June 26, 2023 
The most revered week in horse sport is about to commence at the CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival CSIO5*.
Taking place June 27–July 2, the U.S. has named its team for Aachen’s notoriously challenging Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup, taking place on Thursday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. EST) under the lights of the iconic German stadium.
Natalie Dean, Bliss Heers, Laura Kraut, Devin Ryan, and McLain Ward have been called up to CHIO Aachen’s NetJets® U.S. Jumping Nations Cup Team, led by chef d’equipe Robert Ridland. The U.S. will compete against seven other nations including Belgium, France, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. But there’s no question that ‘Merica is bringing its A-team.
As one of the USA’s most seasoned team veterans, Laura Kraut has made two strong Nations Cup showings already this year, jumping double-clear with Baloutinue in April at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Mexico in San Miguel de Allende (teammate Bliss Heers & Antidote De Mars jumped 4/8). In May, Kraut was 4/0 with Dorado 212 in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of the USA in San Juan Capistrano, California.
Dean, meanwhile, has recent team experience under the lights, jumping 0/4 with Acota M back in March at the FEI Nations Cup of Wellington CSIO 4*. Longtime partners Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue were foot-perfect in the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup of Aachen back in 2018, posting 0/0 in one of their most recent Team appearances to date.
Last (though far from least), Ward and Contagious recently put up a pair of zeros in the Nations Cup at San Juan Capistrano, though the likely anchor rider will have plenty on his mind this week in Deutschland. As the current live contender in the Rolex Grand Slam, Ward could ride into the history books while taking home a €1 million bonus in addition to the cool €1.5 million purse on offer in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix.
Not bad for a weekend jumping sticks.
Who will they ride? Will the U.S. best Europe? Will Aachen’s legendary difficulty hold true? Tune-in for the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup of Aachen on Thursday, June 29 to find out! You can view the full schedule here.
