The U.S. team for the 2012 Show Jumping European Young Rider Tour placed second at the Nations Cup at the CSIOYF Reims, France, on June 1.

The team of Alise Oken, Annie Cook, Chloe Reid and Lydia Ulrich took on the two-round competition over the 1.45-meter track. They finished the first round tied for third place with the Dutch team with 8 faults.

Cook and Ulrich jumped both rounds double clear. Cook, Woodside, Calif., rode Banba, owned by Signe Ostby, second in both rounds. As the anchor rider, Ulrich, Rochester, N.Y., faced pressure to also produce double-clear performances with Beth Congel and Up The Creek Farm’s Santos Utopia.

In the first round, Oken, Charlotte, N.C., and Kaid du Ry accumulated 12 faults, and their score was dropped. However, they came back to ride double clear in the second round. Reid, Washington, D.C., jumped two 8-fault rounds on Toulon, owned by Chloe D. Reid LLC.

 “I was thrilled with their performances. All the girls rode really well under pressure,” said Chef d’ Equipe Michele Grubb. “It was a tough class and nail-biting to the end. It was great down to the very last riders.” 

 The 2012 Show Jumping European Junior and Young Rider Tour will next head to CSIOJY Hagen in Germany, held July 13-17. Grubb said her team will be up to the challenge.

“We were tied for third after the first round [at Reims], so we really pulled ourselves up in the second round. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get there for the win but we’ll be ready in Hagen,” she said.