Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted a record-breaking number of spectators to the beautiful, green show grounds, where the sport’s top athletes attempted to clear the first round of 13 obstacles with 16 jumping attempts. A variety of rails dropped throughout the 1.60-meter track, indicating a well designed course. And multiple riders accrued faults at the triple combination that followed the sliced turns from the jump-eight oxer.

The questions asked by course designer Alan Wade (IRL) proved difficult for the inexperienced and the experienced pairs alike. Just a few months after appearing at the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Las Vegas, Vinton Karrasch (USA) and Coral Reef Follow Me II were eliminated after two refusals. Two additional horse-and-rider teams did not finish the round.

Sixteen pairs unsuccessfully attempted clears before the first clear round came from America’s Will Simpson and The Dude. Following a record-breaking HITS Thermal winter circuit earlier in the year, the 2008 Olympian efficiently maneuvered the sprawling course without a single fault.

“When you’re riding The Dude, anything can happen,” Simpson said about the nine-year-old gelding.

A few rounds later, 2012 Olympian Fellers and his 19-year-old chestnut stallion added a second clear round to make for a jump off. Canada’s Ben Asselin, aboard Plume de la Roque, was the third and final clear as the 24th in the order of go.

“We’re probably the most experienced pair in the world, if you add our two ages together,” Fellers, 55, commented, as he and Flexible exited the arena after their first round. “He’s just a dream. He keeps getting smarter and better.”

Fellers drew on this experience in the jump off, shaving just over a second off of Simpson’s clear round. Asselin attempted to improve on Fellers’ score, but a pulled rail in the seven-obstacle course forced him to settle for third place.

“I have so much experience with that horse that there’s not too many things that I see anymore that we haven’t seen before,” Fellers explained. “I really thought it was a difficult course when I walked it, but I rode just like I walked it, and he rode just like I wanted him to ride.”

But Fellers knew he would have to push hard to beat Simpson. He and Flexible entered the ring for the jump off after only jumping one, small vertical as a warm up. The first round had taken a lot out of the horse, and Fellers wanted to allow for Flexible’s breathing to return to normal before asking for another big effort.

“I watched Will (ride the jump off), and I’ve seen him ride for years,” Fellers said. “I think he’s a phenomenal and fast jump off rider, perhaps the fastest in the world. I watched him win and win at Thermal this year. He laid down a brilliant round, and the horse jumped super all the way around and was quite fast. I knew I couldn’t take it easy.”

So in his plan of attack, he shaved tighter turns, almost hitting his knee on a ditch jump in the ring. He also opted to take out a stride in his approach to the double combination.

“It went great,” he said. “It was one of those rounds that everything came up sweet, so there wasn’t a lot of stress on Flexible, which is one of my goals at this state in his career. He’s never been better. I know that doesn’t make any sense with his age – that he could be as good as he ever was – but he feels as good as ever.”

Regardless of winning the first West Coast event for the North American League, Fellers’ goals for Flexible aren’t set on the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Gothenburg (SWE), just yet.

“He’s never sharp coming out of the winter, and I think it might have something to do with his testosterone and that he’s a stallion,” Fellers explained. “I know the Finals are in March so that makes it a little more unlikely (in terms of timing).”

Flexible is scheduled to remain at Thunderbird for another week to compete in an upcoming three-star class on Sunday. Then he’ll return home to Oregon for a couple of weeks to rest before traveling to the Spruce Meadows Masters and to the next North American League event on the West Coast at the Sacramento International Horse Show.

“At this stage, he’s feeling great, super sound and loving the sport and craving competitions,” Fellers explained. “As long as that’s the same, I’ll keep carefully picking and choosing where he competes. I’m into ‘simple.’ That’s how I evaluate everything (for Flexible).”

1. Flexible (Richard Fellers), USA, 0 faults/40.51 seconds (JO);

2. The Dude (Will Simpson), USA, 0 faults/41.71 (JO);

3. Plume de la Roque (Ben Asselin), CAN, 4 faults/43.01 (JO);

4. Agrostar (Ashlee Bond), USA, 4 faults/79.90;

5. S F Ariantha (Andres Rodriguez), VEN, 4 faults/82.56;

6. Tembla (Karl Cook), USA, 4 faults/83.29;

7. New York (Jack Towell), USA, 4 faults/84.11;

8. Calero (Allyssa Hecht), USA, 4 faults/84.76.

The 36th FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final looks set to be a classic, and there is a body of opinion that suggests that the 2014 Longines champion could be from the host nation of France. After all, this is the country that boasts the reigning FEI European Champion – the inimitable Roger Yves Bost – and the team that won the hotly-contested inaugural Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final last September, while its representatives have also been in great form on the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Western European League throughout the winter months.

Add to that the incentive of hosting the forthcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Normandy in four months’ time and the subsequent pressure to be at their best when that moment arrives, and it seems French riders have every reason to be driven to success when the lights go on in the Eurexpo stadium in Lyon next week.

History suggests otherwise however, and Bost’s late withdrawal yesterday has left the host nation’s chances considerably less buoyant. France has only once taken the FEI World Cup™ Jumping title when the brilliant Bruno Broucqsault and Dileme de Cephe sprang a big surprise in Milan (ITA) back in 2004.

The record books show that the two most successful nations are the USA and Germany with nine wins apiece. The Americans were truly dominant during the early years of the series which quickly captured the imagination and interest of public and press alike from its start in 1978.

US riders won seven times over the first nine seasons, but they would have to wait a long, lonely quarter of a century before Rich Fellers and the comeback king of equestrian sport, the Irish-bred stallion Flexible, brought the glory back across the Atlantic again after victory at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NED) in 2012. And suddenly the German stranglehold on the champion’s leaderboard was broken when Beezie Madden returned last year and the US flag was hoisted once again, this time over the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg (SWE), drawing the USA and Germany level in terms of winning performances. The Swedish city has a long and close link with this series, hosting the Final on no less than 13 occasions and already confirmed as the venue for the 2016 decider.

It took Germany quite a long time to get into the frame, Ludger Beerbaum taking their first FEI World Cup™ Jumping title with the great mare, Ratina Z, at Gothenburg in 1994. It would be another nine years before Otto Becker, now Chef d’Equipe for the German Jumping team, managed to repeat the feat, but from then on the Germans have been the ones to beat. Marcus Ehning recorded the first of his three wins at Las Vegas (USA) in 2003 riding Anka, and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum followed suit at the same venue in 2005 partnering the magical Shutterfly.

Ehning returned to the winner’s podium at Kuala Lumpur (MAS) in 2006 riding Sandro Boy and Michaels-Beerbaum proved unbeatable with Shutterly in both 2008, at Gothenburg, and 2009 back in Las Vegas, before Ehning claimed the honours again at Geneva (SUI) in 2010 thanks to his two horses Noltes Kűchengirl and Plot Blue. Christian Ahlmann brought the German tally to nine on home turf at Leipzig (GER) in 2011, and he joins Ehning, Daniel Deusser, Lars Nieberg and Ludger Beerbaum in the five-strong German contingent at Lyon this year where Ehning is the only three-time champion bidding for a record fourth win.

Making it all the more remarkable is the fact that the rider, who celebrates his 40^th birthday during this year’s Final on Sunday 19 April, brings the now 17-year-old veteran, Plot Blue, to do battle alongside the impressive 11-year-old grey stallion Cornado NRW this time around. For sure Ehning will be one to watch out for as his knowledge and experience will be put to good use as he strives to step into the record books as the first four-time champion.

Much of the appeal of the FEI World Cup™ Jumping series lies in the fact that it comes at the end of a long qualifying season, particularly for the contenders from Europe and the USA. Places are hard-earned, and although new names will emerge from more remote regions to impress and extend promise for the future, it tends to be the seasoned campaigners who shine when it comes to the deciding day.

The format for the Final is as tough as it comes, beginning with a speed competition that is designed to give a skillful rider with an unlucky knockdown the chance to still stay in touch with the leaders. In the second competition there is a first round and then a jump-off against the clock, after which the points awarded for the first two competitions are transformed into penalties that are carried through to the last day.

Following a rest day, the last competition is a Grand Prix over two rounds which is open to the 30 best-placed athletes, at the end of which the new champion will be crowned. The image of a rider holding the prestigious FEI World Cup™ Jumping trophy aloft is one of the most coveted in the sport. It is widely recognised as a prize that is more than difficult to win and a watershed moment in the career of every athlete and their horse.

So many of the magical partnerships throughout the last 36 years have their names carved into this piece of Jumping history, including the early American champions like Conrad Homfeld with Balbuco (1980) and Abdullah (1985), Michael Matz and Jet Run (1981), Melanie Smith and Calypso (1982), Norman dello Joio and I Love You (1983), Leslie Burr Lenehan (now Burr-Howard) and McLain (1986) and Katherine Burdsall with The Natural (1987).

Legends abound on the Roll of Honour – Canada’s Ian Millar and the great Big Ben who proved untouchable in 1988 and 1989 despite the close attention of other greats like the brilliant little Jappeloup ridden by Frenchman Pierre Durand and Britain’s John Whitaker with Milton. Whitaker too would have his time in the spotlight with a double in 1990 and 1991 from his much-loved grey who had a huge following world-wide.

But not even these greats could match the result achieved by Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa and the super-stallion Baloubet du Rouet. The fourth of the three-time winners, alongside Germany’s Ehning and Michaels-Beerbaum, and Austria’s Hugo Simon who did a back-to-back double with ET FRH 17 years after his inaugural season victory, Pessoa recorded an as yet unmatched three-in-a-row victory roll between 1998 and 2000. Pessoa will not, however, line out this time around when his country will be represented by the less-well-known Yuri Mansur Guerios.

All eyes will be on world number one in the Longines Rankings, Great Britain’s Scott Brash, who has enjoyed a hugely successful season on the winter circuit at Wellington, Florida (USA) and who is likely to come out with all guns blazing. He will be joined by compatriot and fellow FEI European team gold medallist Michael Whitaker, who has rarely missed a Final in the last 36 seasons. Billy Twomey will fly the Irish flag, while 20-year-old Nicola Philippaerts, winner of the last leg of the Western European League at Gothenburg last month, will be in action for Belgium alongside Francois Mathy Jr.

Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander is never one to be discounted, while Portugal’s Luciana Diniz has a strong record at this Final, and with the reigning Olympic champion, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, in the mix along with fellow-countryman Pius Schwizer it’s going to be a mighty battle from start to finish.

The Americans also travel with much more than just hope as their star-studded field of runners includes a mass of young talent along with a depth of experience in the shape of Kent Farrington, McLain Ward and defending champion Madden, who is under no illusions about the difficulty of repeating her historic 2013 victory.

Only time will tell how it will play itself out, but we know one thing for sure. We are guaranteed drama, disappointment, delight, excitement and super sport, all in equal measure, before the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping trophy is grasped by the rider who has emerged supreme in this greatest annual contest of champions.

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