Before the first leg—the speed round—of the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final, McLain Ward remarked to course designer Guilherme Jorge that he “didn’t think the course really suited my horse, because it was a true speed class.”

But tonight, April 19, Ward proved himself wrong.  He rode Sapphire to a blazingly fast round, braving to slice two tough inside turns and stopping the timers a second and a half faster than all the others to win the first leg.  Two Germans—Markus Beerbaum and Marcus Ehning—finished up in second and third. 

And while Ward’s win buoyed American spirits, it was a tough night for Beezie Madden fans. She and Authentic came into Las Vegas, Nev., as strong favorites for a top placing, but Authentic jumped way up over a wall at 4A, the first element of a one-stride in-and-out.  He and Madden negotiated 4AB successfully, but after the turn to an oxer at 5, Authentic stuck off the ground and jumped through the fence, depositing Madden on the ground and eliminating them.  “He jumped so high at the wall that I think he got a bit scared,” Madden said.  “He turned to the next one fine, but then he was too scared and shocked to jump it well.”  The crowd was shocked at the sight of Madden on the ground, but then highly amused as Authentic continued on to jump two fences in his gallivanting around the ring loose.

Two inside turns were the key to Ward’s quick time, but they weren’t really part of his original plan.  “The two inside turns were obvious—we all saw them when we walked the course.  But they didn’t look completely possible,” said Ward.  “I watched a bunch go, and as the better riders and horses went, they started to look doable, and I made the decision to try them.”  The only other rider to negotiate both the crucial inside turns was Beat Mandli—his time of 63.84 was just off Ward’s, but a rail rolled from the cups to put him ninth.  The turns came after a two-stride combination, as riders landed and sliced left to angle the Rolex oxer at the end of the ring.  And then, they landed and cut right inside that Rolex oxer on the way to the last line.  Both turns required quick thinking and quick feet.

Beerbaum didn’t attempt either of the inside cuts on Leena, but relied on the mare’s foot speed.  “Even if I had gone after McLain, I wouldn’t have tried the inside turns,” said Beerbaum.  His time of 65.29 seconds led for almost 20 rounds, before Ward vanquished it.

Ehning was the first to attempt the second inside turn, to the last line, on Gitania.  “The inside turns were very sharp today,” said Ehning.  “I saw Markus’ round, and it wasn’t going to be easy to beat.  McLain had a fantastic round.  I wasn’t planning to go inside to the second-to-last fence, but I thought I had to do it to be faster.”  Ehning and the powerful gray mare sneaked in just .30 seconds behind Beerbaum.

Steve Guerdat lies in fourth, on Tresor V, after a great round.  And Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst valiantly rode Candy to a clean round in 66.75 seconds for fifth place.  The 2005 Budweiser FEI World Cup Final winner in Las Vegas—Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum on Shutterfly—had a somewhat conservative clear round to stalk the leaders in eighth place. 

The next-highest American placer is Lauren Hough on Casadora.  Still recovering from the broken hand she suffered in early March, Hough came to Las Vegas wondering what might happen.  “I didn’t come nearly as prepared as I wanted to be.  I broke my hand a month ago, and she lost her confidence.  She’s a naturally fast horse, so I didn’t want to take too much risk.  If I can stay in the top 12, I’ll be thrilled,” she said.  They had a confident, forward ride in 68.63 seconds.

Then, Schuyler Riley and Molly Ashe-Cawley occupy 13th and 14th, both with all-out rides.  The 17-year-old Ilian gave Riley his all, going clean in 70.40 seconds.  And Kroon Gravin was her usual firey, unorthodox self for Ashe-Cawley.  They careened around the course and finished with a 65.34-second time, but the 4 seconds added for their rail at a vertical put them in 14th.  Without the rail, they would have been third.

Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold had 4 faults at the same vertical as Ashe-Cawley—their time put them into 17th.  Just behind them is Mandy Porter of California, who rode a thrilling clear in 73.19 seconds in her World Cup Final debut.  Christine McCrea—also in her first World Cup Final—rode Promised Land into 21st place with a single rail.  She also had to contend with an unexpected delay as she headed to the ring. “His shoe twisted on the landing in the warm-up.  I felt something funny and realized as I went down the ramp that it was twisted,” she said.  “It’s just my luck to have this happen at my first World Cup.  I’m really happy with my round.  I have no expectations.”

Jill Humphrey and Kaskaya, fellow World Cup Final debutantes, pulled just one rail to finish 23rd.  Rich Fellers and Gyro are in 27th after a rail and a conservative round.  Kate Levy had the unfortunate luck to be the first on course tonight, and she picked up 8 faults to lie in 32nd.

Richard Spooner attempted a tight turn to the combination at 7AB on Cristallo, and almost didn’t make it. The horse made a mighty effort to clear the jumps, but a similar cut to the 10th fence didn’t work out, and Spooner had to circle.  He and Cristallo finished  in 35th.

Three-time World Cup champion Rodrigo Pessoa rode the 11-year-old Oasis in the speed leg, and things looked to be going well until he sliced the turn to the Rolex oxer at the end of the ring.  Oasis crashed through it, and Pessoa circled to regroup.  They finished in 37th place.

Things look good for the Americans today, but remember that it’s a long week.  Tomorrow evening, they jump again in a grand prix-format class, with a first round and jump-off.  They have Saturday off, and then jump two rounds on Sunday to decide the winner.