The U.S. show jumpers pulled off a much-needed win in the Samsung Super League today, July 27, at the Longines Royal International Horse Show CSIO in Hickstead, England. The team of Laura Kraut on Anthem, Christine McCrea on Vegas, Molly Ashe-Cawley on Cocu and Beezie Madden on Judgement were on top form, and the win pulled the U.S. up from last in the Super League series standings to sixth.
At the end of Round 1, the U.S. team was tied for second with the Netherlands, with 12 faults to their scores. Great Britain led, with just a 5-fault tally. The U.S. women had scored consistent 4-fault rounds from each combination in Round 1.
But in Round 2, they made their determination clear. Kraut led them off with a clear round. McCrea and Vegas pulled just the second-to-last fence, but that score got dropped after Ashe-Cawley and Madden turned in clear rounds to clinch the victory.
The Dutch riders dropped from contention with just one clear round over Round 2, placing third. The Brits looked ready for victory after Nick Skelton and Russel jumped a clean second round, but Ellen Whitaker had 5 faults on Locarno and William Funnell and Cortaflex Mondriaan felled two rails. The last to go was Michael Whitaker on Suncal Portofino—if he went clear, Great Britain would win. But he couldn’t afford even a time fault. When two rails fell, he conceded defeat and retired, giving the U.S. the day.
While the win pulled the U.S. from the bottom of the standings—Sweden now occupies that unfortunate spot—and makes the likelihood of elimination from the Super League a little less certain, two competitions remain. “We need to cross our fingers for Dublin [Ireland, Aug. 10] and [the Super League Final in Barcelona, Spain on Sept. 16],” said Kraut. “We know we’re not out of the woods yet.” In Dublin, the U.S. team will battle it out with France and Sweden to stay out of the bottom of the list. The same U.S. women—and fifth team member Georgina Bloomberg—will compete at Dublin.
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Ashe-Cawley added the Super League win to a triumph the day before, in the Irish Horse Board International Chase, aboard Cocu. Ashe-Cawley is planning to ride at Dublin, but not for much longer after that since she’s three months pregnant. “Junior helped me today—he or she kicked in all the right places!” Ashe-Cawley said after the Nations Cup.
1. USA 12 faults: Anthem (Laura Kraut) 4/0, Vegas (Christine McCrea) 4/4 , Cocu (Molly Ashe) 4/0, Judgement (Beezie Madden) 4/0.
2. GREAT BRITAIN 18 faults: Russel (Nick Skelton) 4/0, Locarno (Ellen Whitaker) 8/5, Cortaflex Mondriaan (William Funnell) 1/8, Suncal Portofino (Michael Whitaker) 0/Ret.
3. THE NETHERLANDS 20 faults: KEC Maximum Joe (Willem Greve) 4/0, Eurocommerce Pennsylvania (Wim Schroder) 0/4, Munsterhuis Sportcars Okometa (Jochen Munsterhuis) 13/4, VDL Groep Fleche Rouge (Leopold Van Asten) 8/12.
4. FRANCE 30 faults: Gabelou des Ores (Stephan Lafouge) 12/4, Jubilee D’Ouilly (Aymeric de Ponnat) 8/4, Idem de B’Neville (Jerome Debas Montagner) 12/16, Ephebe For Ever La Silla (Christian Hermon) 1/1.
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5. SWEDEN 37 faults: Irco Marco (Erika Lickhammer) 1/12, Calibra (Lotta Schultz) 4/0, Serenata La Silla (Fredrik Gustafsson) 12/8, Jaguar Mail (Peter Eriksson) 12/12.
6. GERMANY 50 faults: Waldrose (Florian Meyer Zu Hartum) 12/4, Pik’o Pur (Carsten Averkamp) 8/12, Cosino B (Tobias Bachl0 26/Elim, Luisa D (Annette Hulsmann) 5/9.
7. SWITZERLAND 51 faults: Peu A Peu (Daniel Etter) 21/4, Ilton Daye (Hansueli Sprunger) 9/8, Kali de la Croix (Paul Estermann) 13/ 8, Unique X CH (Pius Schwizer) 12/5.
8. BELGIUM 67 faults: Ogano Sitte (Dominique Hendrickx) 12/17, Quik Chin Van de Elsendam (Jan Motmans) 20/21, Cashmira (Vincent Lambrecht) 8/4, Utopia Vd Donkhoeve (Koen Vereecke) 8/18.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 6 AT HICKSTEAD
1. Germany – 37.75
2. Great Britain – 28.50
3. Switzerland – 27.75
4. Belgium – 24.25
5. The Netherlands – 22.00
6. USA – 19.50
7. France – 19.25
8. Sweden – 16.00
