Calgary, Alberta – Two U.S teams were in Canada at CSIO5* Spruce Meadows ‘Continental’ Friday for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by Scotiabank. Called Stars and Stripes, one team (Stars) was riding for Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Final qualifying points, both were riding for a measure of redemption after finishing behind Team Canada at Nations Cup competitions in Florida and Mexico earlier this year.
Overall, seven teams competed at the Meadows on the Green Friday, two from the U.S., two from Mexico, two from Canada, and one from Ireland. Though neither U.S. team was able to secure the win, both were impressive in their efforts. Over an Anthony D’Ambrosio course that yielded little, the Stars team was in it till the end, ultimately finishing in second but punching the U.S. ticket to Barcelona in October. The Stripes team made sure that both teams representing the U.S. Friday had a spot on the podium with a hard earned third-place finish.
Round One
Stripes
On what was described by some as a “cold and miserable” evening, in a slight mist, Leslie Howard (Darian, Conn.) & Jane Clark’s Tic Tac were trailblazers over the course. They handled that tough position well by going clear over the fences and taking a single time fault. That would prove to be an excellent result as fault free rounds didn’t come often Friday night, and a tough time allowed ensured that time faults did. Howard’s three teammates – Charlie Jacobs (Boston, Mass.) with CMJ Sporthorse LLC’s Flaming Star; Kirsten Coe (Royal Palm, Fla.) with Ilan Ferder, Lovsta Stuteri, and Tal Milstein’s Baronez; and Jon McCrea (East Windsor, Conn.) with Candy Tribble’s Special Lux – all had four faults to give Stripes a total of nine in round one.
Stars
On the Stars Team it was Charlie Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) and Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher’s Chill R Z that set the example to follow. They were arguably the best combination jumping Friday night and it showed right away. They started the day for the Stars with a beautiful clear round that turned out to be one of only three clear efforts through all of round one. Jayne’s teammate McLain Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) was another one of those clear rounds. It came aboard Double H Farm’s HH Cannavaro. Anchors Rich Fellers (Sherwood, Ore.) and Harry and Mollie Chapman’s Flexible had one rail down to give the Stars team a total of only four faults going into round two.
Round Two
Stars
Jayne & Chill R Z started where they left off in round two with a well-executed clear round. They were the only combination to secure a double clear all night, and their effort kept the competition heated. Kent Farrington (Wellington, Fla.) & Amalya Investment’s Ambler Gambler bounced back from a five fault effort in round one with an excellent clear that really put the pressure on the Irish team.
It came down to the third rider in each order, and no room for error. First up were Ward and HH Canavarro. They looked on their way to a round one repeat, but a slight mistake over the Scotiabank oxer meant four faults.
Following Ward, Ireland’s Darragh Kenny grabbed his chance to seal the win. Kenny and San Souci Z had a time fault, but they were clear over the rails and that was enough to earn Team Ireland a second Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup win at Spruce Meadows in as many years.
With the final standings already determined, Fellers chose not to jump again. The Stars Team finished with eight points, Team Ireland with three points.
Stripes
For the Stripes team, Jacobs & Coe repeated their first round performances, each finishing with four faults again in round two. McCrea improved upon his round one by turning in a clear round. With that he guaranteed the Stripes 17 total points and a podium finish.
With qualifying now complete in the North America, Central America & Caribbean league the U.S. and Canada have earned a place at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona October 9-12, 2014 with 280 and 290 qualifying points respectively. The U.S. and Canada join Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the only teams that have currently qualified for the Final.
By Andrew Minnick
To learn more about the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows ‘Continental’, visit: http://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/view_tournament.jsp?id=25.
To learn more about the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Season, visit: http://fei.org/fei/events/fei-nations-cup-series/furusiyya.
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