ROME, Italy--At the Nations Cup of Rome CSIO5*, a young U.S. Jumping Team finished tied for third with The Netherlands but was placed fourth as ties, except for first, are broken by the team's aggregate time.
Laura Kraut on Confu (Photo by Stefano Secchi)The Netherlands aggregate team time was 222.46, and the U.S. finished in 224.35, just two seconds slower.
The team of Lillie Keenan on Argan de Beliard, Laura Kraut on Confu, Brian Moggreon Balou de Reventon, and Chloe Reid on Souper Shuttle was led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland in the two-round competition which featured 10 teams and served as the first Observation Event ahead of team selection for the 2022 FEI Jumping World Championships.
"I've never been a fan of that system" said Ridland. "A few years ago, the two teams would have remained tied. This system is based on a time that no one puts a priority on. You go in to win, to leave all the fences up and to take as much of the time allowed you need to do that. No chef d'equipe ever tells his riders, `You have to go fast because we might end up tied for third'"
The U.S. team finished with a two-round total of eight faults in the Nations Cup at Piazza di Siena, placing fourth behind France, who had zero faults, Belgium, with four faults and the Netherlands, eight faults..
“I TOLD the group after the class that we had a good day at the office," said Ridland. "We had three young riders, two of them still really getting to know their horses, and they each had a ride they put in the bank and a ride they learned from moving forward. It’s preparation and a learning experience. We really had a useful day and a good finish. Laura obviously showed us why she was anchor by doing what Laura always does and it was a very nice double-clean for her, and a good start to our summer season.”
"They all did a great job," said Ridland. "Each of the three young riders had a super round, and each had a round they could learn from.
Lillie Keenan of New York, N.Y., on Argan de Beliard rode first for the team, going clean to be one of only four clean rounds from each of the 10 teams' first riders over a complex and technical course, which featured most combinations and fences set to the max specifications of 1.60m.
Second for the U.S., Chloe Reid of Ocala, Fla., on Souper Shuttle, had one rail down, and third in the order, Brian Moggre of Flower Mound, Texas on Balou du Reventon, had eight faults, which was the team’s drop score of the round, as Kraut on Confu, the anchor rider, was clean.
In the second round, Keenan had four faults, Reid had eight faults to be the drop score, and Moggre delivered a beautiful clean ride under pressure, followed by a second clear round by Kraut to be one of only seven of the 40 riders to have double clear rounds.
"Brian learned from that first round ride," said Ridland. "It just needed a couple of tweaks. In the first half of his first round, Brian was a touch too aggressive. But he's a tremendous talent."
"The grey that Lillie was riding is a relatively new horse for her," said Ridland. "She just got her during Florida. And Chloe's is not a new horse for her, but she was on a new level. Chloe has done a wonderful job of bringing her along. Riding her in a Nations Cup is a huge step up."
"All five riders that we have here qualified for the Grand Prix Sunday,"said Ridland. "These four qualified through the Nations Cup, and Spencer Smith qualified through a class earlier."
This team of young riders held their own against the top teams in the world, beating Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Canada, Spain and Italy, to basically tie for third with a strong Dutch team.
