Lexington, KY – The European-dominated Samsung Super League cleared the way for some fresh faces in the winner’s circle—four stellar U.S. horse-and-rider teams, under the direction of the United States’ new coach, Chef d’Equipe George Morris. After a summer filled with some of the closest competition among world show-jumping neighbors, our U.S. Show Jumping Team pulled a victory out of the hat Sunday, clinching the much-hoped-for, but sometimes elusive overall win in the 2005 Samsung Super League.

“It’s a brilliant win, to come to Europe and over the course of the season, to beat the Europeans at their own game,” said Morris, clearly pleased with his team. “We had great riders and great horses. This is quite a feather in our cap and it wasn’t just one competition—it was a series of eight throughout the summer.”

A world-renowned series of competitions that holds its own against any other, the Samsung Super League stands as a beacon of achievement, and the competition that awaits those countries good enough to compete is nothing less than fierce. Only eight countries are invited to take part in the Super League competition each year, and following the points total at the end of the season, the last country drops out, slowly and surely whittling down the “who’s who” list in the show jumping world.

While the four U.S. riders and their mounts (Jeffery Welles of Ridgefield CT, with Armani, Lauren Hough of Wellington, FL, with Casadora, McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, with Oasis and Laura Kraut of Oconomowoc, WI, with Anthem) tied for second place overall at CSIO Barcelona, the eighth and final leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series, their score converted into 12 points, which was enough to keep them in the lead overall, where they finished with a total of 55 points. In second overall are the Germans, our closest rivals going into the competition. Their tie for fourth place at CSIO Barcelona sealed their fate in the Super League, by adding only seven points to their total, for an overall score of 46. (While several U.S. riders from this group competed in more than one leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League, collectively they were part of a larger team of U.S. riders more than a dozen members strong. In an effort to keep riders and horses fresh, competing countries are able to change their “starting line-ups” throughout Super League competition.)

The United States’ Jeffery Welles, a newcomer to Super League competition, was the saving grace for the much hoped for, but somewhat uncertain win. He and Armani (1995 Selle Francais-Dutch Warmblood gelding, owned by Triton Ventures and Kimmel Yeager Equine, LLC) were the only U.S. pair to jump clear in both rounds in the competition, giving his teammates the pad they’d require to pull off the win.

“We put in a huge effort to be here,” said a very modest Welles from Barcelona. “It’s just fantastic that we ended up winning. It’s been a long summer—the riders, the grooms, the support staff and the whole team—we’ve put so much into this and we’re all very excited.”

“Psychologically, this win is a big boost for the country,” continued Morris, “and not only for the elite riders, but for all riders. It’s a great boost for American equitation.”

Overall Results from the 2005 Samsung Super League