early in the course during the first round, so he elected to retire rather than ask the gelding to jump through the triple combination.

For a more in-depth look at the Nations Cup competition, pick up a copy of the March 7 & 14 issue of the Chronicle. 

To see full results, of the class, click: RESULTS