Jumper enthusiasts could indulge in World Cup Final Jumping in Omaha. The world’s top riders were present in the United States to take on the challenge in the form of delicate, but fair courses designed by the Portuguese Bernardo Costa Cabral. The KWPN-recognized Vancouver e Lanlore obtained a solid result every leg and was dealt the best hand at the start of the final. The result was a sixth place.

Thanks to his abundant reflexes, mindset, and scope, Vancouver de Lanlore  (Toulon out of Hispania de Bacon by Le Tot de Semilly, bred by Anne Dafflon of Lafitole) and his Swiss rider Pius Schwizer made the 1.60m courses look like a walk in the park. However, the arena was filled with another delicate test. Solely three combinations remained clear in the first round, including Vancouver de Lanlore. After the courses of Wednesday and Thursday, the stallion was still at the top of his form. Gold in sight raised the pressure on the Swiss rider. Unfortunately, their chances for a victory went up in smoke during the last round. Early on the first pole hit the ground and when the second rail came down, the pair dropped down to the sixth overall position. Nevertheless, an incredible performance of the Toulon-offspring. 

Besides Vancouver de Lanlore, Leone Jei (Baltic VDL out of Dara ster prest IBOP-spr PROK by Corland, bred by G.M. van Mersbergen of Udenhout) and Martin Fuchs gave an impressive performance today as well. He was one of the three horses to remain clear in the first round. Due to the jumping errors on Thursday and a pole in the second round, Fuchs knew a top placement was out of reach this year. Last year, he won the final aboard the KWPN-recognized stallion Chaplin. This year’s result was the 10th place.

The third KWPN horse to make it to the top 15, is the experienced Eddie Blue (Zirocco Blue VDL out of Silvana keur prest by Marlon, bred by J. Honcoop of Chaam) of USA’s Devin Ryan. The pair participated in their second World Cup Final. In 2018, they competed in Paris and obtained the silver. Following the 8th position on Thursday and the 9th place in the intermediate standings prior to the final, their five and four penalties of the first and second round resulted in a 13th rank overall. 

The win was secured by multi-champion King Edward (s.Edward) of Hendrik von Eckermann. Harrie Smolders repeated last year’s achievement to place second aboard Monaco N.O.P. (s.Cassini II), the bronze was grabbed up by the American rider Hunter Holloway and her grey Pepita Con Spita (s.DSP Con Spirit). 

Find all news, results, and the list of participants in our media guide.

Photo: Stefan Lafrentz