Kraut and Farrington Make Uncle Sam Proud

PSA: Don’t tell your jumper friends any spoilers from the latest Netflix shows because there were so many Grand Prixs this weekend and we’re still glued to FEI TV.

In this week’s newsletter, we’ll discuss:

1. Inside Laura Kraut’s answered prayers.

2. The unexpected, yet well-deserved success at the Kentucky Invitational.

3. The 76-year old that can’t seem to leave competition.

But first! Here’s the trivia of the week:

Laura Kraut Celebrates Cinco de Mayo Early

Laura Kraut didn’t get the memo that Cinco de Mayo doesn’t start until the fifth of May as she opened more than one bottle of champagne on her recent trip to Mexico.

After claiming bronze in the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Mexico City just last weekend, she and the faithful Baloutinue headed to San Miguel de Allende where they played a critical role in helping the USA win the first leg of the Longines FEI Nations Cup.

Following two rounds of spellbinding competition, Mexico and the USA were caught in a deadlock with eight combined faults each, so a jump-off was arranged to decide the winner.

Eugenio Garza Perez went first aboard Contago and the Mexican delivered a clear round with a time of 42.13 seconds.

Kraut and Baloutinue, who were the only combination to pull off two clear rounds in the competition, were selected to represent the USA in the jump-off.

Commenting on those gut churning moments before the jump-off, Kraut said, “We watched Eugenio go, and as I was walking in the ring, Kent [Farrington] said, ‘Your normal speed will be quick enough.'”

But Laura Kraut doesn’t just do “quick enough.”

She and Baloutinue put the pedal to the metal and crossed the timers a full 2.7 seconds faster than Garza Perez to claim the victory for team USA.

Reminiscing of the jump-off, Kraut laughed, “I’m pretty world famous for chipping in at the last jump. So when I saw the forward one I thought, ‘oh dear lord please let this work.’”

You can watch Kraut’s prayers be answered in this video of her impressive jump-off round:

There are still two more competitions to decide who will win a ticket to the Nations Cup Finals in Barcelona this September, but Kraut and her team members might not want to cancel their Duolingo subscriptions just yet as the USA sits at the top of the leaderboard with 100 points.

Mexico currently sits in the second position with a total of 90 points. Canada claimed third with 80 points as the teams prepare for the second leg of the competition in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Confused how the Nations Cup competition works? Here’s the Dummies Guide to FEI Nations Cup Showjumping.

Double Gold Weekend For Kent Farrington

After contributing to the USA’s team victory on Friday, Farrington wasn’t quite done posing on the podium.

He and the ten year old Zangersheide gelding, Landon, returned to the grass on Sunday to pull off an epic double clear round and win the individual gold in San Miguel de Allende.

While nobody could quite catch Farrington’s time of 38.32 seconds, Eugenio Garza Perez, who just helped Mexico win silver in the team competition, was closest with a time of 38.85 second, and added yet another silver medal to his growing collection.

Rounding out the podium was Chile’s Samuel Parot who crossed the timers at 41.09 seconds.

You can watch Farrington’s winning round here:

Daniel Bluman Wins Kentucky And Shane Sweetnam Wins Mentor-Of-The-Year

While the Americans were busy popping champagne bottles in Mexico, Israel’s Daniel Bluman piloted Gemma W to victory in the $226,000 Kentucky Invitational Grand Prix from a field of 39 entries.

Following his victory, Bluman also had some excellent advice for the eventers that would soon compete in the showjumping phase:

While Bluman’s victory was clear, we had to do a double take when reading the names of the second and third place finishers.

After grabbing our reading glasses, we can confirm that Shane Sweetnam claimed third aboard the ten year old James Cann Cruz, and edging just above him on the podium was mentee Lacey Gilbertson.

Sweetnam paired Gilbertson with her mount, Karlin Van’t Vennehof, just over a year ago, and the two have proven to be a highly effective match with impressive results in Wellington this season.

Thrilled with his own results and the results of his student, Sweetnam said, “This is part of my job, trying to match our riders with the right horses, and from the start, Lacey’s got on great with ‘Karly.’ The results speak for themselves.”

Other News

Calanda 42 Won’t Be Renewing Her Passport

Calanda 42 has won Grand Prixs in more cities than most people have passport stamps, with victories in Aachen, Amsterdam, Basel, La Baule, London, Paris, Prague, Riyadh… we’d keep going but you’ll probably stop reading if we list them all.

So after winning the CSI2* 1.45m Longines Ranking class at Riesenbeck International, Marcus Ehning decided to retire his faithful 15 year old partner.

Ehning brought Calanda 42 along as a youngster and developed her into an outstanding international Grand Prix horse with wins across the globe. Just last year, she was Ehning’s mount at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Leipzig and won the Grand Prix at the London International Horse Show.

Canada’s New Leader

Ten-time Olympian and four time Pan Ams gold medalist, Ian Millar, was recently appointed as Canada’s new Chef d’Equipe.

The 76 year old is still as enthusiastic as ever and has big plans for the Canadian team.

“Success at the Pan American Games is our focus this year. A good result is critical to qualifying for the Olympics in Paris. While we want to win every Nations Cup we participate in, we will not lose sight of the most important objective,” said Millar.

His first test as Chef d’Equipe was this past weekend in Mexico where he guided the Canadian team to a third place finish.

Christian Ahlmann Is On The Mend

Christian Ahlmann and his mount, Solid Gold Z, had a “rather hard landing” during the Global Champions Tour in Mexico City.

While Solid Gold Z did not sustain any injuries during the fall, Christian broke his wrist and was operated on in Mexico before returning to Marl.

He recently posted on his Instagram account that he’s officially on the mend and will be taking a break for a few weeks before returning to the saddle.

Farms We Love

In honor of the Kentucky Invitational Grand Prix, we chose a stunning farm in the heart of Midway KY.

Spread over 839 acres, you might need a map for your trail rides, but you’ll never have to worry about neighbors annoying you.

They don’t disclose how many stalls are available in the main barn, but it currently supports a thoroughbred breeding program and looks large enough to support a full training operation.

So if you have $16.75 million in your checking account, this farm might be for you!

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