With a second-placed finish in the Nations Cup in Rome, Italy, on May 27, the United States has moved into a tie for first place in the year-long Samsung Super League series. The U.S. team was victorious at La Baule (France) three weeks ago, while the British team was second at La Baule and the victors in Rome.

Three U.S. riders—Beezie Madden, Laura Kraut and Schuyler Riley—contested both events, while Olympic veteran Anne Kursinski replaced rookie Georgina Bloomberg in Rome. The two events were also George Morris\’ debut as the team\’s new chef d\’equipe.

The U.S. and Great Britain have 17 series points. Germany (9) is third, France (7) is fourth, Switzerland (6) is fifth, followed by the Netherlands (4.5), Belgium (3.5) and Ireland (1). The next Super League Nations Cup is this weekend in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

At Rome, Kursinski (on Roxanna) and Kraut (on Miss Independence) put their team in the hunt with fault-free first-round scores, while Riley (on IIlian) and Madden (on De Silvio) each added 8 faults. With a total of 8, the U.S. squad stood tied for second with Germany at round 1\’s conclusion, 4 faults behind Great Britain.

Only Riley could keep all the rails up in round 2 as Madden and Kraut each made a single mistake, giving the team 8 faults for round 2 and a total of 16.

Germany\’s chances increased dramatically when Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum guided Checkmate to a faultless round, but when her brother-in-law, the redoubtable Ludger Beerbaum, suffered elimination for two run-outs on Goldfever, they had to settle for third with a total of 20 faults.

The British chances rested squarely on the shoulders of veteran Michael Whitaker, on Portofino. Whitaker and Nick Skelton (on Arko) had each contributed faultless first rounds to put their team in the lead, and Skelton came back in round 2 to add nothing. But Whitaker had to do the same as teammates Ellen Whitaker (Michael\’s niece) and William Funnel had each scored 8 faults. And he did.

Said the cool-handed Whitaker, “You don\’t get nervous in this situation. You just focus on what you have to do and get on with it.”