Eighty-nine riders from 21 nations will compete at the FEI World Championships for eventing in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, after one horse was withdrawn at the first horse inspection.
Three horses were held by the vets and the ground jury - Christina Klingspor (SWE), Peter Gray (CAN) and Christian Steiner (AUT) - Joystick, ridden by Aminda Ingulfson for Sweden, Cecelia, the 19-year-old mare ridden for Mexico by Daniela Moguel, and Brazil’s Ballypatrick SRS (Ruy Fonseca). Both Joystick and Ballypatrick SRA were passed on reinspection, but Cecelia was withdrawn from the holding box and will not take part in the competition.
All five American horses breezed through the trot-up, which took place in a small area between the main dressage arena and the practice arenas. The three female US riders - Ariel Grald, Tamra Smith and Lauren Nicholson wore belted pink tweed skirts, knee-length boots, dark blue poloneck tops and Panama hats, while the men - Boyd Martin and Will Coleman - wore cream chinos and US team jackets.
The British squad wore black armbands to mark the recent passing of Her Majesty the Queen, as did the Australian team.
Will Coleman and Off The Record will be the first US partnership to go at the FEI World Championships They will be 11th into the dressage arena tomorrow (Thursday, 15 September) at 11:05 a.m. Italian time.
Lauren Nicholson and Vermiculous will follow them as number 33, and will perform their test at 15:35 p.m. Italian time.
The individual rider for Team USA, Ariel Grald (Leamore Master Plan) will be second to go on Friday morning as number 47 at 9:38 a.m. Italian time.
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, number 61, are scheduled to do their dressage test at 12:00 p.m. Italian time on Friday.
Boyd Martin (Tsetserleg TSF, number 86) are the final pairing to represent the USA at 4:38 p.m. Italian time on Friday. They are part of the last rotation of riders, which also includes world number one and Tokyo team gold medallist Oliver Townend from Great Britain, Australian individual bronze medallists from the Tokyo Olympics Andrew Hoy and Vassily De Lassos, Pau CCI5* winners for New Zealand Tim Price and Falco, and the Japanese combination who were fourth at Tokyo, Kazuma Tomoto and Vinci De La Vigne.
Badminton CCI5* winners Laura Collett and London 52 are drawn third for the British team at 15:51 p.m. Italian time on Thursday. Britain’s individual competitor is team rookie Yasmin Ingham, who will ride her 2022 Kentucky CCI5* runner-up Banzai Du Loir at 12:00 p.m. Italian time on Thursday.
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Spring and summer are on the horizon. As rider’s calendars begin to fill with horse trial, clinic, and schooling outing dates, organizing teams are busy with preparations to ensure smooth operations and a great experience for participants, horses, and spectators.
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF)/US Equestrian has announced the appointment of former USEF Eventing Development Coach Leslie Law to the position of Chef d’Equipe and High Performance Manager for the Defender U.S. Eventing Team, and Karyn Shuter, who will take on the newly developed role of U.S. Eventing High Performance Advisor. Both Law and Shuter will begin in their respective roles immediately.
Last year was a big one for USEA Young Event Horse program graduate Arden Augustus. He made a successful move-up to Modified with Sharon White in the tack, followed by a smooth transition to Preliminary, then went on to win two CCI2*-S divisions and ended the year with a CCI2*-L win.
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