The team consisting of Charlie Jayne (Chill R Z), Jessica Springsteen (Vindicat W), Katherine Dinan (Nougat du Valley) and Beezie Madden (Simon) were in the lead after the first round along with Britain and the Netherlands on 0 faults.
Round One proved to be quite difficult for some riders with German rider Ludger Beerbaum and Chaman being eliminated after two refusals. It was quite a technical track with a lot of curving lines and related distances. The bogey fences were the first element of the double and the stile fence after the triple combination , causing heartbreak for some teams.
The first three riders of the American team all went clear in the second round which meant that anchor rider Beezie Madden did not have to jump. They finished on a total of four faults. If British rider Scott Brash jumped clear then they would have also finished on four and would have forced a jump off, but unfortunately Scott had one down, giving the win to the Americans.
In the second round the pressure was really on for those teams battling for qualification. Four teams were in danger of being relegated to Europe Division 2, Ireland, Sweden, Britain and Ukraine.
The British team consisting of Ben Maher (Cella) , Joe Clee ( Utamaro D'ecaussines) , Spencer Roe (Wonder Why) and Scott Brash (Hello Sanctos) dealt with the pressure very well and finished in second place with a total of 8 faults.
Three teams shared third place ; Sweden, France and Ukraine. The third place for Sweden secured their place in Europe Division 1 and the FEI Furusiyya Nations Cup Finals.
It was a disappointing 6th place for the Irish team who finished on a total of 20 faults, which means that their place in Europe Division 1 is in danger and it also means that they have not qualified for the Finals in Barcelona this October.
The biggest surprise of the day was the fact that the German team were eliminated. Ludger Beerbaum had retired on Chaman and after Andre Thieme was eliminated on Conthendrix it was game over for Germany.
During the lap of honour there was even more drama when American rider Charlie Jayne fell off Chill R Z while holding the Aga Khan Trophy. Both horse and rider were fine and luckily the trophy was left unscathed.
