Brian Hafner riding Lombardo LHF (Peter Martin-Turner/ Spidge Photo for Shannon Brinkman Photo)

Hickstead, United Kingdom – The first half of CDIO3* Hickstead’s FEI Nations Cup competition came to a close on Friday with the conclusion of the FEI Grand Prix Test. The U.S. team of Brian Hafner, Katherine Bateson-Chandler, Lisa Wilcox, and Susie Dutta stand fourth on a score 203.160 heading into Saturday’s Grand Prix Special, which will determine the remaining 50% of team classification. Leading the American effort following the first portion of competition is Hafner (Penngrove, Calif.) and his own and Rebecca Hafner’s 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Lombardo LHF, who scored 68.800% on Thursday. They finished the Grand Prix in seventh place individually.  Bateson-Chandler (Wellington, Fla.) and Jane Clark’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, Wellnetta, produced a score of 67.540% on Friday to finish in the 14th place.Also competing for the U.S. on Friday was Wilcox (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Betty Well’s 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Denzello, finishing in 17th on a score of 66.820%. Rounding out the U.S. in Grand Prix competition was Dutta (Wellington, Fla. ) and Tim Dutta Inc.’s 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Currency DC, in 21st place. The pair was the first U.S. competitor down centerline on Thursday, scoring 65.620%. Additionally, Dutta competed Tim Dutta’s Lumberjack 12 in the Intermediaire I Test on Friday morning, finishing in equal 11th place on a score of 64.316%. Great Britain’s Carl Hester collected the top two spots in the Grand Prix Test on Fine Time 13 and Dances with Wolves on scores of 73.640% and 70.240%, respectively. At the halfway mark of Nations Cup competition Great Britain leads on 209.480, with Denmark second on a score of 207.660, and Sweden in third on 204.900. To learn more about CDIO3* Hickstead visit here.  Follow the U.S. Dressage Team here.