Shutterfly Shuts Out The Competition In The Rolex FEI World Cup Final

As expected, the result of this year’s Rolex FEI World Cup Final came down to an intense duel between two of the greatest horses in the show jumping world today—Sapphire and Shutterfly. They both gave a tremendous display of jumping today, Apr. 19, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., in one of the most exciting and impressive finishes of a Final.

McLain Ward and Sapphire gave it their all, not putting a foot wrong in two rounds over massive, technical courses. But so did Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum on Shutterfly. And since the German pair were in the lead after winning Legs 1 and 2 of the week, they ended up on top, winning their third World Cup Final title. Ward and Sapphire finished up in second—their best World Cup finish yet.

“It was very, very close. I think this was the hardest win I’ve ever had,” Michaels-Beerbaum said. “McLain left me no room for error whatsoever. This was a very big win for me, not just because it was so close, but also because it was a perfect win, winning all three days. It’s something special. And I’m riding a once-in-a-lifetime horse, the most special horse ever. On a more personal and also emotional note, I lost my father four weeks ago, so this was a big win for me and for him as well.

“Shutterfly is definitely the Maserati of horses. It’s a great honor to ride a horse like him. To have brought him up from a young horse to this is special. Now we’re like an old married couple.”

So Close
Ward, who has made winning the World Cup a goal ever since he collected his team gold medal from the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong, was third in Leg 1, the speed leg, just 1.25 seconds slower than Michaels-Beerbaum. Then, he was second to her in the grand prix format Leg 2, exactly 1 second slower in the jump-off. He and Sapphire came into the last day with 2 faults, assigned using their placings from the first two days. He had to jump two clean rounds, then watch to see if Michaels-Beerbaum would make a mistake. She didn’t.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have done it differently,” Ward said. “I gave everything I had, and Sapphire gave everything she had, and we came up 2 seconds short. I’m very proud of what my horse and I did this week. If I were to do it all over 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. She was perfect and a touch faster. It cost me the Final, but I’m proud of my horse and my team.”

Albert Zoer on Oki Doki—a freakishly elastic little horse—also jumped double-clear today to pick up third place for the Netherlands. “Oki Doki is a real fighter; he goes to the end,” Zoer said. “He does everything for me; I really love him. I just have to keep him calm because he gets very nervous with noise and crowds. But it worked and he jumped great.”

Christina Liebherr, who had been second to Michaels-Beerbaum in the speed leg but then had trouble in the jump-off of Leg 2, jumped two spectacular clean rounds today. The powerful L.B. No Mercy looks to be a tough ride, and Liebherr did a lovely, tactful job. They moved up to finish fourth in Liebherr’s first World Cup Final appearance.

Not Today