American success for Nick Skelton
Nick Skelton enjoyed a successful visit to the United States last weekend, when he finished in third place in the hotly contested $75,000 Budweiser FEI World Cup in Syracus.
His Olympic ride, the Hale’s stallion Arko, once again demonstrated his impressive scope to produce a double clear to finish third behind eventual victor Eric van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and David Raposa of the US.
Van der Vleuten was in good form and took the win with a jump off time of 31.03sec on Audi’s Jikke to add 20 points to his World Cup tally. Nick, who is currently ranked 14th in the world, was only just beaten into third by Raposa, whose time was 0.11sec faster than Arko’s.
Unsurprisingly, American riders took five of the top seven places in the class, as Britain’s only other competitor Michael Whitaker finished in equal 12th place with Portofino 63. They had a pole down and one time fault in the first round.
Results
1. Audi’s Jikke (Eric van der Vleuten) NED;
2. Audi’s Fanny de la Tour (David Raposa) USA;
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3. Arko III (Nick Skelton) GBR;
4. Eros (Anne Kursinski) USA;
5. Marlou (Kimberly Frey) USA;
6. Authentic (Beezie Madden) USA.
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.