BARCELONA, Spain — Lucy Davis of Los Angeles and her four teammates wrapped up a week’s effort with a fourth-place finish Sept. 26 at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final.
Led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team quartet of Lauren Hough, Reed Kessler, Laura Kraut, and Beezie Madden had a strong performance in a tough round against some of the world’s best combinations to finish in fourth place on 12 faults.
“It was a very difficult, but brilliant course. It was exactly what you would expect at the Final,” said Ridland. “It’s the highest level of sport with great countries competing here. We knew it was going to be tough when we walked it.”
The Final format allows five riders to compete for each nation, as a substitution is allowed for the second round. Davis and Barron, Old Oak Farm’s 2004 Belgian Warmblood gelding, competed in the first round of the Final on Thursday, while Kessler rode her mount Cylana in the final round on Saturday. Ridland added that, “We did what we have done for all three years of the Final and used all five riders. All five riders had solid performances that contributed to our overall placing.”
Belgium won the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final on a team score of four faults. Great Britain and The Netherlands both finished with eight faults, but Great Britain finished with a total team time of 223.14 while The Netherlands had a time of 226.80, thus determining their respective second and third placings. The U.S. was in a three-way tie for fourth with Ireland and Germany on 12 faults but had the lowest total team time of 219.61 to claim fourth place.
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