By the US Equestrian Communications Department
Boekelo, The Netherlands – The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team concluded the 2017 FEI Nations Cup™ season at Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3*, October 5-8, 2017. In a massive field that drew 99 combinations, U.S. team members Katherine Coleman, Caroline Martin, and Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp were among the 68 that completed one of the toughest CCI3* competitions on the calendar. Halliday-Sharp placed 16th individually to lead the U.S. team, who finished seventh in the team standings.
“The Nations Cup is a great experience for our riders. With a team of three, I thought we did very well despite the conditions. Other countries who actually started four [combinations] did not manage to complete. The conditions on Saturday [during cross country] were quite difficult and wet, but we finished and presented all horses [on Sunday], so the women did a great job,” said acting Chef d’Equipe Leslie Law.
Halliday-Sharp (East Sussex, England) and Deniro Z delivered a consistent dressage test on Friday in the gelding’s Nations Cup debut. They scored a 44.6, finishing just inside the top-25 following the phase. She and The Deniro Syndicate’s nine-year-old KWPN gelding added 10.4 time penalties during cross-country, but a clear jumping effort helped boost them to the 16th position. They dropped one rail in the show jumping phase for an overall score of 59.0.
Martin (Miami Beach, Fla.), a United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation Jacqueline B. Mars Developing Rider Grant recipient, and her and Sherrie Martin’s Pebbly Maximus performed a steady dressage test for a score of 50.2 to sit in the 64th position going into cross-country. She and the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding picked up 13.2 time penalties. However, they jumped clear which advanced them to the 32nd position. Despite dropping two rails during show jumping, they remained 32nd overall with a score of 71.4.
Coleman (Wiltshire, England) and Back to Business started competing at the three-star level this year. In the combinations first Nations Cup together, Coleman and her own 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare earned a personal best dressage score of 51.3 at the three-star level on Thursday. They finished 66th, overall, with a score of 132.5 due to two refusals during the cross-country phase and dropping two rails during show jumping.
The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members.
