Omaha, Neb.—March 30

What’s the most difficult thing about the first day of the FEI Longines World Cup Jumping Final?

If you ask McLain Ward, it’s simple—getting through the opening speed round.

“I actually asked Ludger Beerbaum, this is his [21^st] World Cup, and I said, ‘Does it get less stressful?’ and he said, ‘No,’ ” Ward said. “You always come in with high hopes, and with a  horse like HH Azur you have particularly high hopes, and on our home soil I would like to have a great finish. I think that’s the biggest stress, just dealing with the nerves.”

Ward, a veteran of 16 previous World Cup Finals himself, put in a quick round aboard HH Azur to hold the lead over Henrick von Eckermann, of Sweden on Mary Lou. Two-time reigning champion Steve Guerdat is sitting closely behind  with Bianca in third.

McLain Ward turned in the air to help shave seconds and win the speed leg with HH Azur. Photo by Molly Sorge

“My one is quite green,” von Eckermann said of his 11-year-old mare. “I started riding her in September. I started with her in Brussels, she was a two-star horse jumping 1.45-meter. She’s really a horse that’s trying to do everything right and is very special.”

Henrik von Eckermann of Germany put in an extremely speedy round on Mary Lou to claim second place in the speed leg. Photo by Molly Sorge

“I’m very happy,” said Guerdat. “The ride could have been a little bit better. I was a little bit of a cowboy after No. 4. She spooked at something, and then the distance was really long. But I’m very happy with the way she was jumping. She jumped amazing. I hope I can keep riding well.”

Steve Guerdat is in Omaha hunting for his third consecutive FEI World Cup Jumping Final title, and after placing third in the speed leg with Bianca, he’s off to a good start. Photo by Molly Sorge

The speed round was upgraded to a 1.60-meter course last year which made the class less of a footrace around the course, which had veterans leaving the ring commenting on its difficulty. There were few rounds that showed riders taking lots of risks—angling fences and galloping.

“For a speed class it’s quite a tough course,” said Swiss rider Martin Fuchs who sits seventh with Clooney. “This was for sure one of my advantages, as my horse is a real grand prix horse, and as I said maybe not the fastest, so that was good for me today. ”

“[It] actually suits my horse because it’s a bigger course in size and dimension but less of a traditional speed track, which for a power house like Azur that certainly is more suitable,” said Ward. “Alan Wade is my favorite course designer in the world. I’m a huge fan of his. There weren’t a lot of options in there, but there were big jumps, and I was able to use my stride in the turns.”

Ten of 37 starters jumped around clean. Two riders were eliminated: Max Kühner of Austria  on Cornet Kalua for refusals, and U.S. rider Audrey Coulter fell from Capital Colnardo. Karl Cook, of the United States, was the last in the ring and retired with Tembla.

Still in the hunt from the U.S. contingent is Charlie Jacobs who sits 14^th with Cassinja S after dropping a single rail, while Laura Kraut is right behind him with Zeremonie in 15^th.

“My horse jumped well; she came out healthy,” Jacobs said. “I thought we had a good round, and it was an unfortunate rail. Maybe we’re lucky to get a ribbon, maybe not, but we’re in the thick of it at least, and I’m happy about that. My plan was to be tidy, not necessarily super fast, and clean. I got the first part done. Unfortunately, we had the one rail, so that’s going to push us down a bit. I’ll go to bed tonight, and hopefully she feels good tomorrow, and we’ll give it our best tomorrow.”

Things didn’t go as well for the remainder of the U.S. riders. Jamie Barge, who is competing in her first World Cup Final with Luebbo, dropped two rails for 31^st, while Todd Minikus had 16 faults with Babalou 41 to be 32^nd. Jenni McAllister and LEGIS Touch The Sun also had four rails to sit 34^th.

Find full results of the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final 1 here. 

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