It’s the Irish show jumping team on top of the world

by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 24, 2024 | On the rail, Previous Columns

The Longines League of Nations’ debut in the U.S. crackled with excitement from beginning to end, as teams from 10 countries that included 18 of the world’s 20 top-ranked show jumpers offered what might be a hint of the action in this summer’s Olympics.

While Ireland took center stage on the podium Saturday, there were other winners — the spectacular World Equestrian Center venue in Ocala, and the new system used by the League.

“I like the format a lot,” said U.S. Coach Robert Ridland, who then added, “I love the new format. I think it’s great for spectators who don’t know our sport well.”

The U.S. was the leader halfway through the two-round competition, but dropped to third after the suspenseful second round.

Coach Robert Ridland leads the U.S. team into the arena before the Longines League of Nations. With him are Aaron Vale, Kent Farrington and McLain Ward (Laura Kraut was warming up her horse.) (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)

While the format allows the traditional drop score for teams of four in the first round, only three riders from each squad compete in the second round, where every score counts.

That heightens the drama, and the standings changed radically during the class. At half-time (following the afternoon round) the U.S. led on zero penalties because its three fault-free riders, pathfinder Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, Kent Farrington (Landon) and anchor McLain Ward (Callas), had gone faster than those from Ireland and the Netherlands, who also had a clean slate. The USA’s hometown favorite, Aaron Vale, who toppled a rail at an airy vertical with Carissimo 25, had his score dropped and he did not ride in the second round.

By the end of the evening, the crowd packed into the stands around the Grand Arena saw a different order of merit, with Ireland taking the top prize on 5 penalties, followed by Switzerland—which rose from seventh in the first round—to finish on 8 penalties and the U.S. in bronze position with 12 penalties. The Dutch score was 12 as well, but the U.S. riders had a faster time to break the tie.

As Robert noted, almost every other sport doesn’t allow you to throw away one of your scores that you don’t like.

With no drop score, “Where the teams are at any given minute is very clear.”

At the Paris Olympics, teams will consist of only three riders, so that’s why this competition could be considered a preview of sorts. And as Robert pointed out, “being on the podium when it’s the top 10 (teams competing), there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Then he said with a grin, “We’re giving them a little bit of a head start and a false sense of security.”

Last month in Wellington, Fla., Ireland won the Winter Equestrian Festival’s traditional Nations Cup, with drop scores allowed in both rounds. That nation had no trouble, however, transitioning to the new system. The deciding round in Ocala was produced by Cian O’Connor on Maurice.

He had enough leeway to allow a single penalty for going over the 72-second time allowed set by course designer Alan Wade.

Cian did not need to ride in the first round because of perfect trips from his teammates, Shane Sweetnam (Otis Blue), Daniel Coyle (Legacy) and Darragh Kenny (Amsterdam).

“You can only deliver last to go if the team have done their job,” he explained.

“So my job is easy, right, with these three guys’ amazing clear rounds. They had set the whole thing up for me, really.”

Chef d’equipe Michael Blake told Cian he could afford a time fault, but Cian waited until finishing the triple combination three fences from the end of the course before exercising that option.

When Maurice jumped out of the combination, Cian said, “I just decided to take a breath. I just gave the horse a moment. I think that’s where he picked up a fraction of time, but I was happy. We had the job done, so it was fine.”

Will Ireland be the favorite to win in Paris?

Hard to say, since the other countries on the podium in Ocala will present a challenge, along with Germany and the Netherlands, if you’re looking for a short list of possibles.

But Michael Blake cited as an asset “the depth that we have – there’s 29 riders last year and 13 podium finishes and it’s pretty okay. I’m really, really lucky to have the bunch of people that we have.”

Others may get a chance to prove themselves, “but you know, it’s looking not too bad,” Michael observed with a little smile. Bertram Allen was supposed to be on the team until he was injured in a fall; Shane replaced him with an inexperienced horse. And in Wellington Saturday night, Daniel Coyle’s brother, Jordan, won the $150,000 Hermès CSI4* 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Final with For Gold.

In the second Longines round for the U.S., Kent’s horse had a foot in the water jump and a rail, while McLain faulted at the middle element of the triple. Robert noted Kent’s horse is young and still relatively new to him, though he came off a double-medal winning effort in the Pan American Games last year. Aaron, who rode in the League’s debut in Abu Dhabi last month, is also dealing with a new mount.

“I’m very pleased with his progress,” Robert said.

Laura Kraut may have earned a permanent job as U.S. pathfinder, commenting, “I much preferred it to being the clean-up rider.” That was her job in the crucial Pan Am Games, where the U.S. qualified for Paris.

Her double clear was not only sensational, but also faster than other riders who were double clear. They were Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs on Leone Jei and Steve Guerdat (Is-Minka), as well as Daniel Coyle, and the Dutch pair of Harrie Smolders (Uricas v/d Kettevennen) and Maikel van der Vleuten (Beauville Z NOP).

“I have so much confidence in my horse and I feel like we’ve got a good partnership now, versus the year of Tokyo (2021Olympics) when I didn’t really know what to do with him. Now I have a good idea,” said Laura.

She was also free of jumping penalties in Thursday’s $330,000 Lugano Grand Prix, but one time fault kept her from inclusion on the jump-off list. She said she wouldn’t have gone into a tiebreaker anyway, though, because her plan involved using the class as a warm-up for the Longines League of Nations.

“He had not jumped any class stronger than a 1.50 (meters) since July and knew this was going to be tough with Alan building and I wanted to make sure I had the best prep I could,” Laura explained about her choice to compete in the grand prix.

She felt the time allowed in the team competition for the “straight-forward course” was “very lenient,” on a route that “wasn’t so technical.”

Laura believes the League debut enabled people “to see this sport the way it is and not on television, but to actually see it live is not only exciting, but educational. I think it’s wonderful and WEC did an amazing job. I don’t think there could be one complaint.”

Cian praised the venue, which really shone during its time on the world stage this week. The riders were housed in the 5-star Equestrian Hotel, which served as the glamorous backdrop for the jumping.

“It’s one of the great wonders of the world. It’s the most amazing place,” said Cian of WEC.

“The facility is fantastic, and we’re delighted to be here. Sometimes the unsung heroes of our sport are the grooms, and for them, the way they’re looked after, plus the stables and the level of detail here, is second to none. We’re absolutely delighted to be here, and big thanks to the Roberts family for building this wonderful facility for us.”

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