The Netherlands claims show jumping gold at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

The final round of team show jumping competition began with the Netherlands in first, the U.S. in second and 2010 WEG champions, Germany, in a close third.

The day’s first U.S. rider, McLain Ward, undoubtedly hoped for another double-clear round with Rothchild today, but it didn’t quite happen for him. A rail down at the second fence added an unfortunate four faults to Ward’s score. He rode strategically, adding strides to accommodate Rothchild’s relatively compact canter. The strategy worked, and the pair finished within the time allowed and no more jumping faults.

Kent Farrington and Voyeur were next for the Americans. A strong start looked promising, but one rail over the liverpool added another four faults to the U.S. team’s score, dropping them to fourth.

Next for the Americans, Lucy Davis hoped to complete her first clear round of these games with Barron. It almost looked like she had it, but a rail down at the penultimate fence dashed those hopes and potentially the chance of a U.S. medal.

Overnight leader Patrice Delaveau of France had a lot riding on him as he rode in the final team round in front of the home crowd. The deafening roar that welcomed him turned to absolute silence as he and his horse took to the course. A rail down on the third fence knocked him off the top spot but didn’t immediately move France out of team medal contention with top riders from the leading nations yet to go.

Beezie Madden and Cortes C entered the arena as the final American pair. They turned in yet another flawless round to go double clear, allowing the team to move back ahead of Germany into the bronze medal position.

Immediately following Madden’s round was the final rider for the first-placed Dutch team, Gerco Schroder with Glock’s London N.O.P. He had one rail early on, but each team’s highest penalty score is dropped, and thanks to his teammates’ solid performances, those four jumping penalties were not devastating ot the team’s standing. He completed the rest of his nail-biting round with no more rails and just within the time, securing the team’s gold ahead of France’s silver and the U.S. bronze.

Read previous show jumping coverage:
Opening Day of Show Jumping at WEG
U.S. Show Jumping Team Moves into Silver Position

Keep up with all the World Equestrian Games news at HorseChannel.com/Normandy2014.

Get competition schedules, results and more at Normandy2014.com.