OCALA,Fla.--In a hard fought, thrilling finish that came down to the last two riders in the ring, the U.S. won the League of Nations at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala by just one fault over Germany on Saturday, March 22.

The winning U.S. team (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Germany's Sophie Hinners on Ion Dames Sinclair went second to last, with German on five faults, and she put in a beautiful clean round to leave it all up to the final rider for the U.S., Mclain Ward on Ilex

With the U.S. on four faults, Ward had to go clean  for the U.S. to win, and he later  put it all into words.

"These are the moments you live for. I was coming down the ramp into the ring, and I actually had a little smile on my face when i heard Sophie went clean. I said `Okay.game on. This is what we do.’ You focus. That’s what you live for.”

“I think the drama at the end is a testament to the format; it makes for excellent sport and competition,” said Ward, 49, who spent four weeks on the sidelines this winter after being injured in a fall. “I don’t know how many times now I’ve been in that position of having to jump clear. I’d be lying to tell you it isn’t filled with some nerves and anxiety."

“I’ve said it many times before: I love the format that the League of Nations has, specifically for the excitement,” said chef d’equipe Robert Ridland. “This was a very exciting class and of course, it’s always nice to be on the right end of the excitement."

 

THE U.S. was ninth of 10 teams after Abu Dhabi, and with only four Nations Cup classes in which to qualify for the eight teams that would go to the final in Barcelona, it was important to do well.

McLain Ward on Ilex (Photo by Allen MacMillan)With teams going in reverse order of standing, Lillie Keenan on Argan de Beliard was second in the ring and put in a perfect clean round, followed in the rotation by Aaron Vale on Carissimo 25 who had one rail down, then both Laura Kraut on Dorado 212 and Ward were clean to give the team zero faults going into the second round, while Germany had clean rounds from Christian Kukuk on Just Be Gentle and Hinners and one time fault from Andre Thieme on Paule S to leave them on one fault.

Ten teams competed in the opening round, with the top eight returning for the second round in the evening with only three riders each and no drop score.

Ireland, the defending champions, was tied for third with Great Britain on eight faults, while Belgium had nine. France on 12, Italy on 13, and Sweden on 18 made the cut for the second round.

Missing the second round were The Netherlands with 20 faults and Switzerland whose first two riders, Edouard Schmitz and Janika Sprunger, were eliminated, thereby eliminating the entire team.

Lillie Keenan on Argan de Beliard (Photo by Allen MacMillan)The second round was under the lights in front of a packed Grand Arena crowd, and the pressure on each team was immense as without a drop score, every fault counted over the course set by Ireland’s Alan Wade.

Teams went in reverse order of standing from the first round, and Kukuk and Keenan again went clean, but Thieme and Kraut each had a rail, leaving the teams still one fault apart.

“Anytime I get to ride alongside these riders who I have looked up to for as long as I’ve ridden a horse is pretty special,” said Keenan, who trains with Ward and is currently ranked number 25 in the World Rankings. “To win on home soil and to have everyone see one of the best venues in the world and the best venue in America is so special because we all share an incredible sport. It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate it here and with a home win.”

"When I walked the course I thought it would be a good fit for Dorado," said Kraut. "I tried a new bridle, a hackamore, on him. He was out with an injury all last year, so this was his first big event."

"In the second round, I was really worried about my time because I was only .25 under in the first round, and I thought the place to make it up was to the wall, and clearly that was a bad idea. I apologized to McLain because we did it to him again, but he thrives on that."

McLain Ward on Ilex (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Ridland had said he loves the excitement of a three rider second round.

"It was great that Laura added to that just to make sure McLain had some real pressure on him going out there, but how things can change in that second round," said Ridland.

That set up the dramatic finale with Ward putting up yet another clutch perfect round for the win.

Belgium was third on 13 faults, and Ireland, also on 13 faults but with a slower combined time, was fourth.

France finished fifth with 16 faults; Great Britain sixth with 16 faults in a slower combined time; Italy seventh with 25 faults; and Sweden with 31 faults was eighth.

Only four riders, Keenan, Ward, Kukuk and Shinners, two for theU.S. and twofor Germany, were clean in both rounds.

After two rounds, Ireland and Germany are tied for the lead with170 points, followed by France with 150, the U.S. with 149, Belgium with 130, Italy with 120, Great Britain with 115, Netherlands with 85, Sweden with 80 and Switzerland with 55.

"We have a veteran team here and these are horses that have done it before," said Ridland. "There’s a reason why we picked the team we have here. It’s our home Nations Cup, and we had some incredible competition that we had to beat. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Lillie Keenan on Argan de Beliard (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"It definitely gives us some breathing room going into Rottedam," said Ridland. "But we have to keep our foot on the gas in Rotterdam."

"It was a pretty nice March, with a complete sweep of our two home Nations Cups," he said. "After everyone had left the stadium in Ocala, we had a lovely team celebratory dinner on the terrace. It as a job well done."

“Obviously, it’s a great facility and wonderful to have it here in my backyard, but it’s really special when you get an opportunity to jump against the world’s best here,” said Vale, who was also a member of last year’s team with Carissimo 25. “It’s lovely to have this event here and get to be a part of it as well.”

The Grand Arena at the World Equestrian Center in centered in front of a huge, elegant hotel, and the ring was beautifully decorated throughout the five days of the event.

Five pink flamingos were situated on a grassy strip dotted with flowers, a pair of whales, Shamu and a smaller whale, rose from a lake in the center, and the water jump was flanked by a pair of peacocks with huge white  floral tails.

Fences were flanked by standards of tigers, giraffes, koala bears, roses and other decorative motifs.

The League of Nations moves on to Europe as the third of four qualifying legs is staged in Rotterdam, Netherlands in June as the world’s top 10 nations battle for one of eight coveted places at the League of Nations Final in Barcelona.