Today will go down in US horse sport history as a glorious day for the US Show Jumping Team as they clenched the gold resulting in a masterfully ridden jump-off with Canada. McLain Ward on Sapphire, Laura *** aboard Cedric and Olympic rookie, Will Simpson on the handful, Carlsson vom Dach were the first 3 to go and thanks to their outstanding results, Beezie Madden as the anchor rider didn’t even have to jump.
Sapphire, also on the Athens Olympic Team, was consistently brilliant having 3 clear rounds with only a foot in the water during the 1st round. The 15.2 hand Cedric was the least experienced horse on the team but got the job done with exceptional skill. Carlsson vom Dach often looking like a run-away train held it together superbly in the jump-off despite having 2 rails down in the 2nd round.
It was delightful to see Canada win the silver since they hadn’t won an Olympic medal in show jumping in 40 years (1968 Mexico City). I am sure Ian Miller on In Style was riding for his wife who he lost in the winter from cancer.
Hooray for Norway too on winning the bronze. This is a country that has never even been part of the Super League and has never won a medal in show jumping so their win is even more.
Contrary to my blog of last week, the Germans are turning out to be less omnipresent & potent than predicted as they ended up in 5th place.
Congratulations to the riders, George Morris, as Chef d’Equipe, and to the USEF Show Jumping High Performance Team: Sally Ike, Lizzy Chesson, Amy Serridge & Kristina Pichalski!