(Photo: Bob Langrish)
West Sussex, England – July 29, 2016 – The Longines Royal International Horse Show hosted the final leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping series on Friday at The All England Jumping Course, Hickstead showgrounds. Eight teams battled it out for the historic Prince of Wales Trophy as well as valuable qualifying points for the series final to be held in Barcelona, Spain, in September.
Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain were all eligible to receive Furusiyya Nations Cup points from Friday’s competition, while Ireland, the Netherlands and the United States also contested the prestigious series leg at Hickstead.
The Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team featured an all-female team consisting of Lillie Keenan of New York, New York, and Super Sox, owned by Chansonette Farm LLC and Ronnoco Jump Ltd., Paris Sellon of Los Angeles, California, and Adare, owned by Willow Grace Farms, Katie Dinan of Wellington, Florida, and Dougie Douglas, owned by Grant Road Partners LLC, and Lauren Hough of Wellington, Florida, and Cornet 39, owned by Willow Grace Farms.
Under the guidance of U.S. Chef d’Équipe Robert Ridland, Team USA drew fourth in the order of eight nations and finished the first round of competition on a total of 12 faults with Keenan, Sellon and Dinan all collecting 4 faults and Hough finishing on 8 faults in their respective rounds.
However, the team returned to the second round looking to make a come back from their eighth place standing after the first round.
Keenan and Super Sox, a 2006 Hanoverian gelding, produced the first clear round for Team USA as first to go in the second round of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™, presented by Longines. Sellon finished on a 4-fault effort with Adare, a 2005 Dutch Warmblood mare, however Dinan with Dougie Douglas, a 2005 Irish Sport gelding, and Hough and Cornet 39, a 2004 Oldenburg gelding, were able to follow Keenan’s trend to both finish with no faults.
After taking the top three scores from each team in the second round, Team USA wrapped up competition at CSIO5* Hickstead with a total of 12 faults from the first round — adding zero faults to their total score after the second round and tying with Switzerland for fourth place.
