The German puts in one unbeatable performance, but the door is still open for challengers.

It was obvious from the pair’s first fence that Heinrich Hermann Engemann and Aboyeur W were gunning for the lead in the open speed round of the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final. And though they captured the top spot before the halfway point of the class, their record stood until the very end tonight, April 24, in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Engemann posted the fastest of 14 clear rounds, stopping the clock in just 68.37 seconds. He and his 14-year-old Westphalian gelding (Anmarsch–Direx) bested the time of second-placed Swiss pair Steve Guerdat and Tresor V by more than a second.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Engemann said. “It’s quite difficult to win this class. It was a Table C class, but the course didn’t have too many options. You had to go really straight to the fences and straight between the fences, but the course was really fair for everybody.”

Guerdat, who logged his round in 69.88 seconds aboard Yves G. Piagel’s 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion (Papillion Rouge–Laudanum), said he knew Engemann had set an unbeatable standard with his blazingly fast round.

“I planned to go fast and to try today, but we all know that when Heinrich goes fast there’s no chance of beating him,” he said, smiling. “I basically didn’t try to go faster than him, because I think with my horse it was impossible to. Hopefully we’ll just keep jumping the same way the next few days.”

The majority of the field seemed to agree with that sentiment. Ireland’s Jessica Kürten, currently sitting in third place with Lady Georgina Forbes’ Castle Forbes Libertina, said she thought the course would ride quickly, but after seeing Engemann’s ride, she knew she wouldn’t be able to win today.

“I knew even before I went in there that I couldn’t beat Heinrich,” she said. “I just let her do her job and she did it wonderfully.”

The 12-year-old Westphalian mare’s undeniable talent helped Kürten rise to the top of the FEI World Cup Western European League standings this year. Tonight they put in a barely-faster carbon copy of the round immediately before them, which belonged to U.S. pair Richard Fellers and Flexible.

The Leader Of The Pack

Fellers, Wilsonville, Ore., logged a truly textbook performance to take fourth place in Round 1. Harry and Mollie Chapman’s 12-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Cruising skimmed flawlessly over the fences, not touching a thing until the first element of the in-and-out late in the course. Though the gelding grazed it, the rail stayed in its cups; Kürten hit the same fence immediately afterwards and had identical luck.

“He’s an inexperienced horse at this level,” Fellers admitted of Flexible. “Since he’s quite a small horse [at 16.0 hands], I felt he might be stretching his limits. I think the biggest question for that horse and for myself would be if he has the range and scope for big wide fences in a small ring, and he seems to be finding it.

“But they’ll be bigger tomorrow,” he added, laughing. “I don’t want to jinx myself. But I’m quite confident. He improves through the week, and by the end he’s at his best.”

Fellers and Flexible have been on a winning streak lately, however, having topped three of the four World-Cup qualifiers at HITS Thermal (Calif.), and the rider credited that facility’s new indoor arena as a bolstering force in his preparation for Gothenburg.

“It was so different coming here with a horse that had jumped indoors,” he said. “[HITS CEO] Tom Struzzieri really deserves credit for making that a priority.”

Although tonight’s class was a Table C course, meaning the riders were only judged on time, with rails converted in to 4 time penalties each, the track did not allow for much time-saving deviation. Although there weren’t any obvious shortcuts, Fellers and the other top riders felt the course, arranged by Swiss designer Rolf Lüdi, was appropriate.

“For my horse, in this stage in his career, it was fine,” he said. “It was great. But I think maybe a year or two later in his career I would prefer more options, because he’s very good at turns. That’s his strength. He wouldn’t be the best at galloping down the lines. But I thought it was very fair. It rode very nicely.”

Kürten agreed, saying, “It may have been a Table C today, but it was classical show jumping. I think we saw super, super sport. It was very fair. When I was walking it,  I thought, ‘I can’t just take a nice steady ride today and go and move up.’ We did have to try today, which is the way we have to do it in a championship. I’m not actually in favor of an option. I think it’s a grand prix sport.”

In Prime Position

While Fellers emerged as the top U.S. rider at the end of the night, Peter Wylde put in a noteworthy performance of his own, leading the pack for the majority of the evening. Wylde, who trains in Maastricht, the Netherlands, came as a last-minute substitution for McLain Ward, and finished this evening in seventh place with Esplanade 7.

With a clear round in 71.31 seconds, Wylde and Elizabeth Johnson’s 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Hamilcar–Ziriegonda) drew plenty of applause from the American contingent.

Wylde also showed good form in this morning’s 1.5-m Gothenburg Trophy-qualifying class. The grand prix will run on Friday evening and is open to today’s qualified horses, as well as those World Cup pairs who do not advance to the final leg on Sunday.

Wylde took second place in the $43,103 qualifier with Campino 103, a 12-year-old gray Holsteiner gelding (Corofino I–Gonda) owned by himself and Louisburg Farm. The pair showed flawless form in the opening round, and Campino’s calm, effortless jumping style and deceptively quick canter scored them a clear round in the jump-off. They led the class until the final rider, Dutchman Albert Zoer aboard Lincoln, bested his time of 44.0 seconds.

Mandy Porter, Encinitas, Calif., and Summer put in a dynamic clean round in 72.46 seconds, and currently sit 10th. The 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Capitol–Lys de Darmen), owned by Wild Turkey Farm, showed her feisty personality with plenty of tail swishes as she cut corners and pivoted like a pro.

Todd Minikus, Brianne Goutal and Kent Farrington currently sit 15th through 17th, respectively, with plenty of possibilities to move up in the standings. Minikus looked to be in no particular hurry with Olinda this evening, but was making great time despite their casual calm. The one rail they pulled at the first element of the in-and-out unfortunately added 4 penalties to their score.

Brianne Goutal’s mount Onira was keen to pull to each fence but jumped well, knocking just one rail, at the penultimate fence. Meanwhile, Kent Farrington’s notoriously fast Up Chiqui was arguably the most eager entrant in the entire field. His enthusiasm manifested itself in some head tosses and bucking in between fences, which caused him to pull two rails. Despite a few arguments between horse and rider, the pair posted the second-fastest time of the evening.

The remaining U.S. combinations are placed as follows: Lauren Hough/Quick Study (two rails down) – 22nd place; Richard Spooner/Ace (one rail down) – 26th place; Margie Engle/Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold (three rails down) – 32nd place; Danielle Torano/Vancouver D’Auvray (two rails down) – 33rd place.

One rider’s high hopes for World Cup glory were unbelievably and unfortunately dashed today. German rider Marcus Ehning and Sandro Boy, who won the 2006 Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as this spring’s final European qualifier in s’Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, were galloping through a foot-perfect round when Sandro Boy balked at the in-and-out combination, the third-to-last effort on course. The horse seemed merely surprised at the obstacles after pivoting right to them too quickly, but refused again on re-presentation, ending in elimination.

Top Ten After Round 1

Place   Rider/Horse/Nation                                       Table C time faults

1. Heinrich Hermann Engemann/Aboyeur W/GER       68.37
2. Steve Guerdat/Tresor V/SUI                                 69.88
3. Jessica Kürten/Castle Forbes Libertina/IRE             70.31
4. Rich Fellers/Flexible/USA                                 70.40
5. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum/Shutterfly/GER          70.49
6. Beat Mändli/Ideo du Thot/SUI                               70.99
7. Peter Wylde/Esplanade 7/USA                         71.31
8. Malin Baryard-Johnsson/Butterfly Flip/SWE             71.33
9. Ludger Beerbaum/All Inclusive NRW/GER               71.51
10. Mandy Porter/Summer/USA                           72.46