Twice is Nice for Team USA in the Nations Cup CSIO 4*, presented by Florida Coast Equipment

By Jumper News on 2026-03-01

Wellington, United States – February 28, 2026 – The U.S. Jumping Team — made up of Karl Cook (USA), Callie Schott (USA), Marilyn Little (USA) and McLain Ward (USA) — earned its second consecutive victory in the $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO 4*, presented by Florida Coast Equipment. Eight countries brought forth teams to compete in the Saturday Night Lights highlight event of Week 8 at Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Over the 25-year history of the FEI Nations Cup Wellington, the U.S. has now won 11 times.

Teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ireland, Israel and Mexico joined the home nation in the opening round, with the top six teams returning for round two. After disappointing first attempts over tracks built by the USA’s Nick Garant and Steve Stephens, Israel and Colombia did not advance.

Cook aboard his Paris Olympic partner, 14-year-old Selle Français mare Caracole de la Roque (Zandor Z x Kannan*GFE); Little riding La Contessa, the 11-year-old Mecklenburg mare by License x Cornet’s Prinz; and Schott on 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Garant (Warrant x Verdi TN) were foot-perfect in the opening round. As a result, U.S. Chef d’Équipe Robert Ridland elected for Ward, his team’s anchor rider, to save his horse—12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Jordan Molga M (Etoulon VDl x HGT Dulf van den Bisschop)—for the second round.

The U.S. advanced to the second round on a score of zero, matched only with Ireland after Cian O’Connor, Shane Sweetnam and Tom Wachman jumped without faults. Scores of zero on the board once again came from Schott and Little for the home nation, while a rail fell for Cook. For the Irish squad’s return, Jordan Coyle and Cian O’Connor were clear, with Wachman posting four penalty-points.

A familiar scenario in team jumping at Wellington International, the final decider came down to the last two rounds of the evening between Ireland and the U.S. A heartbreak rail at the final fence on course put a tally of four aside Sweetnam’s name, and placed all the pressure on Ward’s shoulders.

**McLain Ward** (USA) & **Jordan Molga M**

“It’s a position that I’ve grown to be comfortable in and relish, to be honest, but I think I felt more pressure because it’s a new relationship with this horse,” said Ward of Jordan Molga M, the mount owned by Michael Smith that joined Ward’s string in December and made a debut under the lights at WEF on Saturday night. “I was going back and forth on whether I should jump the first round, and decided I needed to trust our preparation.

“I’m very lucky to have such a strong team—they put me in a pretty nice position,” continued Ward. “It’s always a good feeling knowing you’re going to either jump off or win.”

Ward only jumped once but made it count with a clear from Jordan Molga M. Ireland settled for second on a final score of four and Canada took third on nine faults.

“The two double clears were phenomenal,” said Ridland of Little and Schott’s pivotal contributions to the team effort. “That’s the way you win Nations Cups; double-clear rounds.”

**Marilyn Little** (USA) & **La Contessa**

Of La Contessa, the mare that carried her to the win, Little said, “Her consistency is absolutely fabulous. It’s a blessing to have a partner you can really count on. This was a dream about 12 months ago, so to be here—with a horse like that, on a team like this with mentors, and in my hometown—it’s a dream come true.”

In her first Nations Cup on home soil, Schott echoed Little’s sentiments and gave credit to Garant, owned by Southern Arches, saying, “It was really exciting to jump double clear and be there for the team. I trust Garant so much—he loves to run and jump, and if I trust him and be there for him, he’s there for me.

“He was very excited to be coming back for a second round,” Schott laughed. “I think he thought he was coming back for a jump-off, but he held us together.”

**Karl** **Cook** (USA) & **Caracole de La Roque**

Despite the rail, Cook and Caracole de La Roque, owned by Eric Navet and Signe Ostby, made a significant contribution to the winning effort after traveling from their home base in California to Florida.

“The show here has built a really great brand around Saturday Night Lights, and not only does the horse culture here in Wellington come out, but also the general public does as well. The crowd helps us as riders, and I think it makes the sport better.” 

With the FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany, in August at the forefront of everyone’s mind, Ridland spoke about the significance of this early-season Nations Cup on the global calendar.

“This is always an interesting Nations Cup because the pressure is on to win—it’s a home Nations Cup and a really big deal,” said Ridland, who was presented with the Denis Quinlan Perpetual Trophy for the victory. “At the same time, it’s early, and you’ve got to play the long ball. This is the beginning of the year, but you can’t do everything at the end, and this will have played a role for sure in where we are later [in the season]. More importantly, what a great night it was.”