June 12, 2013 — All eyes will be on Calgary, Canada June 13-16 for the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows ‘Continental’ Tournament as many of the best jumpers from North America and abroad go head-to-head. The feature competition of the week, Thursday’s $100,000 Furusiyya Nations Cup, will host seven teams from four nations. Canada, Mexico and the United States will all be represented by two teams, with one team from each nation serving as the designated “point team”. These “point teams” will earn valuable points towards qualifying for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup? Jumping Season Series Final in Barcelona, Spain, September 26-29, 2013. The United States currently carries 100 points after claiming victory in the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm at CSIO Wellington in March. They will look to book their ticket to Barcelona with a strong performance at Spruce Meadows on Thursday.
The Stars Team, composed of Reed Kessler, Kent Farrington, Charlie Jayne and Christine McCrea, has been chosen as the “point team” for the United States. Kessler (Lexington, Ky.) and Farrington (Wellington, Fla.) were teammates on the winning U.S. team in Wellington and look to secure their second Nations Cup victory of 2013. Kessler, who recently placed 10th in her first Rolex/FEI World Cup Final, will ride her second place finisher at the 2013 $200,000 Gene Mische American Invitational presented by G&C Farm, Mika. Farrington brings Robin Parsky’s Blue Angel into Nations Cup competition; the pair won the $150,000 CSIO4* Grand Prix presented by Wellington Equestrian Realty in March as well as last week’s $33,000 ATB Financial Cup at Spruce Meadows.
Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) will ride Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher’s Chill R Z on the Stars Team. The reserve combination for the U.S. Team at the 2012 Olympic Games recently traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden and earned a top 20 finish at the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final. McCrea (East Windsor, Conn.) brings her $25,000 Grand Prix of North Salem winner, Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables’ Zerly, to Spruce Meadows’ Nation Cup competition. The pair spent the winter jumping at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival where they won the $125,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup.
The U.S. will also be represented by a Stripes Team composed of Brianne Goutal, Katie Dinan, Candice King and McLain Ward. Goutal (New York, N.Y.), who won many of the most prestigious equitation titles during her junior years, will ride Remarkable
Farms LP’s talented Nice de Prissey in Nations Cup competition. The pair began their 2013 campaign with a third place finish in the $50,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Grand Prix at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. Riding in her first North American Nations Cup, Dinan (Wellington, Fla.) brings her veteran partner Grant Road Partners LLC’s Nougat Du Vallet into competition on Thursday. The pair won the $100,000 Empire State Grand Prix presented by the Kincade Group at the Old Salem Spring Horse Show following a successful debut at the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final.
King (Wellington, Fla.) will represent the U.S. on the Stripes Team with Stateside Farm LLC’s Campbell VDL. The pair closed out the month of May with a fourth place effort in the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix presented by Zoetis. Rounding out the team is Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and his 2013 $200,000 Gene Mische American Invitational presented by G&C Farm and Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon winner, Sagamore Farms’ Rothchild.
To learn more about the horse-and-rider combinations on both U.S. Teams click here.
The $100,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup gets underway at 12pm MT.
Live coverage of competition can be found on FEITV.org.
To learn more about the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows ‘Continental’ Tournament visit; http://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/view_tournament.jsp?id=25
Follow the 2013 U.S. Jumping Team here.