Laura Kraut’s double clear performance with Zeremonie anchored the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team’s effort at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Ireland on Friday, August 10, at the Dublin Horse Show CSIO5*. The class served as the final observation event for the NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team in preparation for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018.
Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland led the U.S. team, which placed fifth and also included Jaime Barge (Malibu, Calif.) riding Luebbo, Kylie Co.’s 13-year-old Oldenburg Springpferd gelding; Lucy Deslauriers (New York, N.Y.) riding Hester, Lisa Deslauriers’s 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding; and Adrienne Sternlicht (Greenwich, Conn.) riding Cristalline, a 10-year-old Bavarian Warmblood mare owned by Starlight Farm LLC.
“It was a tough course, but a very fair course, a typical Alan Wade-designed course,” Ridland said. “Overall, I was pleased. We’re over here for a variety of different reasons, but obviously the preparation and selection for the World Equestrian Games is part of it. It’s what our summer has been all about, and we’ve been using these shows to work toward our goals down the road.”
Kraut (Wellington, Fla.) and Zeremonie, an 11-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Old Willow Farms LLC, were one of just three horse-and-rider combinations to turn in two clear rounds over Alan Wade’s track. Deslauriers and Sternlicht both had four faults in each round, while Barge was eliminated at the water jump in both rounds.
“We didn’t have a bad day,” said Ridland. “Laura’s double clear was spectacular. Adrienne and Lucy were right there. To have the misfortune to have what happened to Jamie at the water, it’s one of those things you can’t really correct mid-class. It puts everybody else a bit on their heels. She was tough to go back in and did her best.”
Mexico won the class on a total of eight faults, while Italy, France and Ireland tied for second with 12 faults. The U.S. team finished with 16 faults.
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