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www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com 35
Devin Ryan and his mount, Cooper, and Kevin
Staut aboard Ayade de Septon et HD C were
the first to take on the track set by 2017
Longines FEI European Championship course
designer Louis Konickx of The Netherlands. An
unfortunate tack malfunction forced Ryan’s
elimination, while a clear round in a time of
59.05 seconds from Staut further cemented the
win in the first match-up for Team Europe.
Next came 21-year-old Chloe Reid aboard Sally 643,
who left Maikel van der Vleuten, ranked number five
in the world at the time of the Longines Masters of
Paris, and his mount, Dana Blue, in the dust. Reid
posted a clear round in a time of 64.08 seconds
while van der Vleuten saw rails fall at both the first
and final fences.
Tied heading into the third duel, Laura Kraut and
Viper Vrombautshoeve Z moved Team USA into the
lead with another clear round in a time of 63.01 seconds,
beating out Team Europe’s Grégory Wathelet
and MJT Nevados S, who incurred four faults following
a refusal at the last jump.
Team Europe was not ready to relinquish its lead
just yet, with both van der Vleuten and Wathelet
besting their Team USA opponents, Reid and Kraut
respectively, to move Team Europe to the top of the
leaderboard with a commanding 7 to 4 score.
Keeping Team USA in contention, Kessler and KS
Stakki bested Team Europe’s Verlooy and Igor for
two more points, making it 7-6 before it all came
down to Hough and de Luca. With another refusal
as well as a rail down for Hough, de Luca clinched
the match-up win and secured the overall victory for
Team Europe with a final score of 9-6.
Keeping things exciting for the packed
house, Jos Verlooy and Igor gained the
edge over Team USA’s Reed Kessler
and KS Stakki by posting a time of 59.84
seconds versus Kessler’s 60.71 seconds
and bringing the competition to a tie once
more.
The outcome of the first round came
down to the final duel between Lauren
Hough on Waterford for Team USA and
the number four rider in the world, Lorenzo
de Luca, on Jeunesse Van’t Paradijs
for Team Europe. De Luca went first,
delivering a dominating clear round in a
time of 60.07 seconds while two refusals meant
elimination for Hough, giving Team Europe a 3-2
victory in the opening round.
After a quick break and a chance to strategize, the
teams came back to the competition ring ignited by
the first-round competition. Team USA, considered
the underdog, was showing its persistence against a
tough European squad.
In the second round, riders and horses would
compete over a faults-converted speed course, with
three penalties added for every fence down and
match-up victories worth two points, placing double
the significance on the second round.
Ryan and Cooper redeemed themselves, jumping
clear to take two points for Team USA over France’s
Staut and moving the U.S. into a 4-3 lead.
Longines Masters Paris 2017
Rider Master Cup Manach 1-
Europe Kevin Straut
Masters Paris 2017 Rider
up Manach 1-USA Chloe Reid
Maikel Van Der Vleuten
Longines Masters Paris 2017
Rider Master Cup Manach 1
USA Devin Ryan
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