Los Angeles—Sept. 26

When Switzerland’s Jane Richard Philips rode Dieudonne de Guldenboom into the lead of the $132,500 Longines Speed Challenge midway through the class, she didn’t stop biting her nails till the last rider cleared the last fence—literally.

As the class leader Philips watched the class from an oversized white chair overlooking the ring, one of countless stylish touches at the premier edition of the Longines Los Angeles Masters. The show, which takes place in downtown Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Convention Center, is the latest addition to the Masters Grand Slam, which hosts elite competitions in Europe and Asia as well. From that vantage point she watched the notoriously speedy combination of Kent Farrington and Blue Angel enter the ring last and catch her time, but tick the back rail of the final oxer to drop out of contention.

“It was very stressful because I was thinking [first] it’s possible, [then] it isn’t possible to win this evening,” said Philips. “I take it how it is. Second or third place would have been OK, too.”

The feature class of the second day of competition saw 47 starters ride for a chance at the top check, including many Europeans making their first trip to the West Coast. Twenty-year-old Belgian phenom, Constant van Paesschen, came closest to catching Philips on Citizenguard Million Dreams, and fellow Swiss rider Steve Guerdat rode Albfuehren’s Memphis to third.

Some riders had the chance to jump the identical track before, as it’s the same course laid earlier this year at the Longines Hong Kong Masters. And competitors who head to the Paris Gucci Masters can take another try at the track, which saw rails come down across the course.

Phillips brought Dieudonne de Guidenboom along from a green 4-year-old to a seasoned 10-year-old, jumping him in multiple five-star grand prix this year and never finishing with more than 4 faults. Still, he’s had a month out from the show ring while Phillips focused on the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with another mount, so she admitted the Nabab de Reve son was a bit out of practice.

“I thought he’d come here as my second horse, that’s why he did the speed class,” she said. “Plus it was very good for him to do something else.”

Though Farrington’s rail dropped him out of the money in the speed class, he couldn’t have been too disappointed in the day. He rode Willow to the top of the $83,500 City of Los Angeles Trophy earlier in the day. Second to go in the 16-horse jump-off, Farrington nailed an impossible-looking inside turn after an in-and-out to lay down a serious challenge. Dutch rider Jur Vrieling and VDL Bubalu, fresh off a team gold medal at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, nearly caught him, stopping the timers .07 seconds too slow for second, and Beezie Madden and Simon took third.

Anyone who wanted a chance at the top check followed Farrington’s lead and took that inside turn, but no one could match Willow’s smooth track.

“I didn’t walk [the turn]” said Farrington. “That horse jumps the combinations really well. He jumped in strong, and I could stop him at the vertical [coming out] quick. When he landed off the double I thought, ‘Yeah, I can get inside.’

“He’s a very good indoor horse,” Farrington continued. “He’s exceptionally fast and he’s always looking for the next jump. He has great balance so he’s always landing in balance and there’s no recovery time.”

Find full results here. 

To see full coverage of the Longines Los Angeles Masters, check out the Oct. 13 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse.