Great Britain Takes First at The Plains

The three-part competition culminated in a heated cross-country race...

Great Britain put on a show of speed, strength, and control to win Leg 4 of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ at The Plains in the USA this weekend.

Great Britain was leading after the Dressage and Jumping competitions, and they held onto their lead in the end, although the final results were very much up in the air until the last rotation of riders.

Team Canada, third going into the cross-country segment, pulled off a second-place finish in Virginia, while the USA dropped from second to third on Day 3 of this spectacular summer event.

The crowds were out in throngs to cheer on their teams...

British designer Mike Etherington-Smith, known for his creative and innovative tracks, set a rolling, twisting course that required precise strides and would ultimately frustrate many horses.

While a few riders struggled with the water elements, it wasn’t the giant oxer over the Salamander Creek that proved a struggle for riders, as was perhaps expected.

The pair of brush corners in the arena fouled more than a few, who raised their hands to be eliminated after multiple refusals when their mounts simply couldn’t lock onto the obstacles.

Several riders had falls, but neither horses nor riders sustained any immediate serious injuries, and good natural horsemanship was apparent, such as when American Will Faudree’s horse Caeleste trotted right back to him after a tumble at the Adequan combination.

Time proved to be a factor as well, and only a handful of riders were able to finish within the optimum time. As penalty points accrued, clean riding and speed in the final rides were of the utmost importance.

As the day progressed, the pressure only increased. When both Ben Hobday of Great Britain and Caroline Martin of the US took on 20 points each, the door was opened for Canada to step through to a victory.

However, despite a superb ride from Lisa Marie Fergusson of Canada, who flew over the course aboard Honor Me and finished inside the time, early rides and points carried over from the Dressage and Jumping rounds came back to influence the final rotation.

Leslie Law, riding the anchor leg for Great Britain on Voltaire de Tre’, gave an impressive ride, pouring on speed at the finish, while remaining calm at decisive at each of the 33 efforts.

Combined with Georgie Spence’s morning ride on Halltown Harley at a blistering 6:34, he made up for teammate Sophie Brown’s troubles in the arena, resulting in a slower, more cautious ride for her on the rest of the course.

As the last competitor for the USA, Bruce Davidson, who can normally be counted on under pressure, saw a refusal at the second brush corner, which snagged him up considerably.

Three days of competition leave Great Britain on top...

After three-plus hours of adrenaline, when all the points from three days were tallied, it was Great Britain on top, with only 138.5 points, followed by Canada and the US with 148.7 and 157.5, respectively.

Great Britain will carry their 100 first-place qualifying points to the next leg of eight in Le Haras du Pin in France, held on August 11-15.

Be sure to tune in to FEI TV to see who will take that leg, as the competition grows more fierce heading to Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands for final legs.

Text by Patricia Salem

Images by Shannon Brinkman