The medal simply slipped away.
The U.S., which had been second in the FEI World Show Jumping Championships after two days of competition, faltered on Friday and dropped to fourth place. It was a close finish in the team final, with the Americans’ score of 16.95 penalties less than one rail from bronze medal Great Britain (12.98 penalties).
It seemed almost predestined that home side Germany would take gold in Aachen with a mere 4.48 penalties as European champion Belgium captured silver on 11.69.
The course by Aachen’s designer Frank Rothenberger was challenging under the lights, with several fences standing 1.65 meters, a triple combination set six strides before the open water and rain for much of the evening that made the ground a bit of an issue.
For the U.S., Laura Kraut once again was the trailblazer with just one rail down at the B element of the triple combination on Baloutinue, who had been a last-minute choice as her ride.
“I was thrilled with my horse,” said Laura, who also competed on the U.S. team 20 years ago at Aache, when it hosted the World, Equestrian Games.
Of Baloutinue she said, “He was fantastic tonight. I thought I came in well (to the triple) but I definitely knew when I jumped A I was underpowered for B. i did feel he was a little slippy on the ground, so my advice for the rest of the team was to go up a size in studs.
After she made it through the triple, Laura said of her mount, “I knew he wouldn’t touch another one, because he knows he’s not supposed to hit one. i thought he finished the hard part unbelievable.”
After that, however, things really started falling apart.
Katie Dinan, had an unhappy start with Out of the Blue SCF on Wednesday, when she was the drop score as the mare toppled two rails. She recouped the next day for a perfect trip. But in the team final, Bridey, as the horse is nicknamed, got in trouble at the triple combination. Katie resorted to vocal encouragement at the B element and then toppled C. As a result, there was no way to reach the next obstacle, the open water jump, in six strides. She started to run past it, then elected to retire and became the drop score again.
Lillie Keenan, fault-free with Fasther the first two days, crashed through the first fence — the 1.65 meter Lindt oxer that also got many other riders — then had a rail at the next-to-last fence, a liverpool, for a total of 8 penalties.
“I do think my horse, he’s so in touch with me, he knew I was a little deflated,” Lillie commented, saying she thought he might not have been quite as focused as usual.”
A refusal in the schooling area, where she said there were no lights, didn’t help before she went into the arena.
Knowing that her score had to count for the team after Katie retired on course, she suggested, “I maybe was riding a little bit more defensive. To jump around to win, you have to be on the offense, not the defense, I think that’s kind of the result that we saw.”
Anchor rider McLain Ward, who had a rail down on each of the first two days with High Star Hero, wound up fault-free. But there was no way to catch the nations who had already clinched their places on the podium.
McLain Ward and High Star Hero had the only clean round for the U.S. on Friday. (USEF Photo)
Reflecting on his team’s change of fortune, U.S. Coach Robert Ridland conceded, “It’s a hard one. In championships, you can’t be good two out of three days. You’ve got to be good all three days. We came close.
“Fourth out of 31 teams isn’t bad, but it’s not what we aim for. We were aiming for the podium. We were actually mathematically close until the last two riders from the end. We had quite a few high points,” he continued.
“Katie came through for us on the second day—that was great— because she didn’t have a great first day. And Laura was really consistent throughout, and so was Lillie. That was a very odd mistake at the first fence tonight. McLain showed us tonight why he’s the anchor: he’s done it before, and that’s why he goes last.
“We actually had a pretty good week, but a podium is what we came here for,” he concluded.
Designer Frank Rothenberger’s course for the Friday team final.
The mood in the U.S. camp was understandably somber, but total jubilation reigned as expected among the 40,000 spectators in the standing-room-only arena, after the first three German riders had three clear jumping rounds and one time penalty.
Richie Vogel, German team anchor rider, and his fans.
The final rider, European Champion Richie Vogel, again was the drop score with United Touch S.
He had two time penalties, but his number wasn’t even needed. Richie galloped past the spectators after his round, reaching out to touch their congratulatory hands as his ecstatic smile shone through the rain.
We often see empty stands for medal presentations, but no one dreamed of leaving their spot and missing the momentous occasion when the team accepted gold — the first time Germany had won the world championship on home turf.
Their enthusiasm was unchecked, as they sang “Sweet Caroline” before the awards ceremony, then wildly cheered their team with joy that was contagious, even for those who weren’t German.
That veteran of veterans, Marcus Ehning, led the way for a German victory with Coolio 42.
On a happier note for the U.S., 16-year-old whiz kid JJ Torano won the Stawag Prize for Young Riders with Lyon 50. We no doubt will see him on a championships team in the near future.
JJ acknowledged, “I was a little nervous.”
When it was his turn to jump, he realized, `Whoa, Aachen is a different feeling than any other ring.’ ”
He mentioned that there was “a little bit of nervousness for sure, but I’ve learned how to deal with it over the last few years. I tend to do well when I’m under pressure or nervous. There’s no better place to win than Aachen. I came here with the intent to win.”
In the world championships, the top 25 will return on Sunday to determine the individual medals.
There is no jumping on Saturday (the turf could use a little rest), only four-in-hand driving and Para Dressage. Click here for team results. Click here for individual qualifier results. Click here for results in the Stawag Prize for Young Riders.
