IT’S A DOUBLE-AMERICAN AS TEAM USA WIN AGAIN AT FURUSIYYA QUALIFIER IN GIJON

2 August - Team USA sensationally won their second Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2014 qualifier in 24 hours when adding the honours at the Europe Division 2 leg in Gijon, Spain today to yesterday’s Europe Division 1 victory at Hickstead (GBR).   “We all watched Hickstead yesterday and we were really proud of them, so we wanted to compete with them here today and show them we could do it too!” said American anchor Georgina Bloomberg this evening after producing one of just two double-clear performances in a competition filled with excitement.

There were 11 teams in action at the Spanish venue, but only two vying for Europe Division 2 qualifying points, and it was the fourth-placed Italians who clinched the maximum 100 while Norway claimed 90 when slotting into seventh place.

Once again the American victory was crisp and clear as their eight-fault final score left them well ahead of Switzerland in second with 13 while the British were close behind in third with 15 faults at the end of the day. The host nation posed a threat to the eventual winners at the halfway stage but had to settle for fourth place in the final analysis while Belgium slotted in between Italy and Norway in sixth place.

Only eight teams qualified for the second round, and despite doing so the French withdrew after picking up an unlikely 20 faults first time out.  It was an uneasy French outing that may leave Chef d’Equipe, Philippe Guerdat, scratching his head a little in the lead-up to his final selection for the forthcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy (FRA).

Naturally delighted

American Chef d’Equipe, Diann Langer, was naturally delighted with today’s result. She said, “I think the climate this year has been excellent and I would love to thank the OC for the invitation, for having us over and the course designer for putting together this beautiful course, particularly his attention to detail.

We have one more competition in Dublin before choosing our team for the WEG. It was decided that Lucy Davis needed to save her horse and focus on Hickstead – she jumped beautifully over there and that is the only reason she didn’t come here. She was on a certain track and it wasn’t necessary to bring her here” the team manager explained.

She said the US Federation is very committed to developing young teams for the future. “They have sent out a lot of teams this year. Along with that, we are developing a lot of programmes for young riders – I will have another young team in Bratislava next week. We really believe the more events they can compete in, the better they will get.

We want our young riders – usually those that are 21 or under - to go to 3-Star competitions in order to start preparing for the future. Sometimes we will put a senior rider with them to try and anchor it. Our 5-Star events are all about having our already developed teams out to get more exposure together. You cannot excel in the Nations Cup without competing in it. The two-round formats are very different to what these riders are used to when competing back in the States” she pointed out.

Ashlee Bond is one of the many US riders who have benefited from the policy. “I think that when you compete on Nations Cups it’s all about how your team comes together – we fought for it and wanted it really bad, especially after the success our brothers and sisters enjoyed yesterday in Hickstead! We wanted to repeat that here in Gijon. We wanted it the most!” she said.

Today’s back-to-back US success is a reminder, if needed, of just how strong the US challenge is right now, just three weeks away from the World Championships.  Meanwhile today’s result sees Norway remain at the head of the Europe Division 2 leaderboard and look well-qualified for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2014 Final.  There are two places available, and Italy has moved into second place, but there are two more events, at Bratislave (SVK) next Friday and Arezzo (ITA) in September, before the second qualification spot can be confirmed.

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