U.S.A. Wins Samsung Super League at Aachen, Germany; Leads in Series with Only Barcelona Remaining

Aachen, Germany - Aug. 26, 2005 – Riding two clear rounds with a broken collar bone, McLain Ward led the United States to victory in the Samsung Super League on Friday before 48,000 fans at the World Equestrian Festival.

The victory was the second in the eight-event premier international league of show jumping and put the United States back atop the standings with only one event remaining, that in Barcelona, in mid-September.

The U.S. team consisted of Ward, of Brewster, New York on Double H Farm’s Sapphire, Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, New York on Authentic, owned by Abigail Wexner, Laura Kraut of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on Pasmore Stable’s Miss Independent and Jeffery Welles of Ridgefield, Connecticut Riding Armani, owned by Kimmel-Yeager Equine. They became instant celebrities after their win which led to an emotional celebration that embraced the Chef d’Equipe, George Morris of Flemington, New Jersey with demands from the riders that he remain the leader of the U.S. show jumping team.

American fans were mingled with the huge crowds for the win in the double-round competition that pits the world’s top eight show jumping nations against each other at eight different European venues. The Netherlands and France tied for second place while the Germans, despite fielding a team that included Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, formerly of Los Angeles but now a German citizen, and her brother-in-law, Ludger Beerbaum, finished in seventh place. Germany had held hopes of victory on their home turf, especially as Aachen is the site of the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

Ward’s broken collar bone, sustained during a Super League competition in Hickstead, England four weeks ago, had kept him out of competition until this week because he wanted to be available to ride for the United States. The seriousness of the injury was virtually unknown to the crowds and the European media until after Friday’s competition. He was one of only two riders to go clear twice.

When the condition of his health became known to the media, he was flooded with questions.

“We have great doctors at the U.S. Federation,” he said. “They told me I should allow three months to mend. ‘But you’re not going to do that, are you?’, one of them asked me. I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ So they said if it felt right, I could ride again in three weeks but if I fell, it would not be great. This week was the first week back riding.”

“My horse was amazing. I was just kinda hanging on,” Ward laughed. “She jumped incredible. I had not been riding well all week. I was pretty frustrated last night, really. My horses have been in great form all week, but I’ve been just average and very rusty,” he said. “Today, I knew she was going to jump well and I just wanted to stay out of her way. All I can say is what a wonderful horse Sapphire is. I’m only half a rider and she carried me around to two clear rounds.”

“McLain was absolutely incredible today,” said Jeffery Welles. “This is really big for us. The United States hadn’t won in Aachen since 1987, so today’s win was huge.” Welles, who had won in Germany before, but had never competed at Aachen, talked about walking in that show ring for the first time. “Incredible. That stadium is just unbelievable. To compete here is an honor,” he said.

Kraut’s horse, Miss Independent, which has shown in six of the seven Super League competitions so far this year, threw a shoe right before the 10th fence in the second round, causing her some problems down the home stretch.

Madden, anchoring the team for the third time this season on Authentic, said that she felt less pressure in the second round than the first because of the large cushion created by her teammates. Madden, as the last to go, knew she had a two knock down margin.

Morris became the team leader at the start of the Super League in April this year, the second season the U.S. has been a participant. The U.S. won that first event, in France, and has since remained at or near the top of the standings.

“I had a premonition about this class and although we didn’t have a great show at Aachen leading up to the Super League, I felt we would do well today,” said Morris.

“This was very big victory,” Morris said. “And we won it handily considering McLain had a broken collar bone and Miss Independent cast a shoe in the last round. I thought the Germans would be much stronger, but they didn’t have their best day,” Morris admitted.

In a team meeting last night, Morris talked to his team and told them, “This is an American team and I want it ridden the American way. I made that very clear,” he said. “We have the best system in the world and we should stick to it and not get distracted by other systems. It’s all about being over here and building depth and we’re doing that now.”

“Now I have to keep it going,” Morris said. “This feeling is fabulous. I’m happy when I’m winning and I’m unhappy when I’m not winning.”

The United States riders are competing in Aachen with the help of grants from the United States Equestrian Team Foundation.

Your contributions to the United States Equestrian Team Foundation support America’s High Performance athletes at international competitions. Please contribute online at www.uset.org.

Visit the official website of the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany at: http://www.chioaachen.de or for unique and up to the minute coverage visit Towerheads at: www.towerheads.com

PHOTO CREDIT: The winning United States Samsung Super League Team. (L-R) Jeffery Welles, Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden and McLain Ward, with Chef d’Equipe George Morris. Photo by Ken Braddick-HorseSport USA