West Coast League riders had their last chance to qualify for the FEI World Cup Finals at the $50,000 Orange County Register Grand Prix on Apr. 1, held in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

At the conclusion of this Oaks Blenheim Spring Tournament feature class, Rich Fellers (90), Richard Spooner (84), and Joie Gatlin (66) finished atop the final World Cup rankings for the U.S. West Coast. Now they head to the FEI World Cup Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 26-30.

The Oaks Blenheim Equi-Sports Arena buzzed with enthusiasm as the top riders and horses in the West Coast League took to Anthony D’Ambrosio’s course. As Canada’s John Pearce and his mount, Archie Bunker, took their victory gallop, Spooner and Quirino 3 followed as reserve champions.

Earlier this year, Spooner designated one of his newest mounts, Live Fire–who finished 12th–as his World Cup ride. Despite a lucrative campaign throughout the Indio Desert Circuit’s (Calif.) CSI-W classes, Spooner opted Live Fire out of this year’s World Cup Finals at the last minute because of the young horse’s inexperience.

But when Jenny Bryant and Molly Talla offered him the reins of Camaron Hill’s Shanroe a few days before Saturday’s Grand Prix at the Oaks, Spooner accepted the impromptu ride. Shanroe won the $50,000 Antares Saddlery Grand Prix at Del Mar (Calif.) with Molly Talla in the irons just one week earlier.

“We’ve only shown once together and now are going to Malaysia,” Spooner said of Shanroe. “But he felt really good out there, and he’s definitely a very nice Irish horse with more experience than Live Fire has yet.”

The pair rode a fair round with two rails down at the Oaks, but Spooner plans to take advantage of every minute before the fast approaching World Cup Finals to fine-tune his ride with the able but unfamiliar mount.

“[Shanroe] is a lot more sensitive than most of my horses. Molly does a great job sitting really still on him, but I tend to move around a lot, so that’s something I’ll have to work on,” said Spooner. “It’s just a matter of getting to know him.”

Talla also won the $75,000 Bayer Grand Prix CSI-W aboard Shanroe during Indio in February. But after missing the first four World Cup-qualifying classes last fall to nurse a broken collarbone, her point total (55) ultimately fell short.

A New Challenge
Fellers will show another Irish Sport Horse, McGuinness, at the finals. With a solid lead after the Indio Desert Circuit–including a first place in the $75,000 Footings Unlimited Grand Prix on Feb. 26–Fellers opted out of the final two qualifying classes to give McGuinness a rest. Kuala Lumpur will mark Fellers’ first World Cup Finals competition.

“I think I’ll be the oldest rookie there!” Fellers said with a laugh. “I’m actually really excited and not too nervous. I figure that if we go in there and ride like we normally do, we’ll get some great experience if nothing else. He’s always been good in the ring even though he doesn’t have much experience in an indoor arena.”

Standing at just over 16 hands, McGuinness consistently out-performs most of his larger grand prix counterparts. What he lacks in height, this 10-year-old makes up for in heart.

“He was a star even before I got him,” said Fellers who found McGuinness dominating young horse classes in Ireland as a 5-year-old. “A lot of the big-time European riders passed on buying him because he was so small and tough to ride.”

Together, the pair has claimed more than $400,000 in winnings, with 2005 being one of their most affluent years. “He won more money in the U.S. last year than any other horse,” said Fellers, who earned $150,850 on him. “And he did it all in 11 weeks of competition.”

Making The Cut
Rounding out the West Coast League’s all-star list, Gatlin, a native of San Juan Capistrano, rode her distinguished 15-year-old, Hol-steiner, gray gelding, Suncal’s King, to seventh place in Saturday’s grand prix which awarded her enough points to secure the third slot on the World Cup Finals roster.

“I knew going in that there were a couple of riders behind me within striking distance so I had to have a clean round,” Gatlin said. “We went in there and kept our cool and went clean with only 1 time fault; that was good enough for me.”

Her closest threats, Will Simpson and Rebecca Johanson Hofmann, couldn’t manage to oust Gatlin after dropping rails in the first round. Hofmann finished fourth overall in the West Coast League, which seats her as an alternate.

After her finish at the Oaks, Gatlin’s point total surpassed her closest competition by 8 points. “After my ride, we were feverishly trying to figure out the points. When I found out I was third, I was ecstatic!” she said.

“It’s so exciting to go half way around the world this time,” said Gatlin, who rode in Las Vegas for last year’s World Cup Finals. “I feel honored to be able to represent my country along with some of the best riders in the world and have the opportunity to do it in such an exotic place.”