Aachen, Germany – Another American victory came Saturday at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany. Show jumper Laura Kraut rode Woodstock O, owned by Joan Kalman and The Freedom Group, to the win in the Sparkassen-Youngsters Cup. They were also awarded with the overall special prize for the best rider/horse of the three Youngsters Cup competitions.
Kraut and Woodstock O have consistently been in the ribbons this week in the Youngsters Cup, with clear rounds in the previous two speed classes. “I don’t think he rubbed a fence the whole time. I didn’t go fast the first two days, even though they were speed classes, because it doesn’t really matter. The goal is to qualify for the final and save yourself for the last class,” Kraut explained.
They did just that, as Woodstock O, an 8-year-old KWPN gelding, was clear through two rounds today and the fastest in the jump-off to take home the top prize over Philipp Weishaupt (GER) on Urmel 86 and Lars Nieberg (GER) with Coco Mademoiselle.
Kraut said, “We jumped the first round at 9:15 this morning and we didn’t have the jump-off until 2:15 in the afternoon. This morning he was actually quite fresh and strong. He was sort of a handful to ride around, but he jumped brilliantly. By the afternoon, he settled down and he was so good in the jump-off. It was his type of course with a lot of galloping. Even though he’s small, his stride is very big. He did everything he was supposed to do.”