First it was Marilyn Little withdrawing La Contessa from the U.S. show jumping team at this month’s world championships in Aachen, Germany. Then came Phillip Dutton’s substitution of his back-up mount, Denim, for Possante on the U.S. eventing team.
Now the U.S. Equestrian Federation has announced another U.S. world championships drop-out. Jordan LaPlaca said Wednesday he was stepping aside from the dressage team, with Kasey Perry-Glass and Heartbeat WP taking the place of himself and Gold Play on the squad.
Jordan LaPlaca and Gold Play.
“In the spirit of staying true to my core convictions as a horseman and as a committed partner to my horse, Gold Play, I have decided to withdraw from this year’s FEI Dressage World Championships. Gold Play is okay and that is the most important thing,” Jordan announced.
“But as a member of the U.S. team, I have to do what is best not only for my horse, but for the entire team as well. This is not the end, just the beginning of great things still to come.”
Jordan, who was fifth in the national Grand Prix Championships in May, is short on experience internationally. Kasey has been a team medalist in both the Olympics and World Equestrian Games. Those honors came with her previous horse, Dublet. Heartbeat has far less milage. He and Casey were fifteenth at the national Grand Prix championships, where they withdrew from the freestyle.
This is a building year for the U.S. dressage team, as it looks toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Team members will get experience at the world championships next week, but there is no chance of a U.S. medal in the discipline there.
The country is short on proven horse power at the top level. Jane, a veteran of the Paris Olympics with Marcus Orlob, has been rehabbing from injury for most of this year and was not a contender for the world championships team. The top-ranked U.S. horse internationally, Indian Rock, has been resting since the national championships, where he dropped out before the freestyle.