Aachen, Germany - Sitting in the final spot of a nine horse jump-off, Olympic gold medalist Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY, had the small luxury of knowing the time that she had to beat. With that knowledge, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo were able to best the time of 50.07 seconds set by Sweden's Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Ninja La Silla by two seconds. Their time of 48.27 seconds and a fantastic clear round gave them the win in the Warsteiner Preis, Preis of Europa.
Madden said of the course, "I thought it was a very fair course; there were faults in all areas. I think nine in the jump-off is good number and it was a good class."
Madden and Via Volo won in a class of 49 competitors.
Owner Gwendolyn Meyer purchased Via Volo in February this year, and the talented mare has been making an impression. They won two major classes at Spruce Meadows in Calgary in the past month before traveling to Europe.
"This is the biggest event that she's been to," Madden acknowledged. "She felt great. She seemed very comfortable in this ring, so I was pretty confident with her today. She's gradually climbing her way up."
In their first class in Aachen, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo, a 12-year-old BWP mare by Clinton x Heartbreaker, owned by Coral Reef Ranch, were clear and finished tenth in the NetAachen-Preis yesterday.
The show jumping team scored another win when Lauren Hough of Wellington, FL, and Prezioso S, owned by Highlife Farms, won the Preis der StädteRegion Aachen over 53 other competitors. In the "winning round" format, the clear rounds returned for a second round. Hough and the talented 14-year-old stallion by Pilox were the fastest double clear in 44 seconds flat. They persevered through inclement weather as well.
"He actually likes the mud and rain, so I wasn't disappointed to have to go in the changing conditions," Hough revealed. "I felt quite confident that the ground is really good and I could take a chance."
Hough had help from Madden, who went before her and placed seventh on Abigail Wexner's Mademoiselle. "Beezie and George were really helpful; Beezie had gone before me and told me where I could do less strides than her. It was a really open, galloping jump-off, which suits him. He has a really big step. He's so handy (too)."
Hough said she is "grateful to have a horse like this in my string." She added, "In 99% of the shows he goes to, he comes home with a top three placing in a 1.50m class. Those horses are almost impossible to find. He can jump every day to win. I can't say enough great things about him. He always wants to please and win."
The third U.S. win came in the Prize of Fa. Horsch, Der Entsorger, the dressage test for driving. S. Tucker Johnson and his team - Anastasia 127, Dexter, Spot Light, and Wibo - led the way with a score of 72.2% for victory. Teammate James Fairclough finished third with a score of 70.9% with his team of Splash, Uniek, Cletta 5, and Celina 6.
The draw for Thursday's Meydan FEI Nations Cup order-of-go was also decided today. The team from the USA will ride in the seventh spot.
The following horse/rider combinations have been named to represent the U.S. in the Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen in Germany on Friday July 16:
Nicole Shahinian-Simpson and Tristan
Candice King and Skara Glen's Davos
Lauren Hough and Quick Study
Laura Kraut and Cedric
These four riders will take on nine other teams at the sixth stop on the Meydan FEI Nations Cup Series under the guidance of U.S. Chef d'Equipe George H. Morris.
Morris said, "I have my all-girl team again, like Rotterdam, but I have great confidence in my girls."
For information, live results and coverage, please visit: www.chioaachen.com.
The US currently sits in third place in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup standings with 25.5 points following their fifth place finish in the fifth Nations Cup at CSIO Falsterbo.
For more information contact: usefnews@usef.org
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