Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and his faithful friend, the 14-year-old gelding Leone Jei, took the honors Friday, on day two of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland, in front of an ecstatic hometown crowd, while Alessandra Volpi earned another third-place podium spot for the United States aboard her Gipsy Love.

Swiss course builder Gérard Lachat set a fitting test that saw only six riders advance to the jump-off. His first-round track had athletes snaking around every inch of the technically demanding confines of the St. Jakobshalle arena, which he had peppered with strategically placed fences and lines demanding of scope, agility, obedience and care, right down to the final fence, a 1.62-meter vertical with just three short white poles that could be negotiated on six, seven or even eight strides.

Going second to last in the jump-off, Fuchs fed off the pressure to deliver for the sea of Swiss flags adorning the stands of the St. Jakobshalle arena. A daring gallop to Fence 2 enabled him to omit a stride and get ahead on the first split-time. A series of risky turns followed, and Fuch’s “unicorn” matched his will to jump clean. A glance at the clock after they cleared the final oxer revealed his time of 40.77 seconds, easily taking the lead from Austria’s Max Kühner and Elektric Blue P (42.32) and pushing Volpi and Gipsy Love (45.78) to third place with just one athlete remaining—Thursday’s leader, Julien Epaillard of France. 

However, backstage, Epaillard had been doing his math and realized none of the other athletes in the jump-off could match his total points. In a tactical move, he decided to withdraw from the jump-off to keep Donatello D’Auge fresh for Sunday’s two-round, 1.60-meter final class, thereby granting Fuchs’ Friday’s crown

“Basel is such a fantastic show,” Fuchs said. “In front of my home crowd, on my fantastic unicorn Leone Jei, it’s a really special victory! Usually, I have my plan set for the jump-off. I had two turns which were … erm … quite risky! So, I’m pleased with the result, but not totally happy with myself and how I rode. I have to thank ‘Leone.’ ” 

Watch their winning jump-off round, courtesy of FEI.tv:

Volpi’s third-place finish elevated the Elk Grove, California, rider to seventh place in the overall standings, while Lillie Keenan and Kick On, who finished third on Thursday and ninth on Friday with one rail, go into Sunday’s deciding final tied for fourth overall.

“We sent a younger group over here—a group that we’re excited about, but still gaining experience—and we’ve been on the podium both nights. It’s pretty good,” said U.S. chef d’equipe Robert Ridland. “Lillie and Alex are well positioned going into Sunday. Lillie had a great round today, and even with an early rail she was able to make sure she had a prompt time to keep her up there, but the two of them are in a great position for Sunday, which is exciting for everyone.”

Volpi and Gipsy Love, an 11-year-old Silesian Warmblood mare (Guidam Sohn—Cholula L.A.T., L’Espirit) owned by Cedar Fox Farm and cared for by Yuliya Pachtsennaya, have steadily built their partnership in the year since Gipsy Love joined Volpi’s string. With no experience together in an indoor setting, the duo trained in small arenas around their home base of Wellington, Florida, to prepare for the World Cup Final, which has proven to be a major confidence-building step in their success together as a combination.

“My horse gave me everything, and I really tried my best to show her the way and we came out with a clear so I really couldn’t have been happier,” Volpi said after the first round. “It’s just amazing. She’s really blown my expectations for the week already without it even being over, but I’m just proud of her. She’s incredibly talented and intelligent.”

“It’s taken us a bit of time to get to know each other because she is tricky and she really likes things the way she wants them, but I feel like now that we’re coming together as a combination, we’ve put in a lot of solid rounds, and it’s helped us build a lot of confidence and that’s paying off,” Volpi added. “I’m really honored to be riding her and doing my best to also keep up with her.” 

Keenan and Kick On still hold a very competitive place in the overall standings and sit in a three-way tie for fourth with Maher and Kevin Staut of France. Keenan dropped the B element of the triple in Friday’s class, adding 4 penalties but putting in one of the fastest 4-fault rounds of the evening.

“The triple combination, for my horse, was going to be challenging,” Keenan said. “He’s still inexperienced, and I need to get better at helping him in a better way. We came in with a little bit too much pace, and we learned from that, and I’m still happy with where we are, but I couldn’t be happier with him. Even after our rail, he fought for me and tomorrow we’ll rest and be back on Sunday and hopefully in a competitive place.”

The U.S. has three combinations inside of the top 15, with Katie Dinan and Out Of The Blue SCF, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC, and cared for by Lou Beudin, in a tie for 15th place overall with Marcus Ehning and Coolio 42. The pair had two down for a total of eight faults and will enter Sunday on a total of 13 penalties.

The next highest-placed U.S. combination following Round 2 is Kristen Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Jireh, an 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Bull Run Jumpers, Inc., and cared for by Vanderveen, who added 8 faults to their score from yesterday and currently hold 24th overall on 19 penalties.

In total, six U.S. riders made the top-30 cut to advance to Sunday’s championship decider. Kaitlin Campbell and Castlefield Cornelious, a 14-year-old Oldenburg stallion owned by Mirasol Equestrian, LLC, and cared for by Erick Garcia, were on 4 faults up until dropping the last fence. Their total score is now 21 penalties. Shawn Casady and Cool Quarz, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Morning-Star Sporthorses, LLC, and cared for Cristofer Mendoza, are the final combination to continue forward to to Sunday’s class, after finishing in 29th place on 26 penalties overall.

Alise Oken and Gelvera, and McKayla Langmeier and Mimosa VD Rollebeek will not contest the final round on Sunday.

See complete scores here.