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Friday, March 29, 2024

U.S. wins silver in Jumping in a thrilling jump-off

TOKYO, Japan--In a thrilling jump-off, Sweden won the gold medal over the U.S. team after all six riders in the jump-off were clean and the medals came down to time.

McLain Ward by Allen MacMillan DSC 0148McLain Ward on Contagious over the fan fence that caused many faults (Photo by Allen MacMillan)The time of each rider was taken, and then the times of the three members of each time were added together, and it was increibly close, with Sweden winning by a mere 1.3 seconds, putting the U.S. into silver.

Sweden had been dominant in all the classes going up to the Team Finals, with not one of their horses having had a rail down, but the U.S. team of Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, Jessica Springsteen on Don Juan van de Donkhoeve and McLain Ward on Contagious put the pressure on the Swedish team, showcasing the best of the sport under the lights in Tokyo.

The Belgian team finishing with the bronze.

"To beat Sweden we would have had to have had an out of body experience," said Ward after the jump-off,and then comented on how it feels to ride for the U.S. in the Olympics. "I love it. I need it. And it's killing me."

"It feels surreal," said Springsteen. "It's such an honor to be here."

 

THE ENTIRE Finals was an exciting event with all kinds of twists and turns.

Laura Kraut by ALlen MacMillan DSC 8960Laura Kraut on Baloutinue (Photo by Allen MacMillan)The teams went in reverse order of qualification, with the best, Sweden, going last, and the U.S. going fifth.

Kraut went first for the U.S over the track built by Santiago Varela of Spain and was clean.

“Today he was just in the game," said Kraut. "He was relaxed and focused and just did everything I asked of him. He’s just one of the best horses I’ve ever had the privilege to ride and for him to come in here tonight, he’s still new to this level of jumping, and he’s gotten better each day that he’s jumped.”

Second for the U.S., Springsteen had a fast four fault round, keeping the team within reach of a medal in her championship debut.

“This course was super technical," said Springsteen. "The first time I walked it I made a plan, and that was what I stuck with in the ring. There were a lot of half strides where you had the option to choose whether you wanted to do one less or one more and my horse has a big step and I was able to do most of the leave-outs which really helped me with the time allowed.”

Jessica Springsteen by Allen MacMillan DSC 9480Jessica Springsteen on Don Juan (Photo by Allen MacMillan)But it was that big stride that bit her as Don Juan met the fourth fence wrong and dropped a rail then jumping all the most difficult parts of the course clean.

Fences were at the maximum height, with some at 5'6".

Chef d''equipe Robert Ridland said the course wasn't as big as they'd been in the Individual Final, and that the first five fences weren't that hard but that riders had to make really hard decisions."

The decision to only allow three riders per round was to allow more teams, particularly those without a great equestrian background, to compete.

After two riders for each team had gone, France was leading on 2 faults, with the U.S, Belgium and Sweden tied with four faults each, and, if there had been a tie for any medal but gold, the aggregate times of the teams would break the tie.

The Belgian rider had 8 faults, so Ward's round would be critical.

As the pair’s anchor combination, Ward delivered with a solid round, as Contagious barely tapped a rail on an big, wide oxer after a turn to add 4 faults and guarantee the U.S. of a bronze medal.

Peder Fredricson by Allen MacMillan DSC 0192Peder Fredricson on All In (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Then Peder Fredrickson on All In had All In's first rail down in Tokyo, and, in an ironic twist of fate, it was the very last fence on the course, meaning the U.S. and Sweden were now tied.

All In went through the entire Olympics in London without a rail and then had just that one rail in six rounds in Tokyo, while Henrik  von Eckerrmann's King Edward jumped six clean rounds in Tokyo, an amazing feat for both horses.

“I thought the horses jumped great last night and really well again today," said Ward. "The task for me was a bit difficult to go in cold to that round last night and I was a little bit anxious about it. I had a feeling that we were going to settle in, and everyone delivered. Jess stayed as cool as can be after having an early rail ,and I thought my horse’s rail was a little unlucky, and Laura was just lights out.”

Then disaster struck for France as, leading on just 2 faults, they had a rail in hand to win the gold.

But Penelop Leprevost on Vancouver de Lanlost had a rail down at the first fence of the triple combination and a stop at the second, then another stop when retryiing the first of the combination to leave the U.S. and Sweden tied for gold.

Henrick Eckermann by Allen MacMillan DSC 0258Henrick Eckermann on King Edward (Photo by Allen MacMillan)The order for the jump-off remained the same, with Kraut first, and she finished with a quick clear round in 41.33,  and she was followed by Henrick von Eckermann on King Edward, who was clean in 42.00.

Springsteen delivered with Don Juan another fast clear in 42.95, followed by Malin Baryard-Johnsson on Indiana, clean in 41.89.

Ward would need to pull out all the stops to try to keep the gold medal out of Sweden’s grasp, and he pushed Contagious and delivered a brilliantly fast, clear effort in 39.32.

Fredrickson on All In knew if he had a rail down, Sweden would lose. but even more importantly, if he didn't beat the time of 40.3, the Swedes would lose, so he knew he had to go fast and hope the fences stayed up - just going clean wouldn't be enough.

And he delivered in a magnificent round in 39.01.

Ultimately, the gold was earned by the Swedish team, which was well-deserved after their tremendous performance this past week, with the U.S. team securing their second consecutive team silver medal at an Olympic Games.

Malin Bayard johnsson by Allen MacMillan DSC 0343Malin Bayard-Johnsson onIndiana (Photo by Allen MacMillan)This was the third time the U.S. and Sweden have jumped off for the gold, with the U.S. having won in a previous Olympics and also winning at the World Championships in Tryon.

Ward' s medal moved him into a tie for for second in riders having won the most equestrian medals in jumping.

“Sweden has been lights out, which was expected, but they have really been on a different level," said Ward. "We would have had an incredible day to beat them, and I think we pushed them right to the limit and in competition, when you push them to that limit and they still win, you’ve got to be proud with the fight and the medal.”

“This was a hard-fought battle,” said Kraut. “McLain is fast, and we know he’s fast, and he definitely put the pressure on Peder. He had .4 seconds to make up and Peder and All In are just so fast, just like we saw on the individual final. This is what we do this for. It’s a lot of work, sweat, and tears, but I’m just so thrilled and I’m so fortunate to have a great team here with me.”

“This was truly a team of four, plus the army behind us,” added Ward, to Kraut’s testament to the team comradery and the support they received from teammate Kent Farrington, who competed in the Individual Qualifier, but sat out for the team competition.

Ridland was thrilled with the way the team’s strategy played to their preparation and noted that they were confident the team competition would most likely go to three rounds and made a point to be sure the horses were fresh and ready for the task at hand.

“It’s what you dream of," said Ridland. "We came up with a plan a long time ago, and the emphasis was always going to be on the team competition. The plan was, of course, that we’re bringing four riders here and all four were going to be whatever results we were able to get. Today was supposed to be the day that we really channeled everything, and we tried to leave as much gas in the tank as we could through the qualifying round to get there, and we’ve all been saying that the team was going to be three rounds and we were prepared for that. It just became magical. It was sweet revenge for Sweden and it’s a great rivalry. They were amazing and we pushed them to the limit and that’s what has made us proud.”

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