The U.S. show jumping team, the defending champions in the FEI Samsung Super League Nations Cup series, made a good start to the 2006 series by claiming second in a hard-fought battle at the La Baule CSI in France on May 5-7.  The only team they couldn’t conquer was the dominant German team. 

And McLain Ward finished a phenomenal week—after having won three other classes on Goldika—by riding Sapphire to third place in the Grand Prix Longines de la Ville de la Baule. 

At the start of the second round in the Nations Cup, things weren’t looking quite so good for the Americans.  They stood in fourth place with a total of 12 faults.  Germany was way out ahead, with just 1 fault  over the first course.  Switzerland and France were tied for second, with 9 faults apiece. 

Even though the German lead proved to be insurmountable, the U.S. team put in solid second-round performances to climb to second with 16 faults.  Ward and Sapphire led the way, with one of the day’s only three double-clear performances.  Jeffery Welles and Armani followed up their eight-fault first round score with a clean round, while Margie Engle on Hidden Creek’s Wapino turned in eight- and four-fault trips, as did Lauren Hough and Casadora. 

The French were looking to have a lock on second place when Florian Angot and Michel Robert notched clean second rounds.  But disaster hit when Christian Hermon racked up 17 faults as their third rider.  When Herve Godignon rode Obelix to another 12 faults, Hermon ended up as the drop score, and France’s 21-fault total put them third.  The Swiss riders couldn’t repeat their impressive first-round performances, and they dropped to a tie for fourth with the Netherlands. 

Then, on May 7, Ward and Sapphire returned to jump another two clean rounds in the grand prix.  They weren’t quite fast enough to catch the winner, Marcus Ehning aboard a talented new mount, Noltes Küchengirl, and second-placed Ludger Beerbaum on L’Espoir 7.  But Sapphire isn’t known for her speed, and Ehning is on a roll after his FEI Show Jumping World Cup victory the week before on Sandro Boy. 

Hough and Casadora finished 10th in the grand prix, with Engle and Hidden Creek’s Perin right behind in 11th, both with clean first rounds and a lowered rail in the second round.  Beezie Madden and Authentic placed 16th with a rail in each round.