Beezie Madden and Simon (Kendall Bierer/PhelpsSports.com)
Lyon, France – The 2014 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final got underway on Friday evening at the Lyon Eurexpo, with 40 of the world’s best horse-and-rider combinations from 20 nations going to task over Frank Rothenberger’s 13 obstacle track. Of the talented field that lined-up to contest the Speed Leg 11 were representing the United States and looking to bring the World Cup title back across the Atlantic for the third time in as many years. Utilizing the faults converted format competitors were asked to balance forward riding and efficient turns with tidy jumping. On an evening where luck was not in their favor, American combinations left themselves within striking distance with three rounds left to jump.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way, and that’s a bit what happened to us tonight. We had a good night, except on the scorecard. So, I can’t be unhappy with that,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “Tomorrow is a new day and these World Cups have a way of turning around.”
Leading the way for the U.S. after the first leg of the 2014 Final are reigning champions Beezie Madden and Simon in 12th place. Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and Abigail Wexner’s 15-year-old KWPN gelding set-out eyeing a finish near the top of the order on Friday as they looked to retain their title. While they completed in a competitive time that would have challenged leaders, a rail at fence eight meant they finished on a score of 68.55.
“I thought he was fantastic. It was a fast class. I wanted to be in the top five after this round,” said the two-time Team Olympic Gold medalist. “If not for that (rail) I would have been third, but I am happy with him and there is still a ways to go.”
Hear more from Madden here.
Finishing in 14th and 15th on Friday were U.S. team veterans Leslie Burr Howard and McLain Ward. Riding Jane Clark’s powerful 11-year-old Belgian Sport Horse stallion Tic-Tac, Howard (Darian, Conn.) used her experience to produce a clear round in 69.14 seconds to be in the mix for the rounds to come.
Hear Howard’s thoughts here.
As the final competitors of the evening, Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and Double H Farm’s HH Carlos Z made it clear from the outset they were aiming to challenge the leaders but when the 12-year-old Zangersheide gelding lowered the oxer at fence eight it meant the combinations would finish on a score of 69.64.
Kent Farrington (Wellington, Fla.) preceded Ward into the ring as the penultimate rider with Robin Parsky’s efficient 12-year-old Anglo-European mare Blue Angel. They were another of the American pairs that completed in a competitive time but were forced to add four to their score after lowering the out of the double at fence four, finishing in 18th place with a score of 70.80.
Charlie Jacobs (Boston, Ma.) was making his Finals debut on Friday evening and impressed as he produced a clear effort with CMJ Sporthorse, LLC’s 15-year-old Irish gelding Flaming Star in a time of 71.35. They head into Friday’s second round in 21st place.
Completing the Speed Leg in 24th and 27th place, respectively, were Katie Dinan with Nougat du Vallet and Charlie Jayne on Chill R Z. Dinan (Wellington, Fla.) and Grant Road Partners LLC’s 13-year-old Selle Francais gelding completed with a score of 72.41 after having a rail at 11C. Jayne (Elgin, Ill) and Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher’s 11-year-old Zangersheide stallion also fell afoul of the final element of the triple adding four faults to their score and finishing on 72.9.
Ashlee Bond Clarke (Hidden Hills, Calif.) and Little Valley Farms’ 10-year-old La Silla mare Chela LS finished directly behind Jayne in 28th. The pair set a fast time but two rails on the ground meant they added eight faults to finish on 74.81.
Lucy Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.) jumping in her second World Cup Final lowered two poles to finish on a score of 77.73 in 31st place with Old Oak Farm’s 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding Barron. Heading into round two in 32nd place are Saer Coulter (San Francisco, Calif.) and Copernicus Stables LLC’s 15-year-old Springtime, who also added eight faults in their first ever World Cup Final class to complete Friday with a score of 78.47.
Rounding-out the U.S. effort on Friday were Jenni Martin-McAllister and Granville Equine’s 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding Casseur de Prix in 35th on a score of 82.96 after adding eight faults to their time.
Leading the way following the Speed Leg of the 2014 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final is Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer who produced a clear round in 63.37 seconds with Quidam du Vivier, lying second are France’s Patrice Delaveau and Lacrimoso HDC after a fault-free trip in 63.67, with Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum and Chaman standing third on a score of 65.54 after also jumping faultlessly.
By Helen Murray
To find a full list of orders of go and results from the 2014 FEI World Cup Finals, visit: http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/890/index.html.
Learn more about the 2014 FEI World Cup Finals here.
To watch the 2014 FEI World Cup Finals live, visit feitv.org.
Follow the U.S. Jumpers here.