There were even more surprises in store in the closing competition of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Finals this afternoon in Las Vegas where Switzerland´s Beat Mandli reigned supreme with Ideo du Thot.
In a class that seemed to be choreographed to produce maximum drama, Daniel Deusser rocketed up from overnight 14th to take second place while fellow-German Markus Beerbaum and Switzerland´s Steve Guerdat finished joint-third.
Defending champion Marcus Ehning had to settle for fifth spot, and the sudden departure of hot-favourite Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum due to a freak fall left the crowd stunned at the end of the first round. There was nothing predictable about the 2006-2007 World Cup series-closer and superb course-building by Brazil´s Guillherme Jorge ensured a classical conclusion to one of the most exciting indoor jumping seasons in many years.
Germany´s Michaels-Beerbaum shared the lead with Guerdat as today´s competition began, with Mandli lying just one point behind after the results of the first two legs of the final had been calculated.
Holland´s Leopold Van Asten carried just two points while Germany´s Marco Kutscher and America´s McLain Ward each carried three and just one fence separated Markus Beerbaum from the top of the order.
But only two fences separated the top 12 horses and riders so it was wide open and clear rounds would count for a great deal.It was Canada´s John Pearce who came up with the first of these when his big Oldenburg gelding Archie Bunker sailed around the tricky opening track.
Jorge posed some really tough questions with a flimsy double of white rails at fence four and a difficult line from 9 to 11 which stretched horses over the opening triple bar and then tempted them down to the following 1.58m vertical before presenting them with a big oxer with a water tray beneath it.
Riders who attacked the triple bar found themselves running out of room in front of the vertical and the distance to the following oxer asked for a forward three strides. Those who couldn´t string it all together often paid a price as the World No. 1 rider Michaels-Beerbaum was about to find out.
Pearce´s Archie Bunker however was one of the real \"finds\" of this final, the nine year old gelding really coming into his own when the fences were raised and Judy-Ann Melchior from Belgium, at 20 years of age the youngest competitor, was next to go clear with some great jumping from her mare Grande Dame.
Germany´s Rene Tebbel then followed suit with Team Harmony Coupe de Coeur as did Deusser with Air Jordan Z and when Ehning, lying eighth and still in with a shot at taking his third World Cup title, left all the fences up with Gitania the German challenge looked super-strong.
Markus Beerbaum and Leena and Marco Kutscher and Cash both faulted once at the Rolex triple combination at fence seven while McLain Ward´s first-day winner Sapphire seemed to be running on an increasingly empty tank as she hit the oxers at fences three and six and Van Asten´s mare VDL Groep Fleche Rouge caught the first element of the double at four and kicked a brick off the following wall for eight faults also.
With just three left to go Mandli looked like he was about to produce only the sixth clear from the 28 starters but he admitted afterwards that he had \"a bad ride to the second-last\" and with the horse´s rhythm disturbed they hit the last for four faults.
The top of the leaderboard was changing by the moment but no-one could have expected what was going to happen next.Michaels-Beerbaum was second-last into the ring first time out and Shutterfly was looking very good indeed until the partnership started heading down the line from 9 to 11.
The brilliant 14 year old gelding put in a huge effort, as he so often does, at the final oxer and Meredith seemed to sit back as she often does to maintain her balance. But Shutterfly´s power seemed to fire her out of the saddle and as the horse began to put down his landing gear she was already falling off to the right. \"It happened so fast she didn´t really know what happened\" her husband Markus Beerbaum explained later. \"She wanted to go a little left to get an inside turn but he just seemed to disappear from under her - these things happen in our sport and you just have to accept them\" he pointed out.
Meredith´s departure left Guerdat in a stronger position but things were not going to go perfectly for him either. The stride didn´t come up quite right in front of the penultimate vertical and that fell for four faults but he was still leading the posse as the second round began over a new course.
Mandli was now lying joint-second with Ehning just a point behind while Kutscher and Markus Beerbaum completed the top five at this stage but it was still a long way from over.
Jorge´s new nine-fence track included a difficult treble with a long two strides between the second and third elements that was really going to stretch the shorter-striding horses and again the line of triple bar at fence 6 to vertical at 7 was going to test control and accuracy while the turn from the vertical at four to the oxer with water-tray at five was a difficult manoeuvre.
With America´s Molly Ashe-Cawley and Schuyler Riley withdrawn the final-round field of 18 was led by Holland´s Gerco Schroder and Eurocommerce Milano who left all the fences up as did both Sweden´s Malin-Baryard Johnsson and Butterfly Flip and Germany´s Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst and Candy.
The German rode brilliantly through the tricky treble, producing his whip at precisely the right moment to persuade his shorter-striding mare to open up enough to make the distance to the final element and he was rightly pleased with her performance which, in the final analysis, left them in equal-sixth place alongside Christian Ahlmann and Coster.
It was Deusser´s second clear performance however that was to rocket this young man up the order when, now lying ninth, those ahead of him began to crumble. Ward and Ahlmann each had a fence down while Van Asten dropped two and Beerbaum´s Leena caught the first element of the final double before both Kutscher and Ehning each picked up a double-error on course.
Ehning could now see the dream of a back-to-back World Cup title victory slip from his grasp but in typical style he just patted Gitania who had given it her best shot.
The two Swiss men now at the top of the order then battled it out, Mandli´s Ideo du Thot jumping as smoothly as pouring chocolate to go clear this time and pile the pressure on his fellow-countryman. And when Guerdat´s 11 year old stallion Tresor double-faulted it was all over.\"He jumped the first round really good, it was probably his best jumping all week\" said 24 year old Guerdat afterwards, \"but from the first fence in the second round the power was gone and it was a long round - he was getting very tired and he kind of gave up a little bit during the second half of the round\" the rider explained.
But he was far from disconsolate. After a year that saw him struggling in the aftermath of losing his job at Jan Tops yard in Holland the young Swiss rider´s joint-third placing today was a huge achievement. \"A year ago I was in the deepest hole of my life and I had to start all over again. It was tough but I tried to keep fighting- but six months ago it would have been unrealistic to expect I´d ever find myself here today\" he said sitting on the podium alongside the rest of the top prize-winners.
Markus Beerbaum admitted he never expected to find himself there either. \"I´m amazed to be here to be honest\" he said, \"and I have to pay a big compliment to my horse. I thought it would be great if we could finish in the top 10, that was my ambition, so finishing third is really exciting for me\".
Deusser too was almost in shock. \"It was unbelievable to qualify for the World Cup final and it´s unbelievable that I have finished second!\" he said. A former rider at Franke Sloothaak´s yard in Germany he has now replaced Guerdat as Jan Tops´ stable jockey in Valkenswaard, Holland and his career has enjoyed a meteoric rise since he took up the ride on Air Jordan Z just a few months ago. \"We started jumping together in 1.40m and 1.45m classes and then we finished fourth in the World Cup qualifier in Amsterdam and won the Grand Prix in s´Hertogenbosch.
We didn´t do too many big shows together but now I think my horse has shown that he is a championship horse\" the 25 year old rider pointed out.Mandli meanwhile was finding it all a bit difficult to take in. \"I´ve never had this feeling before. I´ve never won a championship and I don´t think I am taking it in just yet but I´m very happy for my horse and me\" he said.
The warm-up area at the Thomas & Mack arena is inside a tent and high winds coming in off the desert created problems for the Swiss rider in the first round because of the noise it created.
\"My horse is sensitive and the wind made him quite nervous before we went into the first round\" he explained, \"but before the second round he was really good outside and I rode very quietly in the ring. I didn´t mind if Steve won because he is also Swiss but Ideo was super to ride in the second round, he jumped unbelievably\" he added.
He said he got Ideo as a seven year old but that he was previously overshadowed by his other two great horses Principal and Indigo.
However since they have been out of action Ideo has had to take their place \"and he is now my No. 1\" Mandli pointed out. \"He´s very careful and good in his mind, he´s a great horse\" and he said he was very proud to record this win for Switzerland \"because I am only the second rider ever to win this trophy for my country\" - Markus Fuchs being the other, winning at Gothenburg with Tinka´s Boy in 2001.
Mandli could also be proud of the fact that he trains Guerdat who he has known \"since he was a kid\" and Guerdat´s admiration for his 37 mentor was undeniable.
Talking about how difficult it is for a country like Switzerland to battle with giants like Germany, Guerdat insisted that Swiss riders are equally talented - \"Beat Mandli is as good as any German, in fact he´s better!\" Guerdat said. \"At any Championship or World Cup we try hard - they have so many more riders but quality-wise we are just as good as them\" he said determinedly, adding that today´s winner is \"the greatest rider ever!\".
Mandli just smiled and, today, nobody was arguing with that....
