Las Vegas—April 16  

American dressage fans have been waiting for an opportunity to exclaim: “I saw Valegro live!” and today they finally got their chance. Spectators—more than 7,000—poured into the Thomas & Mack Center hoping to see another spectacular performance by the reigning World Cup champions Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro.

Cheers erupted the minute they entered the arena and a gentle hush settled over the arena for their test—the only interruption coming from the constant click of cameras as everyone prayed they got a shot of “the Professor” for bragging rights later.

The pair earned an immediate standing ovation and Dujardin spent several minutes circling the ring waving to the adoring crowd. They were the only pair to break into the 80s, and with an 85.41 percent, Dujardin and Valegro held a 6-point lead over second-place finishers Edward Gal and Glock’s Undercover N.O.P. (79.05%).

Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro Photo by Molly Sorge

Today’s scores don’t count for the championship title, but good standings were important because they will determine the order for Saturday’s freestyle.

You’d think the pressure of holding three world records and the European, World and Olympic titles would get to her, but the British rider says the opposite is true.

“I don’t think of what other people think of I just go out there to do my best and enjoy it,” she said. “When you’re riding a horse like Valegro, how can you not enjoy it?”

The Vegas heat has been hard on the British superstar with Valegro feeling a bit flat following a day’s worth of travel from overseas.

“I was a little bit worried about him,” Dujardin said. “He was not himself. Obviously he’s done a massive journey and jet lag hit him as well as having the temperature change. He’s kind of had to acclimatize and myself as well.

“I got on him today, and he just felt ready to go,” she continued. “I think he just knew what he had to do. He just never lets me down.”

The electric atmosphere got to Glock’s Undercover N.O.P., who is notoriously reactive, resulting in a difficult transition into passage from the walk and a missed lead in the first canter depart, but Gal regained his focus to finish strong.

“Sometimes I feel that the tension flowed away, and then it would come back up again it was a little bit up and down at best but still I was really happy with today because he did good and I think it wasn’t like a year ago when I couldn’t ride [him] at all so I was happy with it,” Gal said.

Steffen Peters on Legolas—third in the Grand Prix Photo by Molly Sorge

Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 turned out to be the dark horse of the top three. The U.S. pair turned in what Peters described as a surprising third-place finish (76.84%) that left him wanting to go out in celebration.

As the champion of the 2009 edition of the World Cup Final with Ravel, Peters knew exactly what to expect in Vegas, so he prepared by editing together a sound bite of a cheering crowd to ride with at home.

“We prepared so intensely for this—not so much physically but mentally—with Legolas,” he said. “[We had] so many outings where we invited people to create a little a bit of an atmosphere we asked people to start clapping and hollering and we actually fed them some alcohol so they got a little bit louder,” he ended with a laugh.

America’s sweetheart Laura Graves held the top spot in the leaderboard for most of the afternoon (74.31%) until Dujardin’s ride. She and Verdades were eventually relegated to fifth place in their first World Cup Final.

“This is super new for both of us,” she said. “He’s a really emotional, sensitive horse and there’s nothing you can prepare to do for having the judges right at the rail so its super different going into a corner and being this close to them instead of having them 5 or 10 meters off the rail. It really is different.”

The Chronicle’s One To Watch for the World Cup Final, German rider Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl, placed fourth on Unee BB in the Grand Prix. 

The Vegas crowd has more than lived up to the competitor’s expectations, with a gentle hush while the horses navigate their tests and quite an explosion on applause after the final halts. An Elvis impersonator got things going today during the opening ceremonies, and was later spotted at the in-gate taking a few cell phone pictures of his own.

With so much to do in Vegas, the competitors are looking forward to enjoying all the city has to offer. While Dujardin hasn’t picked exactly which shows she’d like to see, she knows shopping is definitely on the docket, while Gal sheepishly admitted seeing Diana Ross perform was on his list.

Peters again joined the conversation with a joke saying: “Britney Spears, of course. I asked my wife but she said no. We’ll do a wonderful dinner with our team and won’t go too far or party too much tonight, but I have to tell you I do feel like doing that tonight.”

Want to see a play-by-play of the action with details about each ride? Check out the Chronicle’s As It Happens story.

See all of the Chronicle’s coverage of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final, including the “Everything You Need To Know” story.