United States Eventing Association

USEA is thrilled to have Nina Gardner reporting for us from Luhmuhlen in Germany.

Greetings from the US contingent in Germany. As I hope that you have heard by now, Will Faudree on Andromaque and Tiana Coudray with Ringwood Magister had good Dressage rides yesterday in the CIC***.

Today, it has been so far so good for our riders after Dressage for the CCI**** riders. In 1^st place is Frank Ostholt's Little Paint (which doesn't look like a paint to me) with a score of 35.3 for Germany. Next is Great Britain's Piggi French on Flying Machine with a score of 37.2, followed closely by First Lady from Sweden ridden by Niklas Jonsson with a 37.8. There are 5 Germans in the top 10 all of whom had great rides, but seemed to me to get extra rewards from the judges for their nationality.

Will Faudree had a lovely ride on Pawlow and was well received with a score of 45.8, putting him in 13^th place. He seemed quite pleased, especially since he had to ride right after Mary King on Appache Sauce! Jennie Brannigan rode much earlier, but the judges warmed to her beautiful ride on Cambalda (Ping). She received a score of 46.5 which put her 17^th (between Tim Lips NED with 46.3 and Clayton Fredericks AUS with 47.2). Julian Stiller on Chapel Amble was the last American to go today, but had to ride sandwiched between William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Andrew Nicholson (NZL): tough! She received a score of 52.8 putting her into 26^th place. Considering that there were 43 competitors in the 4 Star, our riders represented us very well.

I'd go out and celebrate for Will and Jennie, but I'm too tired (from jet lag), plus the cross country is formidable! The good news is that the going is fantastic and terrain is flat. The fences are huge for the most part, but straight-forward except for a few, especially the three water complexes (fences 9-10, 16 and 24). There are a couple of other especially challenging fences where lines are crucial such as fence 21. Quoting Mark Phillips: "… fence 21 needs a little bit more thought.

The first two Double Brushes are large but simple enough. Too much pace here could put riders in the wrong place to be able to make the turn to the large Corner." When I walked this fence, topiary decorations definitely interfered with the rider's line. The option wasn't much fun either. I have no idea how these difficult fences and time penalties will factor into the standings after cross country, but I suspect the standings will change by the end of Cross Country day. Moreover, rain is forecasted for tomorrow and Sunday. Here's hoping the weather forecast turns out to be wrong!

Keep your fingers crossed! I'll report back tomorrow after Cross Country.

Nina