Photo Credit: Rebecca Berry (Instagram @rebecca_d_berry)
Langley, British Columbia – In the third and final leg of the FEI Nations Cup North America, Central America, and Caribbean League, the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team bested home team Canada and rivals Mexico and Ireland to secure their qualification for the FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final in Barcelona, Spain, September 28 – October 1. The Canadian team claimed silver on 14 faults, just a single point behind the U.S., with Ireland taking home bronze with 25 faults.
The Team of Heather Caristo-Williams, Catherine Tyree, Adrienne Sternlicht, and Margie Engle represented the U.S. in this event, going in with a mere 10 point lead in the division standings, a narrow margin over Canada and Mexico with only two qualifying spots available for the Finals.
“Our number one priority was to qualify for the Nations Cup Final today,” said U.S team Chef D’Equipe, Robert Ridland. “But our second priority was to do it in a way that benefits everyone in the long-term – and that is to give a bunch of different riders experience. We have had 14 riders on four Nations Cup teams so far this year. Some view that as a bit risky, but it has always been a priority for me. Experienced riders and younger riders feed off of one another, in a good way, and that’s what we did today.”
The U.S. team kept their lead ahead of Canada through the first round, finishing with just four penalties. Caristo-Williams (Saugerties, N.Y.) and Nations Cup newcomer, Qui Vive Des Songes Z, the 2006 Zangersheide stallion owned by Holly and Ralph Caristo had a difficult start as they made their way over the Peter Holmes-designed course, earning a score of 22 faults. However, following second in the order, Tyree (Chicago, Ill.) and Bokai, Mary Tyree’s 2006 KWPN gelding had a beautiful round, dropping just one rail in their second Nations Cup appearance together.
Both Sternlicht (Greenwich, Conn.) with the 2008 Starlight Farm 1 LLC.’s Bavarian Warmblood mare, Cristalline, and Engle (Wellington, Fla.) riding Royce, Gladewinds Partners, LLC’s 2004 Oldenburg stallion, jumped double clear rounds, securing the US’s top spot heading into the second round.
With qualification to the FEI Nations Cup Jumping Finals at stake, the U.S. needed consistent rides in Round two. Caristo-Williams improved on her first round but picked up 12 faults on her second ride of the course. With the pressure on, Tyree and Sternlicht both jumped near-perfect rounds. Tyree picked up a mere four penalties with one rail down and Sternlicht jumped a careful clear round, earning only a single time fault.
Meanwhile, the Canadian home team had returned to the field to battle their way to the top, with clear rounds jumped by Tiffany Foster (CAN), Christopher Surbey (CAN), and Ian Millar (CAN) to add nothing to their first round total. Ireland also put forth a worthy fight. Ireland’s pathfinders, Daniel Coyle and Cita, jumped the only double clear performance of the day.
Team anchor Engle had little room for error as the final rider on course. She and Royce needed to stay within the time, with no more than four faults to secure a U.S. victory. They did exactly that, finishing well within the time but lowering one rail, clinching a team gold medal and winning the division to qualify for the global series Final in Barcelona.
“Days like today are what we do it for,” said Ridland. “There was a lot on the line today. All the teams here felt it – today determined whether they went to Barcelona or not, and that kind of pressure is not always the case. There was more pressure today in a Nations Cup than in others and our riders did a great job responding to that pressure. The course was excellent, the weather perfect and a beautiful facility. This was the result we were looking for and we are pretty happy about it.”
By Julian McPeak, US Equestrian Communications Department