United States Eventing Association

Coleman, Grald, Nicholson, Martin, and Smith Named to U.S. FEI Eventing World Championships Team

After a long-anticipated wait, US Equestrian has announced their team selections for the 2022 FEI Eventing World Championships which will take place at Pratoni del Vivaro in Rome, Italy on September 15-18, 2022. Making up this year’s World Championships roster are Will Coleman and his own 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Off The Record (VDL Arkansas x Drumogoland Bay), Ariel Grald and Annie Elridge’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Leamore Master Plan (Master Imp x Andragh Bash), Lauren Nicholson and Jacqueline Mars’ 15-year-old Anglo-Arab gelding Vermiculus (Serazim x Wake Me Gently), Boyd Martin and Christine Turner’s 15-year-old Trakehner gelding Tsetserleg TSF (Windfall x Thabana), and Tamra Smith and Alexandra and Ellen Ahearn and Eric Markell’s 16-year-old German Sport Horse gelding Mai Baum (Loredano x Ramiro). Will Coleman and Team Rebecca LLC’s 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Dondante are the Direct Reserve and Phillip Dutton will serve as the Traveling Reserve with the Z Partnership’s 14-year-old Zangersheide gelding Z (Asca x Bellabouche).

Each country can send up to five riders – four team members and one individual. The best three scores will count for the team. The final four selected to represent the U.S. as a team will be confirmed after the first horse inspection at the Championship.

The qualification period was from January 1, 2021 to August 15, 2022, but applications were due to the USEF on April 15, 2022. Riders must earn an MER at one CCI5*-L, or one CCI4*-L and one CCI4*-S, to be eligible to compete. Nominated entries are due to the FEI on August 15 with definite entries due on September 5.

Looking back at 2021 and 2022, it is no wonder why Off The Record made the list for the U.S. Pratoni team. The horse had two first-place finishes at the four-star level in 2021, one on U.S. soil at the Carolina International and one abroad in the impressive environment at Aachen, where he finished sixth this year. In addition, Off the Record has had two top-15 finishes at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5* in 2021 and 2022, and also a third-place finish in the CCI4*-S at Luhmuhlen just shortly after Kentucky this year.

Leamore Master Plan has also had an impressive past two years with Grald in the saddle. Since January 2021 they have had two first-place finishes at the Advanced level, a win in the CCI4*-S at Fair Hill this year, a third-place finish in the five-star at Luhmulen in 2021, and a top-15 finish in the five-star at Kentucky this past spring. The partnership has only had one rail down since January of 2021, making them a pretty safe bet in the show jumping ring.

Everyone’s favorite little “Bug” Vermiculus and Nicholson are recently coming off of their fourth-place finish in the five-star at Luhmulen this past June which was preceded by four top-three finishes at the Advanced and CCI4* levels. At Luhmulen the pair just added 5.2 time penalties to their dressage score of 26.7 to finish out the weekend, and we know that. Bug also had a top-15 finish last year at the inaugural Maryland 5 Star.

2021 may not have been the small but mighty Tsetserleg TSF’s year, but he is coming back to 2022 with a bang and the team selectors have noticed. Following the Tokyo Olympics, Martin took an unfortunate tumble from the horse at the 2021 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, but the pair came back to this year’s five-star in the bluegrass with a bang and finished in fourth place overall. “Thomas” has also had two top-five finishes at the four-star level over the course of the last two years.

In a recent USEA Podcast, host Nicole Brown said if she could select any horse to ride it would be Smith’s ride, Mai Baum. Not only is he easy on the eyes, but he has impressively low and consistent dressage scores every outing he appears at and is fairly consistent in the show jumping ring as well. In addition to serving as the Traveling Alternate for the Tokyo Olympics, Mai Baum has spent the past two years raking in the top placings including a third-place finish in the CCI4*-S at The Fork in 2021, a ninth place finish in the five-star at Kentucky in 2021, a tenth place finish in the CCI4*-S at Aachen in 2021, a first place finish in the Advanced at The Fork in 2022, and a ninth place finish at Badminton CCI5*-L in May of this year.

The following competitions in 2022 were on the list for selection trials for the championships:

• Twin Rivers International Horse Trials CCI4*-L April 14-17
• Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L April 24-29
• Badminton Horse Trials CCI5*-L May 4-8
• MARS Bromont CCI Three Day Event CCI4*-L June 6-9
• Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials CCI5*-L June 16-19

In addition, the following competitions in 2021 were also on the list of USEF Selection Trials

• Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L
• MARS Bromont CCI Three-Day Event CCI4*-L
• Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials CCI5*-L
• The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI4*-L
• Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials CCI5*-L
• SsangYong Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CCI4*-L
• Morven Park Fall International CCI4*-L
• Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO4*-L
• Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill CCI5*-L
• Les 5 Etoiles de Pau CCI5*-L
• Galway Downs International Three-Day Event CCI4*-L
• Tryon International Three-Day Event CCI4*-L

For more information on the Pratoni championships, click here.