FEI Nations Cup podium (l to r) U.S., Germany, and Great Britain (Courtesy of Caroline Martin)
Norfolk, England – The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team secured a third-place finish in the FEI Nations Cup at the Saracen Horse Feed Houghton International Horse Trials CICO3*. The U.S. team of Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot, Katherine Coleman and Longwood, and Caroline Martin and The Apprentice finished on a score of 160.9, while Germany won gold with a score of 122.2 and Great Britain collected silver with a score of 142.5. The U.S. combinations finished in the top 20 individually, setting them up for success at upcoming European competitions. Leslie Law served as the Chef d’Equipe at this event, in addition to his role as the Emerging Athlete Coach for the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation’s Karen Stives Endowment Emerging Athletes Tour.
“I thought it was a great performance with dressage producing some personal best scores,” Law said. “Show jumping went okay, but cross-country was fantastic with three competitive rides, all clear and inside the time around a course that caused plenty of problems.”
Burnett (The Plans, Va.) and Harbour Pilot were the top U.S. finishers in 10th place with a score of 49.2. They had a lovely dressage test to earn a score of 37.2, a personal best. The pair had three rails for 12 faults in the show jumping phase, but Burnett and Jacqueline Mars’s 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding finished on a high note by going double-clear in Sunday’s cross country phase.
Martin (Miami Beach, Fla.), a Karen Stives Endowment Emerging Athletes Tour recipient, finished in 15th and 16th place with her two mounts. With Pebbly Maximus, Martin scored a personal best of 43.1 in their dressage test and had a single rail down in the show jumping phase for four faults. Martin and her own and Sherrie Martin’s 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding had 6.8 time penalties in the cross-country phase to finish on a score of 53.9. With her Nations Cup mount, The Apprentice, Martin scored 48.1 in the dressage phase and had one rail and two time faults for six faults in the show jumping phase. Martin and Sherrie Martin’s 2004 Irish Sport Horse gelding were double-clear in the cross-country phase to finish on a score of 54.2.
Coleman (New Orleans, La.) and Longwood were the pathfinders for the U.S. team, beginning the competition with a dressage score of 53.5. Coleman and her own 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding had a single rail in the show jumping phase for four faults and were double-clear in the cross-country phase to finish in 20th place on a score of 57.5.
By Kathleen Landwehr, US Equestrian Communications Department