Team USA in Silver Position at Strzegom FEI Nations Cup; Caroline Pamukcu Holds Dressage Lead

Caroline Martin pumps her first after securing the individual lead and current second ranking for Team USA aboard HSH Blake at Strzegom’s FEI Nations Cup leg. Photo by Mariusz Chmieliński.

Germany will lead the way in team competition at this week’s FEI Nations Cup leg in Belgium at LOTTO Strzegom Horse Trials, securing a team score of 89.3 after the first phase of competition. Hot on the Germans’ heels are Team USA, made up of several rising stars competing as a part of the newly-established USEF Development Tour. Selected riders for Team USA are Jenny Caras and Trendy Fernhill, Andrew McConnon and Ferrie’s Cello, Carolina Pamukcu and HSH Blake, and Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro.

The development tour team made good on the first phase of competition, with Caroline Pamukcu sliding into the overnight lead individually on board the 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass, by Kannan), who is owned in partnership between Caroline and her mother, Sherrie, as well as longtime supporter Mollie Hoff.

A score of 28.1 from Caroline and Blake will anchor the U.S. effort, which currently stands on a cumulative score of 92.9 to give the Germans some pressure ahead of cross country. For Caroline, who spent the majority of 2022 studying under Pippa Funnell in England thanks to support from the Wilton Fair Grant, opportunities like this are both vitally necessary for the country and also proof that the pipeline is coming.

“It’s really cool for America because we’re really developing a pipeline for both horses and riders,” she said. “[HSH Blake] is one of the first horses to really follow that pipeline.” And indeed, the trajectory of the talented Irish gelding has seen him collect accolades such as USEA Young Event Horse champion, USEF CCI2*-L National Champion, and top 10 in the world as a seven-year-old at FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships. She moved “Blake” up to the Advanced level in 2023, and this weekend marks their second CCI4*-S start; they previously were third in TerraNova’s 4*-S this spring and also finished fifth in the 3*-L at Ocala International at the end of April.

Caroline Pamukcu is always greeted by husband Deniz at the out gate. Photo by Leszek Wójcik.

“These grants have opened up doors not just for opportunity but for connections,” Caroline continued, noting the importance of these experiences for developing riders who come overseas to compete for the first time. In addition to the added pressure of overseas competition, riders must also contend with a culture change and venues they’ve never seen before. This adds a layer of complexity to a challenge that already carries plenty of weight — and it’s good practice for U.S.-based riders to, as Caroline puts it, step outside of their comfort zone. “Think of the Bruce [Davidson Sr.] and Jack [le Goff] eras,” she said. “They were so pro-Europe, I don’t want to sound like a crazy person but we do really need to put ourselves out of our element a little.”

Here all the riders are quick to credit Leslie Law for his efforts as longtime developing rider coach and mentor; the dedication he shows to cultivating up and coming talent are unmatched, and this Development Tour is something he had a hand in bringing into reality. You can hear from Leslie himself in the interview below:

Watch Caroline’s leading dressage test below or on Facebook here:

Next up for the USA on the leaderboard are Jenny Caras with Elyse Eisenberg’s Trendy Fernhill (Ars Vivendi – Cruiseings Girl, by Cruising), a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding who has numerous competitions at the 4* level under his belt to date and is far from short on experience to prepare for this First Nations Cup outing.

Jenny may have been hoping to squeeze out a sub-30 score today — their current PB at the 4* level in the dressage is at 27.0 — but a 30.0 in strong company is still enough to slot this pair into sixth ahead of cross country tomorrow.

“Joey was really amazing today,” she said. “I was really happy with how he stayed light and uphill for the test; I felt that a lot of the work was better than I’ve done in the past. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a miscommunication in the second flying change, which really cost us, but he recovered very well and besides that I would say it was a very good test for him and for us. I’m very proud of how he handled everything. It’s pretty nice and very spoiling to ride a horse that is so quiet and calm — I think we literally were the most concerned for warming him up for too long and I think I got on him 20 minutes before my ride. We basically went down to the warm-up and went straight to the final warm-up and had two horses before I went and could have done with less time, to be honest. He was really good.”

Jenny Caras and Trendy Fernhill. Photo by Mariusz Chmieliński.

After a light season in 2023 while both Joey and Jenny got back into full fitness after injuries, Jenny ramped up with the 4*-S at TerraNova and an Advanced run at Tryon to prepare for this weekend. “He was foot-perfect at Tryon so I’m hoping to sort of replicate that this weekend. That was the perfect final run for him, I think — a very twisty, intense course, which this track definitely is tomorrow.” A 2023 recipient of the Karen E. Stives Grant through the USET Foundation, Jenny has put the opportunities presented to her to good use and is hoping to put that practice to good use on Saturday.

“It’s maybe not dimensionally the biggest track that I’ve seen, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in technicality and it’s a thinking course — it’s very intense,” Jenny said of the Marcin Konarski-designed cross country course. “So I think it will actually ride big. I anticipate it to be hard work, to be honest. I have a plan with my horse. He’s genuine, so if I do my job, he’ll do his. I’m looking forward to it and just hoping to do the best we can for the team. This has been a huge learning experience for me, and I’m really excited that this opportunity was given to Joey and I.”

Andrew McConnon and Ferrie’s Cello. Photo by Leszek Wójcik.

Andrew McConnon will be in 24th individually aboard Jeanne Shigo’s Ferrie’s Cello (Chello III VDL – Karelza, by Wolfgang), scoring a 34.8 from the judges (Nick Burton (GBR) and Katarzyna Konarska (POL)) on Friday. This is the second Nations Cup team appearance for this pair, who also were named to the U.S. squad for the leg at Bromont (CAN) in 2022. They improve on the dressage mark from that competition by nearly six penalty points today and put themselves into strong stead to make some moves up the board with a competitive trip around cross country tomorrow.

“I was very happy with Jeanne Shigo’s Ferrie’s Cello today in the dressage,” Andrew said. “He was likely the most relaxed and rideable I’ve had him thanks in part to Leslie Law’s coaching and direction during these last ten days or so overseas. Looking forward to doing our best to finish on that score!”

Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro. Photo by Mariusz Chmieliński.

Last but definitely far from least are Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro (Verdi – Oronia 2, by Voltaire). A 35.5 will place them into 27th individually ahead of tomorrow’s cross country.

“So far this trip has been super educational!” Cassie, who finished in third place overall and was also the highest-placed young rider at Maryland 5 Star’s USEF CCI3*-L National Championship last fall, commented. “Coming across the world for a competition and competing on a U.S. team is a completely new experience for me so I’m trying my best to learn as I go. Today I thought my horse and I put in some of our best work yet but I’m a bit disappointed with a few of my mistakes as they were quite expensive. It’s a huge track tomorrow and it won’t be a dressage show so me and Zoro will be giving everything out there so we can get it done for the team.”

Photo by Leszek Wójcik.

Team USA, unlike leading Team Germany, has a fourth team member and, as a result, a drop score. This could give the team the edge they need to swoop ahead of the Germans tomorrow and Sunday, but for now the focus is on having a strong experience to build for the future.

“I know we’re going to be told to go for it tomorrow,” Caroline Pamukcu elaborated. “And we’re also learning life lessons and trying to come up with ways to win big medals. Tomorrow is a totally different day. And the standard is different here. You have how many different countries always raising the bar — they just push each other naturally. So it’s a great environment for us to be in, and Leslie’s done great work to make sure we’re sharp and ready to execute our plans.”

Current team standings after dressage can be found here. Individual standings can be found here.

Tomorrow’s cross country brings a new challenge, and the action gets underway at 7:00 a.m. EST / 1:00 p.m. local time. We’re in luck this week as the FEI is generously providing a free live stream to bolster support for these Nations Cup events, and you’ll be able to view the cross country on YouTube here. You can find a starting order here, and I’ll go ahead and list team USA’s times below. Poland is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

• Andrew McConnon and Ferrie’s Cello – 2:06 p.m. local / 8:06 a.m. EST / 5:06 a.m. PST
• Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro – 2:30 p.m. local / 8:30 a.m. EST / 5:30 a.m. PST
• Jenny Caras and Trendy Fernhill – 2:57 p.m. local / 8:57 a.m. EST / 5:57 a.m. PST
• Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake – 3:24 p.m. local / 9:24 a.m. EST / 6:24 a.m. PST

The Strzegom Facebook page is full of excellent content, ranging from interviews with riders and officials such as Eric Winter and Derek di Grazia. If you want the full experience, head over to the page to watch all the videos. Below you can see a preview of the cross country course, designed by Polish designer Marcin Konarski (click here to view the video directly on Facebook):

You can also hear directly from Marcin on his design process this year:

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