It’s no surprise to see Laura Kraut and McLain Ward named Friday to the Icon Global squad for August’s world championships at Aachen. The veteran competitors both are, after all, Olympic team gold and silver medalists. Laura, 60, will be up on Bisquetta and McLain, 50, is set to ride one of his newer mounts, High Star Hero.
At the same time, it’s refreshing to learn that some different and younger faces will be filling out the squad.
Marilyn Little, 45, a former show jumper who became an eventer and then a show jumper again, was named with La Contessa, a speedy mare who has made a mark in Nations Cup and the Longines League of Nations competition. Lillie Keenan, 29, representing the under-30 set, also has a quick mount, appropriately named Fasther. And Katie Dinan, 32, third in the FEI World Cup Finals during the spring, will be riding the reliable Out of the Blue SCF.
The U.S. did not medal in show jumping at the last world championships four years ago in Denmark, so the goal obviously is to correct that oversight.
Missing from the squad is world number one Kent Farrington, who was shortlisted for the team. He always does what he thinks will suit his horses, as evidenced by the way he won April’s World Cup. He used Toulayna in the first leg, then the marvelous Greya in the next two segments, making sure not to overdo with the sensitive mare.
He explained on social media, “After giving a great deal of thought to this season and what I believe is the best long-term management for my horses, I have decided to withdraw from consideration for the World Equestrian Games. (it’s actually the World Championships not the WEG).
“Greya has already contested a championship on home soil this year, and we were fortunate enough to come away with the victory,” the rider wrote.
He has another promising horse in Descartes SR, but noted that while that Mexican-bred mount “has delivered some outstanding performances this season, I believe he is still developing and that a championship of this magnitude comes a bit too soon in his career.”
As usual, Kent is astute in planning and looking toward the future.
“With the Olympics on home soil in Los Angeles in 2028, I believe the right decision is to prioritize that goal and continue developing both horses with their long-term future in mind. This approach gives them the best opportunity for sustained success while allowing each horse to progress at the right pace,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brazil has a powerful squad lined up for the championships, and hired as its coach Franke Sloothaak. Franke hasn’t competed internationally since 2017, but the native of the Netherlands was on two Olympic gold medal teams when he rode for Germany.
So add Brazil to the list of nations with medal potential for the championships. Riding for that country will be a former world champion, Rodrigo Pessoa (Major Tom/Prins van’t Eigenio), Marion Modelo Zanotelli with McLain Ward’s 2024 Olympic silver medal ride, Ilex, or Dorette Old; Lucinia Diniz (Vergio du Deser); Yuri Mansur (QH Alfons San Antonio) and Stephan de Freitas Barcha (Dinozo Imperio Egipcio or Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio).
