Anthony D'Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY, was the course designer for the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup, presented by CN. There were 11 teams that started in the first round in this order: Brazil, Argentina, the U.S.A., Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Seven teams chose to return for the second round, and they came back in reverse order. Argentina chose to withdraw and not show in the second round. For the second round, each team had three riders return, and all of their scores counted towards their total score.

Canada's Chef d'Equipe, Terrance Millar, pointed out, "I think the format that is used here with three riders in the second round and no drop score is a fantastic format for Nations Cups in terms of spectator appeal and excitement. I think it really gives a punch to it. Everybody can understand it, and you know exactly where you stand. Personally, I wish they would adopt that format for all Nations Cups. I think it's much more modern and what the sport needs."

The Canadians were fantastic in both rounds of competition. Mac Cone and Ole went in the first round with just four faults and were the drop score as the other three combinations- Yann Candele and Pitareusa, Beth Underhill and Top Gun, and Eric Lamaze and Ronaldo - were all clear.

Eric Lamaze and Ronaldo

Lamaze said of his horse, "He felt really good, better the second round than the first round. He was a little bit spooky the first time. It's a horse that the Fleischhackers and Ashland Farms have owned for quite some time now, so I know him really well. I've never ridden him in a Nations Cup before, but it was a great start. All of the Canadian riders and horses were outstanding. It's a shame that we couldn't take four riders back because all four really deserved to go back. It wouldn't matter who came back, it would have been the same job. It's great for us tonight. It was great sport and a great evening."

Mac Cone and Ole



Beth Underhill and Top Gun

They returned as the final team to go in the second round. Candele and Pitareusa repeated their fault-free performance, while Underhill and Top Gun added just four faults. Lamaze and Ronaldo wrapped up victory when they completed the course with just one time fault. The Canadian team finished on a score of just five faults total.

Yann Candele and Pitareusa

The Mexican team, led by Chef d'Equipe Norman Dello Joio of the United States, had a very solid showing tonight. They were led by three great performances from Antonio Chedraui and Don Porfirio (5,0 faults), Nicolas Pizarro and Crossing Jordan (4,0), and anchored by Jaime Azcarraga on Celcius (0,4). The Mexican team finished with a 13 fault total score.

"There's a lot of momentum in Mexico. Everybody seems to be trying to pull together," said Dello Joio. "We're looking forward to the next two or three years and keep pulling ourselves up higher. We have a lot of depth in riders and horses and a lot of team spirit at the moment."

A crowd of over 8,300 spectators saw this year's FEI Nations Cup

Dello Joio felt that this was a very good opportunity for the Mexican team. He explained, "Mexico doesn't get the opportunity as much as riders in the U.S., Canada, and Europe to compete in Nations Cups, so it was meaningful. We didn't want to jump all of our horses that we think are contenders for the WEG because we're trying to save them and maintain them. But, we also wanted to make a little bit of a statement that we're here and we're serious and we're planning on trying our hardest."

Team Ireland Equestrian were very pleased with their third place performance, especially considering that Richard Moloney was riding in just his second Nations Cup and it was the inaugural Nations Cup performance for Darragh Kenny. Moloney and Brooke van de Zuuthoeve had five faults in the first round. Team veteran Kevin Babington had nine faults and eight faults with Souvenir, while Darragh Kenny and Obelix finished on four faults for each round. Shane Sweetnam and Rolette also had four faults in both rounds. The Irish finished with 29 faults for third place.

Robert Splaine, the Irish Chef d'Equipe, stated, "It's great that the USA has become home to some Irish riders. They have wonderful owners and some great horses. I'd like to thank them very much. They did a very good job for us. I was pleased with the results. We enjoyed it, and it was good fun."

Sweetnam added about the atmosphere at the Nations Cup, "Every year, there seems to be more people, more excitement, and more meaning to this Nations Cup. Every year, it means more to all of these nations here. Nations Cup week is a big week for all of us."

The United States finished in fourth place with 31 points. Kent Farrington and United posted a clear round in the first round, while Ashlee Bond and Apache had just one time fault in the first round.

Kent Farrington and United

Chef d'Equipe George H. Morris stated, "There were some of the best riders in the world, and this is a very important, world-class event. I know ahead of time usually what's going to happen. Our big focus is the trials, and the timing is off. We need to produce in the Nations Cup League in Europe and at the World Equestrian Games. We want to congratulate Canada yet again."

Canada's Chef d'Equipe, Terrance Millar, was thrilled for his team. "We try hard for this event, and it's in large part the highlight of the winter for us," he noted. "We have a lot of fans that come down from Canada just for this event. We always try to put our best foot forward. We had four great riders on the field tonight."

Team Canada's champagne toast with Veuve Cliquot

In addition to great competition, an exciting announcement was made for the future of the Nations Cup week. Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo said, "We're very pleased with the outcome this evening. I'd like to thank CN for their continued sponsorship. As you know, they've been a great and loyal sponsor for ten years. They've helped us both as a facility and as an organization take our sport to the next level."

He continued, "We have an announcement to make this evening. We'd like to thank CN for all of their support. G&C Farm will be taking over the sponsorship for the Nations Cup week next year and will become a major sponsor for this week as well as the derby week. We're going to be making some major adjustments to the FEI qualification classes that we'll have next year. We'll have four FEI qualifying point classes next year with the help of G&C Farm. We wanted to thank CN for their support and welcome G&C Farm and Gustavo Mirabal."

Gustavo Mirabal, owner of G&C Farm with his wife Carolina, is a proud supporter of Venezuela, and is now a resident of Wellington, FL. They were the weekly title sponsor during week one of the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival this year.

Mirabal said, "We are very excited to be here in Wellington and be part of the show. The Nations Cup week is very important for us. We're very happy to be part of the family, and we're very happy with the show. We can do a lot of things together. Thank you."