Shahinian-Simpson Flies into the Lead in the Final WEG Selection Trial
WEG Long List Named

California rider Nicole Shahinian-Simpson posted her third clear round of the five-leg 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games Selection Trials Sunday, which helped her and Tristan (Ilan Ferder, owner) to spring past Richard Spooner and take the lead overall with only nine faults. She also tied for 15th place (33 faults) with Kilkenny Rindo (Kilkenny Crest, owner). Her accomplishment earned her and Tristan a spot on the team’s Long List and the opportunity to compete with other top riders in Europe this summer.

Spooner, after holding the lead aboard Cristallo (Show Jumping Syn., owner) for two legs of the competition, dropped two rails Sunday and ended the Trials with a total of 14 faults and landed in second. Two riders tied for third with 16 faults: Mario Deslauriers with Urico (Jane Clark, owner) and Beezie Madden on Danny Boy (Abigail Wexner, owner).  Mclain Ward rounded out the top five aboard Rothchild (Sagamore Farms, owner) with 17 faults.

Two other riders from the west coast made good showings at the Trials: Rich Fellers piloted Flexible (Harry & Molly Chapman, owners) to two clear rounds over the week, but with a rough ride in the second leg and a rail apiece in the last two, he ended with 24 faults and ninth place—and a spot on the Long List. Ashlee Bond rode Chivas Z (Little Valley Farm, owner) to two clear rounds during the Trials, but also had several rails down on other days and ended in 13th place with 31 faults. She was named as an alternate to the Long List.

Three other riders were given byes and granted positions on the Long List without needing to complete the Selection Trials: Mclain Ward was given a place with Sapphire before the Trials began, and Lauren Hough with Quick Study (Laura Mateo, owner) and Laura Kraut aboard Cedric (Happy Hill Farm, owner) earned their spots early in the competition.

The Selection Process

Although the Selection Trials is part of the process for naming the United States team for the WEG, it does not guarantee placement on the team. The team members are chosen by a group of Selectors, who consult with the Chef d’Equipe and Team Veterinarian to name a ranked Long List of 15 riders. This list is composed of the top nine horse and rider combinations from the Selection Trials, plus six other horses and riders chosen by the Selectors. If they cannot unanimously agree, the next ranked riders from the Trials are added to the Long List. The entire list is printed below.

The 15 horses and riders on the Long List will compete in Europe during the summer of 2010. Between the time the last tour ends on August 9th and the selection deadline on August 16th, the Selectors, Chef d’Equipe and Team Veterinarian will evaluate the Long List and recommend a Short List of up to 10 horse/rider combinations to submit to the FEI as their Nominated Entries.

Between August 16th and the Definite Entries deadline on September 29th, the Selectors, Chef d’Equipe and Team Veterinarian will examine the Short List and choose four team members plus a “Traveling Substitute”, which will be the official United States team for the WEG.

Ranking of Top 15 horse/rider combinations:
 
Name/Horse (Hometown)
 1. McLain Ward/Sapphire (Brewster, NY)
2. Laura Kraut/Cedric (Wellington, FL)
3. Lauren Hough/Quick Study (Wellington, FL)
4. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson/Tristan (Thousand Oaks, CA)
5. Richard Spooner/Cristallo (Agua Dulce, CA)
6T. Mario Deslauriers/Urico (New York, NY)
6T. Beezie Madden/Danny Boy (Cazenovia, NY)
8. McLain Ward/Rothchild (Brewster, NY)
9. Hillary Dobbs/Quincy B (Sussex, NJ)
10. Beezie Madden/ Mademoiselle (Cazenovia, NY)
11. Candice King/Skara Glen's Davos (Wellington, FL)
12. Rich Fellers/Flexible (Wilsonville, OR)
13. Todd Minikus/Pavarotti (Loxahatchee, FL)
14. Cara Raether/Ublesco (North Palm Beach, FL)
15. Bob Kraut/Graf Lando (Oconomowoc, WI)
 
Alternates in order:
 Ashlee Bond/Chivas Z (Hidden Hills, CA)
Georgina Bloomberg/Fiedi 3 (New York, NY)
Jeffery Welles/Armani (Wellington, FL)
Nicole Shahinian-Simpson Kilkenny Rindo (Thousand Oaks, CA)
Charlie Jayne/Athena (Elgin, IL)