EQ F A V O R I T E S
THERE WAS ATMOSPHERE.
The crowd spilled over the railing around the perimeter of the expansive grass arena at Deeridge Farms. They sat on lounge chairs, couches, bar stools, and on the grassy berm on the south side of the arena; they parked caravans of golf carts under mature shade trees; and they crowded together on the ledge of the Be Proud statue, with the symbolic letters providing an omen for the result that was set to come on American home soil.
THE 2O2O LONGINES FEI JUMPING NATIONS CUP The $230,000 CSIO5* Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup USA at the Palm Beach Masters Series played out like a big-screen blockbuster.
THERE WAS DRAMA.
Then it rained. The heavens opened up as Margie Goldstein-Engle’s and Royce’s first round got underway. Jumping second in the order, following a 4-fault first-round performance from Jessica Springsteen and RMF Zecile, Engle liked the way her horse felt as she navigated Alan Wade’s 1.60 meter track. Royce was jumping for the first time that week and felt fresh. Engle didn’t get as ideally straight as she would have liked to an oxer, and the rail fell, but that would be the only mark against them. They crossed the finish timers, the typical signal of a completed round, but Royce’s performance was just beginning. Cantering past the ingate, Royce was caught off guard by motion in the 66 | E Q UE S T R I A N L I V I N G | AP RI L / MAY | 2020
crowd, and he darted sideways. Engle, who had loosened her reins, was thrown off balance. She tried to re-center herself in the tack, but the two were no longer in sync. Royce darted left, while Engle exited right. A tough-as-nails Engle immediately jumped to her feet, but Royce continued his show, galloping two additional laps around the arena before being caught. Team USA finished the round on a score of 8, two poles behind Ireland and a rail behind Great Britain. A win was attainable but seemed slightly out of reach. THERE WERE HEROINES.
BY CATIE STASZAK PHOTOS KATHY RUSSELL
The second round of the Nations Cup sent the scoreboard reeling. Jessica Springsteen, the youngest member of the Team USA squad, set out to turn the tides. She improved upon her 4-fault score in round 1 with a confident clear, and momentum shifted. Engle and Royce then returned and replicated the performance. “After Jessica went and had a really nice round, and was clean, I knew that we still had to fight to try to get clear rounds,” Engle said. “It’s a lot of changing that usually happens in the second round.
