FEI World Equestrian Games Team USA Scores 5th Consecutive Gold Contributed by Simona Diale


Reiners thrilled the fans in Tryon as 63 horse-and-rider combinations representing 20 National Federations laid down impressive runs paid back by the judges with great scores. The Team Competition counted 12 full teams and, with a phenomenal 681 composite, Team USA clinched its fifth consecutive team gold medal. First to enter the pen on home turf was Casey Deary riding Hilldale Farm’s Heavy Duty Chex; the pair marked a 223.5. With five horses left to show in the first section, Team USA’s youngest rider, 18-year-old Cade Mc- Cutcheon, laid down an impressive perfor- mance aboard Custom Made Gun, a 7-year-old stallion owned by his grandparents, Tim and Colleen McQuay. Once he closed his run, a 229 appeared on the score board.


The talented young rider set the bar and his score held until the very end.


In the second section, team members Daniel Huss riding MS Dreamy for Frederick Christen and Jordan Larson aboard Arc Gun- nabeabigstar owned by HDC Quarter Horses LLC performed to a 226.5 and 225.5 respec- tively, firmly placing Team USA on the highest step of the podium.


It was a three-peat for Team Belgium as anchor rider Bernard Fonck sealed the sil- ver medal for his team by performing a great pattern #8 aboard What A Wave. The stallion once again showed off his potential and the duo closed with a 226.5 score. Fonck’s wife, Ann, had ridden Made In


Walla - owned by Sabine Lisec - to a 225.5 and Dries Verschuren, riding his own Smart N


Germany claimed


Sparkin, had closed with a 219.5. The final composite for the Belgians, who also saw Cira Baeck and Piet Mesdagh’s Gunners Snappy Chic, was a 671.5. With a final score of 666.5, Team the


bronze med-


al thanks to Grischa Ludwig and Ruf Lil Diamond, Markus Suechling and Spotlight Charly, Robin Schoeller and Wimpy Kaweah and Julia Schumach- er riding Coeurs Little Tyke. A half-a- point away from the podium was Team Austria. Reining competition closed the first week as some of the world’s best riders battled it out for the FEI individual medals. When the dust settled, the dream team made up of Bernard Fonck (BEL) and What A Wave once again made history by claiming the gold medal for Belgium. The Belgian rider has won close to $1,800,000 in reining competition and his mount, an 11-year-old stallion owned by Gina De Pauw and Steve Vannietvelt scored a 227 for the win. “This is the first time in history that a European rider leaves the World Equestrian Games with the individual gold medal and I could not be any prouder,” said Fonck. Team USA’s Dan Huss and Ms Dreamy,


set the crowd on fire as they burst into the arena setting the dirt flying and spinning fast to mark a 226.5. The duo clinched the silver medal and they too made history: The talented 8-year-old is the first mare to earn an individual medal in reining at the FEI World Equestrian Games™. A run off determined who would take home the bronze medal as both Cade Mc- Cutcheon (USA), riding Custom Made Gun,


Gold Medal Reining Jordan Larson, Cade McCutcheon, Daniel Huss & Casey Deary.


Cade McCutcheon & Custom Made Gun


and Joao Felipe Lacerda (BRA) aboard Gunner Dun It Again scored a 225 during the finals. Lacerda and the 7-year-old stallion owned by Paulo Francisco Tripoloni, laid down a power- ful performance and marked their highest score of the Games: a 227.


Fighting until the bitter end was Mc-


Gritty Battle for the Medals in the Dressage Contributed by Louise Parkes


Cutcheon and the flashy palomino marking a 228 and firmly capturing the bronze medal. “I could not have done this without my team, my coach and my family and I still can- not believe that I made it to the podium. It will take a while before it sinks in!” w


Brilliant performances from Sonke Rothenberger (23) and Isabell Werth (49) secured the Helgestrand Dressage Team title for Germany at the FEI World Eques- trian Games™ 2018. The defending champions threw down the gauntlet when Jes- sica von Bredow-Werndl’s (32) leading score with TSF Dalera BB was backed up by another great result from Dorothee Schneider (49) and Sammy Davis Jr. Their national anthem rang out across the Arena when their compatriots wrapped it up to secure their 12th victory in the 52-year history of the world Dressage champion- ships, and their seventh in the 8 editions of FEI World Equestrian Games™. It was a gritty battle for silver and bronze, with only a whisper separating the


British, Americans, and Swedes going into the closing stages. It was the Swedes who lost out on a podium placing when Laura Graves’ last-to-go effort saw the host nation pin them back to fourth by an agonizing 0.15 points. Once Werth had settled the destiny of gold, it was a nervous wait for the Brit-


Laura Graves (USA), Isabell Werth (Germany) & Charlotte Dujardin (Britain).


ish whose total score of 229.628 was already settled. The final riders from Sweden and USA could push them out of a medal placing, and Sweden’s Patrik Kittel came very close to doing just that when putting 78.199 on the board. It wasn’t quite enough. When Graves and Verdades pro-


October 2018 SouthWest Horse Trader


Continued on page 18 15


FEI / Liz Gregg


Christophe Tanire


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