Casady, Smith and Reid were all clear in round one, leaving anchor rider Michael Hughes no need to jump. In round two, Casady and Twister had one rail down, Smith jumped a second clear round, Reid and Athena accrued four faults, and Hughes jumped a clear with Luxina.
“It was a great day, and it has been a great week all the way through,” Langer said this afternoon. “I want to thank Hollow Creek for the vision and commitment to the developing riders. Without them, this might never have been possible, so thank you to them. The teams I thought were just the best of the best. We go through quite a process to get to the teams. We look at a lot of results before we choose them. I came into this competition feeling very confident, but then again, you never know. They all came through, and I was so excited. I am very pleased.”
In addition to putting in two clear rounds for the team competition, Wellington’s Spencer Smith (18) won the jump-off for the grand prix class with the fastest clear round aboard IV Ever. He was presented a special award as the leading rider in the young rider division for a clean sweep in all of the classes, also topping the welcome class on Thursday with a clear round.
Hughes (19), of Allendale, NJ, was aboard Luxina, a mare that he has been riding for five years. “She has been a really good horse,” Hughes acknowledged. “It’s amazing to be on a team; especially a team like this. It is so different from anything else. It is a lot harder to get on a team like this.”
Casady (20), of Midtown, TN, was aboard Twister, a horse that he has had success with throughout the year. “I have been doing him since the beginning of the summer, and we had really good results,” Casady noted. “He has been really consistent, which I think got me on a team like this.”
Reid (18), of Washington, D.C., has ridden her mount Athena in this competition before, jumping in the junior Nations Cup last year. “I have had her for a little over a year. I did the junior competition last year and we were second, so every year she comes out and gives me all she can and I love her so much,” Reid praised. “Unfortunately, I think the course caught up with me at the end today. After the water my horse got a little strung out, but I am really proud of how we did and our amazing team. Winning as a team is unbelievable.”
