Today’s grand prix determines the start order for Saturday’s grand prix freestyle where the top 12 horse-and-rider combinations of the 16 competing will challenge each other for the World Cup title. All four of the American riders made it into the grand prix freestyle. The four remaining pairs will compete in an FEI Grand Prix Freestyle B Final on Friday afternoon.

It was Germany’s Isabell Werth and Warum Nacht FRH (an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding) that led the pack on a score of 74.625. The horse (whose name translated from German means “Why Not?”) and rider had a grand prix ride that looked rather effortless, and the crowd of dressage enthusiasts awarded them with a thunderous ovation. In short, a few small bobbles couldn’t stand in the way of their top score.

It was a performance highlighted by flowing, ground-covering half-passes followed by good passages and flying changes. They seemed to be the main threat to American Steffen Peters and Floriano, the pairing sitting in the second-place spot after the grand prix.

“He [Warum Nacht FRH] started to get spooky a bit after her saw the camera in the piaffe, and from that moment on I had to try to get him more concentrated,” said Werth. “It is my experience with him that it is always good to bring him in the arena and to have a little trot and quiet him so that he can accept the atmosphere and relax and go into the competition.”

Peters and Floriano (a 17-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Stephen and Laurelyn Browning) ended their test with a score of 72.875, and they were the first pairing to crack the 70-percent mark. Once Peters and the gelding entered the ring, things suddenly turned serious as everyone knew the pair was capable of putting down one of the highest scores of the lot. Despite a bit of a gaff at the beginning of the test, they displayed flowing and elegant half-passes early on. Floriano seemed full of vim and vigor as the pair went from nicely done piaffe into passage. It was obvious that the gelding was in a good mood and the crowd on hand was in for an apt display of his talents as he showed great extension in his extended trot, only to be followed by beautiful flying changes.

In comparing his ride today to that of the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen last fall, Peters said, “I think he felt pretty similar. The entrance wasn’t very good coming into the test, but the rest felt great. He was very, very forward. I didn’t have to push him a whole lot which was a huge advantage for a horse that is 17-years-old.”

Third and fourth in the running is a pair of riders sharing a score of 71.708. While their scores were the same, FEI Rules dictate that when there is a tie in main competitions, the higher scores of the final technical marks are used to determine a “tie breaker.” That being the case, Finland’s Kyra Kyrklund (aboard Max, a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding) sat at third and Holland’s Imke Schellenkens-Bartel (aboard Sunrise, a 13-year-old Hanoverian mare) took the fourth spot. Less than one-hundredth of a point behind in fifth-place was Sweden’s Jan Brink (aboard Briar 899, a 16-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion) at 71.625.

Following Peters in the rankings was American Courtney King and Idocus (a 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Christine McCarthy) with a score of 67.833 which sat them at eighth place. A product of the United States Equestrian Team’s Young Rider program, King competed aboard a horse that was once ridden by a fellow World Cup competitor, Holland’s Marlies Van Baalen. The pair started with a controlled extended trot with an elegant outline. But, it seemed that in anticipation of their one-tempis, the horse had a bobble. However, King was able to rectify the situation and finish out their two-tempis before knocking out their one-tempis without problem. King, who had a great season earlier this year in Florida, was making her World Cup debut, in addition to her first international appearance.

Third in line for the American team, and sitting in ninth place overall, was Catherine Haddad aboard Maximus JSS (a 13-year-old Danish gelding owned by the Janet S. Schneider Trust) with a score of 66.750. In her first appearance in the U.S. (Haddad lives, trains and competes in Germany), Haddad and Maximus JSS began their test with a less-than-straight halt and an extended trot that could have benefited from a bit longer stride. An unfortunate moment for the pair came when they headed straight-on for a camera outside the ring that seemed to startle the horse for a spilt second. Haddad and her mount quickly focused and continued; however, the horse seemed to fade a tad bit in the proceeding extended trot. A pair of seemingly unbalanced hind legs did little to help their late-in-the-test pirouette and they seemed to get a little stuck in some of their changes. In the end, it was an overall proud debut and introduction to the World Cup stage.

Leslie Morse, in her fourth World Cup appearance, rode Tip Top 962 (her 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood) to a score of 64.000 which left her at 11th place. The stallion showed his showmanship with a beautiful extended walk with a distinct over-stride, but was inconsistent in his hind legs in the early piaffe. He lost his way a tad in the half-passes, but showed a strong extended canter. His “nemesis” is often his changes, and while he displayed nice two-tempis, there was a wayward moment in the one-tempis. A bit of a swing in the final approach down the centerline was noticeable as the horse seemed to lose his energy just before the halt. An 11th place finish had to be below Morse’s expectations for her grand prix ride. But, there is still opportunity for higher scores.

One of the innovations at this year’s World Cup, as implemented by the FEI, was the posting of the current rider’s scores next to those of the leading rider. Each current rider has their moves’ scores were displayed alongside those of the leader which provided the spectators with an ease of seeing how their favorites compared with the frontrunner.

Saturday will see the crowd-favorite freestyle at the Thomas and Mack Center and determine who is the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage winner.

McLain Ward and Authentic Lead the Show Jumpers in their Bid for a World Cup Title

New York’s McLain Ward, aboard his 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood, Sapphire, displayed a masterful round to lead the pack after 41 riders took to the 13-obstacle effort put before them in a time of 63.78. While Ward’s position on the leaderboard should be the big news from the evening for American fans of show jumping, it was another horse and rider that caused jaws to drop and hearts to race in a disappointing exit from the competition.

Beezie Madden and her superstar mount, Authentic (a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding), were expected to share a spot atop the list of riders at the end of the night. However, a nasty turn of events at Fence 5 left not only the fence in shambles, but Madden on the ground as the horse took off through the course, continuing to jump fences and race around the ring. It was a site that no one wanted to see, and it meant an unfortunate end to a ninth World Cup bid by Madden.

But, it was Ward who will lead the pack going into the Friday evening FEI World Cup Jumping Final II after his clean-and-clear round on a course that was complete with tight inside turns and questions for every jumper to answer.

“I have a good horse and a lot of good people behind me,” said Ward. He mentioned the two very tight inside turns the course presented to those few riders who braved the option of taking them. “I think we all saw them when we walked [the course]. It didn’t look like they were that possible. Then, slowly as we got to the stronger horse-rider combinations, I think they started to show you the turns, and I made a decision to try them.”

One other rider attempted the tricky turns, Switzerland’s Beat Mandli aboard Ideo du Thot. However, his pair left a rail on the ground as a result of the risky chance they took.

Two German riders with the same name and a pair of mares—Markus Beerbaum and the 15-year-old Oldenburg, Leena, and Marcus Ehning and the 15-year-old Holsteiner, Gitania—sat in the two and three spot respectively.

Beerbaum’s time of 65.29 and Ehning’s time of 65.58 joined three other German horse-and-rider times to place five of their country’s riders in the top 10. The only other American rider in the top 10 was Lauren Hough and her 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood, Casadora, on a time of 68.63.

The next-placed American was Schuyler Riley and Ilian at 13th place (zero faults, 70.40 seconds). Next in line was newlywed Molly Ashe-Cawley and Kroon Gravin at 14th (four faults, 71.34 seconds).

In her 14th World Cup appearance, Margie Engle sits at 17th place aboard her Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold with a time of 72.53. The pair nearly became entangled in now-infamous Fence 5, but with some skill and a bit of luck, they escaped tragedy and continued charging the course—one that many riders felt wasn’t quite as big as was to be expected.

“I have to agree,” said Beerbaum. “It wasn’t as big. It was a good start for my horse…it was set like a Table C. It was not set like a typical Table A—the first day in a championships. It was definitely set like a speed class today, not typical for a championship on a first day.”

Regardless of the course, the leader, Ward, was happy with his time, and he admitted that his horse has been getting much faster. “Maybe one of the reasons she wasn’t so fast to me was that I didn’t believe she was fast,” he said. “I tried some risks tonight with the turns and it went my way…and it can just as well go the other way.” According to Ward, it wasn’t on course that he decided to be so aggressive and go for it. “I spoke to a couple people while the class was going…and George Morris [U.S. chef d’equipe] told me that both turns had been done, but not together…I knew I had to take a shorter route.” He rolled the dice, and with skill and a bit of Vegas luck, it paid off big time.

Rounding out the American contingent was Christine McCrea and Promised Land (four faults, 75.70 seconds); Jill Humphrey and Kaskaya (four faults, 77.09 seconds); Rich Fellers (four faults, 78.27); Kate Levy and Vent du Nord (eight faults, 81.83); and Richard Spooner and Cristallo (eight faults, 85.46 seconds).

For complete results of today’s competitions, go to the USEF homepage – www.usef.org – and click on the Rolex FEI World Cup Finals section in the center of the homepage.