DUBLIN, Ireland--The U.S. won the prestigious Aga Khan Trophy for the Nations Cup in an exciting finish that went down to the very last horse on Friday,  Aug.16 in Dublin.

Lucy Davis, Aaron Vale, chef d'equipe Robert Ridland, McLain Ward and Spencer Smith hoist the Aga Khan Trophy (Photo by Morgan Freemont)
McLain Ward on Callas was last to go for the U.S., and a rail down would have meant a jump-off with the Irish for the win, but Ward rode a cool, beautifully managed clean round and won the class for the U.S.

The team of Spencer Smith on Keeneland, Lucy Davis on Ben, Aaron Vale on Carissimo and Ward finished on four faults, while Ireland finished in second on eight faults and Great Britain was third with 12 faults.

This is the U.S. team’s eighth win in the Nations Cup of Ireland CSIO5* and its first victory in Dublin since 2017.

“They were unbelievable," said Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. "No question. Spencer led off, McLain wrapped it up, and the other two were fantastic The double clear of Spencer’s right from the get-go takes the pressure off everyone, which is a positive thing when everything is so competitive. Lucy’s riding nearly the like she was four years ago before she took a break from the sport. She fought her way back up to this level, and the more she gets to know this horse the better the partnership will get."

 

"AARON IS SO close to having everything nearly perfect with Carissimo, and you know McLain is McLain , he’s always come through for us when we need him. There was a big momentum swing coming here after the Olympic Games, and everyone really stepped up to the plate. This is a special event and it’s a Nations Cup like no other, so it feels good to win this again. The crowd is amazing and they’re so supportive of the U.S. team. It’s really one of the best competitions in the world.”

"Spencer found out at the last minute that he was on the team, and he told me he liked going early," said Rdland. "Then when we had the team draw, and we were drawn to go first, I said to him he wasn't only first for the team but first of all, and he said he was fine with that. Then he puts in a double clear."

"Lucy was on the team in Rio,and then she left to pursue a career," said Ridland. "I think she was in finance in New York, and she was very successful, but she decided she'd rather go back to riding. She put together a group that bought her Ben. She rode in Florida, but she couldn't even go in the big grand prix because entries were based n world rankings, and she was probably 1,000th after eight years off."

The course was designed by Alan Wade of Ireland on the historic grass of the Dublin Horse Show.

Seven of the first eight riders were clean, and it looked for a while that the course was too easy, but things changed dramatically with the second, third and fourth riders,

Davis of Brooklyn, N.Y., an Olympian and team silver medalist from the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, went second for the team,, followed by Vale and Ward, all going clean to finish round one tied with Ireland on zero faults.

With three clears already secured by the team, Ward didn't need to go in the first round based on scores for the teams, but he needed to earn his qualification for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden were tied with eight faults, Great Britain had 12 faults and France's team was eliminated.

Often, only the top six teams come back in round two, but Dublin allowed all seven to return, and the Brits came back in round two to produce three clear rounds and move from seventh to third.

In round two, Smith was clean again, but Davis and Vale each had four faults, and with Ireland finishing on eight faults, Ward had to go clean, and he delivered again.

"It was a pressure packed round," said Ward. "The crowd was a tiny bit disappointed, but my family is from Ireland, so we're a bit Irish."

"The crowd loved Mclain and what he said," said Ridland. "If the Irish can't win, they want us to win. It was a huge crowd."

In their two team appearances in 2024, Smith and Keeneland have produced only clear rounds for the U.S.

Smith and Ward finished the class as just two of the six to jump clear in both rounds out of 32 total combinations and shared in the prize money allocated for double clear rounds.

"I'm so lucky to be here with a great horse," said Smith.

"It was an absolute honor to be here," said Davis.

"It's an amazing crowd," said Vale. "This was my first time coming here and i can't wait to come back."