North Salem, N.Y.—Sept. 14
Jessica Springsteen has taken Laura Kraut’s lessons to heart, and she definitely showed that as nearly 6,000 fans cheered her on as she topped the $200,000 American Gold Cup CSI-W.
Springsteen, who has trained with U.S. team veteran Laura Kraut for years, defeated Kraut in an exciting jump-off in the class, held at the idyllic Old Salem Farm. Springsteen flashed a huge smile as she raised the prestigious American Gold Cup trophy high above her head.
Springsteen and Vindicat W bested a field of 32 other entries to add their names to the list of accomplished riders and horses who have won the $200,000 American Gold Cup CSI-W before them.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” Springsteen said. “To win such a prestigious class is really amazing. My horse jumped super so I’m so thrilled.”
Springsteen and Vindicat W, owned by Stone Hill Farm of Colts Neck, N.J., were joined in the jump-off by five other top contenders: Candice King and Kismet 50, Todd Minikus and Babalou 41, Wilton Porter and Diamonte Darco, Katie Dinan and Nougat du Vallet and Kraut and Andretti S.
As the first to go in jump-off, and she and Vindicat W laid down a speedy time to beat in 35.36 seconds.
Jessica Springsteen and Vindicat W sped to the top of the $200,000 American Gold Cup CSI-W.
One rail each fell for Candice King and Wilton Porter, relegating them to fifth and sixth place respectively, and for Minikus and Babalou 41 a clear round in a time of 37.92 seconds would put them into the eventual fourth place position.
With Springsteen’s time still the pace to catch, it all came down to Dinan and Kraut.
Dinan and her veteran mount Nougat du Vallet, owned by Grant Road Partners LLC of New York, turned in an impressive ride but their time of 37.92 seconds would come up short of the top spot.
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So it was left to a race between trainer and student, as Kraut entered the ring to try to best Springsteen’s time on Andretti S, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Stars and Stripes of Middleburg, Va.
Kraut left out a risky stride into the double combination and sailed over the course with room to spare, but she elected to add a stride to the final fence, which would just narrowly cost her the class as she finished in a time of 36.66 seconds.
“I knew when I cleared the second to last fence and I turned him, I had a choice to just go really flat out down to it, but he’s still a young horse,” Kraut said. “I thought rather than taking the chance of crashing or doing something that would scare him, I’d just sort of stay conservative. Yeah, it cost me, but I’m happy with second.”
Laura Kraut didn’t go all out on Andretti S but ended up second in the $200,000 American Gold Cup CSI-W.
Kraut has every reason to be thrilled with the outcome today. At the beginning of the year, she was competing the young Andretti S in the 1.40-meter jumpers, but today the up-and-comer stepped up to the plate and answered every question that was asked of him at 1.60 meters.
“I’m just so happy with him,” Kraut said. “Just all of a sudden it’s really started to come to him. It was a difficult test for him today, and he handled it great.” Kraut continued, “And I’m so thrilled for [Jessica]! She’s been so close so many times. She’s been amazing all summer. She deserved it today. She rode great. Her first round was textbook perfect and so was her jump-off. I said to her: ‘If you get beaten, it would be unlucky.’ She really did everything just right. I didn’t even think I could get that close to her, so I’m pleased that I was as close as I was.”
Springsteen has been riding and training with Kraut for over three years and was thrilled to have the opportunity to stand atop the podium with her today.
“She’s just taught me so much at this level like how to be competitive in big classes like this,” Springsteen said. “She taught me how to really fight for it and fight for the win.”
Kraut added, “She’s such an incredible rider, and she has such a great feeling. When she makes a mistake it’s normally so small and so random. [She and Vindicat W] know each other inside and out right now. They’ve been on such a good roll this whole summer and winter. I just leave it to her.”
Next, Springsteen and Kraut will travel to the Longines Los Angeles Masters.
For further information on the 2014 American Gold Cup visit www.theamericangoldcup.com. To watch a broadcast of today’s competition tune in to NBC on Sun., Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. EST.
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$200,000 AMERICAN GOLD CUP CSI-W
1. VINDICAT W, STONE HILL FARM, JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN
2. ANDRETTI S, STARS & STRIPES, LAURA KRAUT
3. NOUGAT DU VALLET, GRANT ROAD PARTNERS LLC, KATHERINE DINAN
4. BABALOU 41, TWO SWANS FARM, TODD MINIKUS
5. DIAMONTE DARCO, SLEEPY P RANCH LLC, WILTON PORTER
6. KISMET 50, BELLISSIMO LLC, CANDICE KING
7. QUIDAM MB, STARLIGHT FARMS LLC, ADRIENNE STERNLICHT
8. EREGAST VAN’T KIEZELHOF, SPY COAST FARM, LLC SHANE SWEETNAM
9. DYNAMO, AMALAYA INVESTMENTS, MEAGAN NUSZ
10. MTM TIMON, MTM FARM, TRACY FENNEY
