World Equestrian Games Show Jumping Selection Trials Underway

photo credit: flying tiger

It’s been two years since I wrote my first post outlining the upcoming World Equestrian Games. Then it felt like this nebulous future event that wasn’t really real, and now it’s little more than half a year away! To this fan, it finally feels like this is finally happening now that trials to select the show jumping shortlist for the US team are underway.

The top American show jumpers and their horses are down in Wellington, Florida, half-way through battling it out to make one of the 15 spots available on the shortlist. The top nine riders at the end of five rounds will be shortlisted, as well as six discretionary choices.

They will then be sent to Europe to compete in the Top League. From there the top 4 horse and rider combos and one alternate will officially be selected to represent the United States in jumping at the World Equestrian Games this fall.

The riders who are selected by a committee of three people with input from US team coach George Morris will receive a discretionary bye – which means they make the shortlist without competing in the USEF selection trials. One of these pairs is McLain Ward and Sapphire who have earned back-to-back Olympic show jumping gold. Laura Kraut and Cedric, also of the 2008 Olympic gold medal team, and Lauren Hough and Quickstudy have also received byes. The other three have yet to be named.

Richard Spooner and Cristallo currently lead the selection trials list followed by Candice King and Skara Glen’s Davos, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson on Trista, Hillary Dobbs and Quincy B, and McLain Ward and Rothchild.

The selection trials for WEG show jumping shortlist will conclude with two more rounds this weekend: Friday at 2 p.m. and the final trial on Sunday as part of the $100,000 CN U.S. Open at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Visit the United States Equestrian federation site for more information and latest news on the World Equestrian Games show jumping selection trials.

And be sure stop back, as I’ll post the entire short list of riders as soon as they are all named.