Who is Jordan LaPlaca?
Those who don’t know the name can be forgiven. Although he led the U.S. to bronze in the dressage 4-star Nations Cup at Hagen, Germany, on Friday, it was his first time competing in Europe.
The U.S.bronze medal team and those who helped it happen at Hagen. (Stefan Lafrentz sportfotos)
Jordan, who was also on the winning U.S. team at the Nations Cup in Florida over the winter, had the best American finish in the Grand Prix, eighth place with Gold Play. Although that horse was not passed in the first soundness inspection at the show, he got accepted on the morning of the Cup and stepped right up to achieve a personal best percentage of 70.631 percent.
Jordan La Placa and Gold Play at the U.S. national championships in May.
Jordan finished just ahead of teammate Christian Simonson, the runner-up in April’s World Cup final with Indian Rock. Christian was aboard his back-up mount, Fleu de Baian (70.478 percent). The third U.S. score belonged to Genay Vaughn and Gino, eleventh with 69.848. The U.S. total was 210.957 percent.
As expected the home team ran away with the victory, earning a total of 230.834 percent, as Isabell Werth took first place on Wendy de Fontaine (81.051.) The Germans also accounted for second and third, as well as fifth, which didn’t count in the total because that was the drop score. Spain was silver on 212.892.
Looking ahead to next month’s world championships at Aachen, German National Coach Monica Theodorescu pointed out that is “another test, but this was an important test. This is another important step toward the championship—and whichever championship there is in a year, it’s the same procedure.”
She added having senior stars like Isabell and Frederic Wandres riding with younger teammates like Raphael Netz and Semmieke Rothenberger is a confidence builder.
“We go through all of our age categories, and it proves that our system is working well in Germany,” she emphasized. Raphael and Semmieke rode together in the youth division and rose up the ranks from there.
Jordan has had Gold Play, who he owns with Nancy Hutson, since the son of Grey Flannell was four. Speaking about bringing the gelding along for seven years, he summed up the experience as “an incredible journey.”
The Vermont native is trained by Christine Traurig, who is also the U.S. chef d’equpe.
“She is the force who pieced together the refinement of where we’re at,” he said.
“I have to give her a lot of credit. She understands me, she understands my horse. She’s the calm in the storm.”
After trying everything from eventing to driving and western, Jordan said he picked dressage as his focus because he’s “a type A, and I loved the fact that this will never be perfect, never 100 percent.”
Jordan La Placa and Gold Play at Hagen.
Vaughn was a late addition to the team after Anna Marek’s Fayvel was not able to compete.
The top ranks of U.S. dressage are not at their strongest — Indian Rock is taking a rest and won’t be in the world championships next month at Aachen. Marcus Orlob’s 2024 Olympic mount, Jane, has been rehabbing from an injury and will not go to the championships either.
So earning the bronze really meant something. The U.S. finished ahead of Belgium, which was without its star, world number one Justin Verboomen and super horse Zonik Plus. Sweden was fifth and Austria sixth.
Click here for Nations Cup individual rider results Click this link for Nations cup team results
In other action at Hagen, Adrienne Lyle won the 3-star Grand Prix on her 2024 Olympic mount, Helix. He was the only horse in the class to break 70 percent.
The USA’s Ellesse Gundersen, who won the national Grand Prix championship in May with her homebred Quintessential 4, had a series of problems to finish twenty-fifth and last in the class. The horse seemed a bit unsettled from the start, and had major issues in both the collected and extended walk, each of which were movements with coefficients that made them more important in the scoring.
Click here for the 3-star results
