Australia Finish Sixth at CSIO4* Nations Cup USA
Australia has finished sixth place in the Nations Cup CSIO4* presented by Premier Equestrian at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, USA.
Eleven nations came forward to contest the prestigious event, which took place over two rounds of competition and was the feature class of the week-long show in Wellington, Florida.
Australia was represented by James Arkins riding Eurostar I, David Cameron riding Oaks Come By Chance, Lauren Balcomb riding Verdini d'Houtveld and Katie Laurie riding Django II.
The Australian team started the competition strong, qualifying for round two in promising form. James Arkins and Eurostar I, who were making their Nations Cup debut, were the first combinations on course for Australia and delivered a solid performance finishing with just one rail down.
David Cameron and Oaks Come By Chance had a challenging first round, accumulating 18 faults, making them Australia's drop score. However, Lauren Balcomb and Verdini d'Houtveld delivered a sensational round clear and under time boosting Australia up the leaderboard.
Katie Laurie and Django II backed up Balcomb’s effort and also produced a clear round seeing Australia finish round one in 4th position, securing a start in round two where only eight nations qualify to move forward.
Many nations, including Australia, faced challenges in round two as the second half of the competition was jumped under floodlights in front of a full house and an electric atmosphere.
In round two James Arkins and Eurostar I had an uncharacteristic refusal and finished the round with 19 penalties. David Cameron and Oaks Come By Chance also accumulated 12 faults while Katie Laurie and Django II incurred 13 penalties.
However, Lauren Balcomb and Verdini d'Houtveld proved the breakout stars of the evening’s class delivering a second clean and stylish round adding no penalties to Australia’s score.
EA High Performance Jumping Manager, Todd Hinde, said:
“It was two rounds of tough competition tonight. The first round took place in daylight, and the second round the combinations had to come back and jump under lights facing an intense atmosphere, which proved difficult.
“The Australian riders presented themselves to an exceptional standard and their team unity and support of each other is commendable. Of particular note was the outstanding performance by Lauren Balcomb, jumping in her first Nations Cup competition and producing two clean rounds under pressure is truly a remarkable effort. I am extremely proud of the four riders and their grooms at this event and their camaraderie and hard work is promising of things to come for the future.”
The final Nations Cup standings are as follows:
1st – Ireland
2nd – Canada
3rd – United States
4th - Great Britain
5th – Mexico
6th – Australia
7th – Argentina
8th – Belgium
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