It was a weird World Cup Final. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that at the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final (see p. 8), Beezie Madden and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum would both fall off, Rodrigo Pessoa would finish at the bottom of the pack, and that two young European stars would factor in the top three.

But it all happened. There couldn’t have been a more popular winner among the riders than Switzerland’s Beat Mändli. A veteran of the sport, Mändli is known as a truly nice guy, a consummate horseman, and a gifted rider who has long deserved individual recog-nition. But right on his heels were two riders in their 20s and on the brink of big success—Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat. And while there were some fluky things happening, there was also an alarming trend that U.S. riders should notice.

Far off Mändli’s heels were the bulk of the U.S. riders in the field. With the exception of McLain Ward, they finished well within the middle of the pack. None of their performances were bad—they just weren’t quite good enough.

But I’d like them to consider the fact that two young European riders beat them all. This was Deusser’s World Cup Final debut, at the tender age of 25. Yes, he has a distinct advantage of having a world-class string of horses under him from Jan Tops. But he doesn’t have years of experience. This young rider showed talent, grit and was cool under pressure, which speaks of big performances to come. Before Las Vegas, Nev., he’d never ridden in an international championship, or even a Nations Cup—and he placed second.

Guerdat, 24, used ride Tops’ string of talented horses. But last year he lost his job and had to return home to start from scratch. He admitted that he hit bottom mentally and motivationally, but he regrouped, found some quality horses, and kept fighting. Nothing was handed to him, and he claimed third on a relatively unknown horse.

Both riders admitted that they’d never expected to be sitting in the press conference on the final day, but you would never have known that watching them ride. Their composure, steely nerves and quiet competence made them look like hard-bitten international veterans on experienced horses.

In previous years, U.S. riders might have consoled themselves with being beaten by the likes of Pessoa, Marcus Ehning and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum—seasoned international stars. But this time, they were defeated pure and simple by two young talents who just wanted it more. Now, the U.S. isn’t losing just to European superstars but also to Europeans on the way to being superstars.

I think that’s the key—most U.S. riders just don’t seem to have that single-minded, driven focus to win, to jump clear round after clear round. I know that Ward and Madden do. Ward was visibly frustrated and self-critical following his performance. He and Madden never shrug their shoulders and say, “Well, we just had a rail or two here and there. Don’t know why, really.” They analyze their mistakes, mull them over and concentrate on not repeating them.

Deusser didn’t attend his first World Cup Final content to just jump around. After placing in the middle of the standings on the first two days, he stuck his chin out, dug his heels in, and just rode better.

I don’t think that Deusser and Guerdat are that much more talented than any of the young U.S. riders. And their horses aren’t that much better than the U.S. horses. But their desire, determination and focus were that much better. And that made all the difference.

Molly Sorge