Shutterfly Shuts Out The Competition At Rolex FEI World Cup Final

McLain Ward and Sapphire just can’t quite beat the great German horse and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.

Who would have thought that the Rolex FEI World Cup Final title—decided by a grueling five rounds of jumping over three days—would come down to a margin of 2 seconds?

But that’s just what happened.

Spectators at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., were treated to a phenomenal display of jumping by two of the greatest horses competing—Shutterfly and Sapphire. They traded clean round after clean round, but in the end, Shutterfly’s speed won the week and gave Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum her third FEI World Cup title. Ward and Sapphire claimed second by the slimmest of margins.

“It was very close—this was the hardest win I’ve ever had. McLain left me absolutely no room for error,” Michaels-Beerbaum said. “This was a big win for me for a couple of reasons, not just because McLain made it so difficult. It was my most perfect win—winning all three days is something special. And I’m riding a once-in-a-lifetime horse, the greatest horse ever. And on a more personal and very emotional note, I lost my father [Richard Michaels, a film and TV director] four weeks ago, and this was a big win for me and for him as well.”

Ward made winning the World Cup with Sapphire his primary goal and began planning his preparation the minute after he won the team gold medal with her at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. He and the powerful chestnut mare didn’t put a foot wrong all week in Las Vegas.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have done anything differently,” Ward said. “I’m very proud of what my horse and I did this week. If I were to come and do it again, I would do it exactly the same way. I take my hat off to Meredith and Shutterfly. They’re the greatest pair in show jumping right now. She was perfect and a touch faster, and it cost me the Final. But I’m proud of my team, of my horse. I gave everything I had, and my horse gave everything she had, and we just came up 2 seconds short. It’s a fine line in sports, and that’s what it’s all about.”

In fact, each of the top three horses jumped flawlessly all week. Albert Zoer and Oki Doki took third with a spectacular performance. Interestingly, the three horses have definite differences in their styles.

Shutterfly—a Hanoverian gelding (Silvio—Famm, Forrest xx)—is a leggy, Thoroughbred type who makes big jumps look effortless. He has seemingly unlimited scope and an amazing elasticity. He’s so rideable that Michaels-Beerbaum can easily compact his rangy stride and add strides in lines between fences, which makes it easy for her to negotiate turns and angles to fences that look impossible.

Sapphire (Darco—Idjaz, Hedjaz) is a big Belgian Warmblood mare who specializes in jumping big courses with her sheer power. She’s not the fleetest of foot, but over the years Ward has learned how to squeeze every ounce of speed out of her. But Sapphire’s speed usually comes from leaving strides out—her big stride makes nimble inside turns more difficult for her.

And Oki Doki (Jodokus—Kentucky, Topas) is a dynamic little Dutch Warmblood gelding who astounds the crowd with his athletic and vigorous jumping efforts. He gallops with a lot of up-and-down action, then flings himself in the air. Zoer makes the most of his unusual style, though he admitted that Oki Doki’s gallop isn’t the fastest.