At the end of a grueling nine rounds of jumping over six days, the battle for the three individual show jumping medals at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany came down to just one jump-off.

And the one rail that Authentic dropped all week cost Beezie Madden the gold, crowning Belgium’s Jos Lansink as the World Champion. Madden collected the silver to add to the team silver she’d earned with her teammates–McLain Ward, Margie Engle and Laura Kraut–earlier in the week.

While the Dutch team of Piet Raymakers, Jeroen Dubbeldam, Albert Zoer and Gerco Schr�der scored a decisive victory in the team medal race, earning gold with faults to spare ahead of the American and German teams, they were all in the stands watching the individual final. Joining Lansink and Madden were Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Australia’s Edwina Alexander. It was only the third time that a woman had ever reached the World Championship final four, and there were three of them.

None could match Lansink’s performance, however. All four riders jumped a short, relatively simple course on their own and each of the other riders’ horses, in the WEG’s unique format. Alexander had taken herself out of the medal running with a rail aboard Michaels-Beerbaum’s Shut-terfly, and it was the only rail that fell. Lansink, Madden, and Michaels-Beerbaum all jumped faultless rounds on every horse.

So, they swung their legs back over their own mounts for a jump-off over the same course. Lansink went first on the amazing Cavalor Cumano, who jumps with an effortless ease and style. The Holsteiner stallion oozes power, but isn’t built for speed.

But Lansink knew just how to set the stage. “I was thinking that I’d try and go as fast as possible and put pressure on the other riders. I know my horse isn’t the fastest horse, but in this big ring, he can gallop and sometimes leave a stride out, and I think we were quite fast,” he said.

Lansink’s time of 45.01 seconds was speedy, but certainly not unbeatable. Michaels-Beerbaum made a concerted effort to challenge, but when Shutterfly dropped the top rail of the first element of the triple combination, the gold slipped from her grasp.

The gold medal was all Madden’s to have. There aren’t many horses faster than Authentic–in fact, he’d won the WEG speed leg the first day. “My horse is naturally a faster horse than Jos’, and Cumano had bucked in the turn by the in-gate, to the last line. I figured he lost a little time there, and if I just stuck to the plan I had, I could be a little quicker,” Madden said.

And, as she turned to the last line of a vertical, followed by seven strides to the last oxer, Madden was way ahead of Lansink’s time. Authentic nipped over the vertical, and “I thought he’d sail right over the oxer,” Madden said. But Authentic punched the front rail of the oxer out of the way, to the gasps of the crowd. Their time of 43.74 seconds was certainly fast enough, but the rail meant the silver instead of the gold.

“To be honest, I really don’t know what happened,” Madden said. “I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Maybe both he and I let down a little. I thought once I made it over the vertical before that, I was home free. He’d gone four rounds before that with that being the last jump, and he knew it. He just cut down and didn’t make a big effort there. I couldn’t be happier with how he performed all week. It was a little bit heartbreaking at the moment, but a silver medal is still good, and he was fantastic.”

As the rail fell, Lansink–watching from atop Cumano–punched his fists in the air in triumph. Not an overly emotional man, he admitted that the enormity of the moment didn’t sink in right away. “I didn’t really realize I was World Champion–I just knew I’d won the class,” Lansink said. “Maybe tomorrow it’ll seem real.”

The Move Up To The Gold
Lansink, 45, originally hails from the Netherlands, and was on the Dutch team for the team gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. But in 2001, he switched to Belgian nationality. For 10 years–from 1994 to 2004–he rode for the famous Belgian stud Zangersheide, but struck out on his own two years ago.

Lansink took over the ride on Cavalor Cumano, 13, who had been ridden by fellow Belgian rider Marc van Djick, in 2003. He and the great gray, by Cassini, were part of the Belgian team at the 2004 Sydney Olympics, and that fall he won the prestigious $763,537 CN International Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows (Alta.).

Early in the WEG competition, Lansink hadn’t really looked to be a factor in the individual medals. He had to ride in the speed leg during a torrential downpour, and a rail there, combined with a slower time in the weather, put them 40th individually after Day 1. In the WEG format, speed class times are converted into a number of faults, depending on their placing, and riders carry those faults into the Nations Cup rounds and beyond.

“I think I was a little unlucky in the speed class. That class, I finished up 40th, but in the speed class, the results were very close together. I had only 5.01 faults after that, and normally in a championship, when you have 5 faults, you’re closer to the top, so I knew that if I didn’t make too many mistakes, I could do better. My horse was also jumping excellently all week,” he said.

Cumano turned in two foot-perfect clear rounds for Belgium in the Nations Cup, though the Belgian team had to settle for seventh. And then, Lansink worked his way up into the final four with two more clean rounds in the individual qualifier–two grueling rounds of jumping held two days after the Nations Cup, where the top 25 individuals battled it out to determine who would jump in the final four.

At the end of the individual qualifying–with five rounds behind them–Lansink and Cumano were second, right behind Madden and Authentic. “Cumano is a very good horse for championships, but you also need a little bit of luck, and everything has to go the right way. OK, my first day didn’t go quite the right way, but in the end it all worked out, and I’m very happy,” Lansink said.

Cumano–the only horse not to have a rail in any of the four rounds of the final four or the jump-off–claimed the best horse title.

Cumano’s striking gray color isn’t his only eye-catching trait. He has scope to spare and spends a long time in the air with his lofty jump. The stallion also has plenty of personality, playing around the courses. And when Lansink congratulated him with a pat after a clear round, Cumano celebrated with a quick headshake and a little buck. Lansink admitted that management of Cumano’s temperament is well planned.

“Breeding and showing at the same time is very difficult with him, so we only breed him in the beginning of the year. This year, he bred until May because we wanted to prepare him for this. He likes to show he’s a stallion, and he likes to show that he’s the boss,” Lansink said.

During the final four (see sidebar), when all the horses and riders are cordoned off in a small area in the main ring for the saddle changes and warm-up, Cumano was separated in a corner but still showed a keen interest in his surroundings.

From Start To Finish
Authentic’s rail at the last fence may have momentarily broken the hearts of all the U.S. fans cheering for gold, but Madden couldn’t have been more thrilled with how the game, bay gelding jumped.

They won the speed leg convincingly, and then they backed that up with gritty double-clean rounds in the Nations Cup. During the two rounds of the top 25, Authentic incurred his only fault before the final four. The first round included a line that called for either five or six strides from an oxer to the open water. Madden barely fit the six strides into the water, and Authentic splashed a toe down for 4 faults. Then, Madden had to muscle him a bit around the turn to the next fence, a wall, but he squeaked over it and then jumped perfectly.

They followed that up with a second clear round to end the day just as they’d started the week–on top of the standings.

Gerco Schr�der stalked Madden all week, finishing third to her in the speed leg and booking two clean rounds in the Nations Cup on his way to the team gold. He entered the final two individual qualifiers in second on Eurocom-merce Berlin, a big-jumping gray stallion by Cassini, the same sire as Cumano. But the many rounds of jumping may have taken their toll, and Berlin dropped two rails in Round 1 and one in Round 2 to finish sixth individually.

Ludger Beerbaum made a determined bid to earn his first individual World Championship title–the only major medal he hasn’t won. But going first in the speed leg hampered him. His clean, but conservative, round there added 2.70 faults. He anchored the German team with two clean Nations Cup rounds, and he looked to be making a bid for the final four, but a rail in each of the individual qualifying rounds dropped him to fifth.

A Speedy Start
For years, George Morris–now the U.S. team chef d’equipe–has insisted that U.S. riders need to learn how to win in the initial speed round of international championships. At this WEG, however, they listened, and it was their performances in the speed round that helped carry them through to the team silver medal.

It was in the speed leg, however, that the Dutch team began their journey to gold. Schr�der led the way, placing third aboard Eurocommerce Berlin, and teammates Zoer, Dubbeldam and Raymakers all jumped clear, although not as fast, to place in the top 35. Their combined scores put them in the lead.

Madden and Ward’s performances made all the difference in the speed leg, after which the U.S. team stood second. Ward rode Sapphire into fourth. “That was as fast as that mare can go–they couldn’t have gone any better,” Morris said.

And Madden won the day with a blazing round on Authentic. “He felt great, and he was jumping beautifully,” Madden said. “His rideability stayed great, even though we were going fast. He’s naturally quick away from his fences, and one of his strong points is that he’s handy and very careful.”

Those rounds pulled the U.S. team up from a bit of a hole after Engle and Kraut performed. Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold wasn’t quite comfortable with the quick pace Engle set.

“I needed to stick to my plan and not try to go too fast,” she said. “If I’d kept it more even, he would have been fine. I tried to go too fast for what he’s comfortable doing. The speed is his biggest drawback.”

The four rails Quervo Gold pulled put them 88th after the speed leg, which translated into 12.07 faults and was the team’s drop score.

As a result of Engle’s experience, Kraut had to ride Miss Independent more conservatively, keeping the team total in mind. She had just one rail with a respectable time.

“The two [stride distance] is so short, particularly on a big, open step like I had. I held her, worrying about the front rail, and I think I killed the motor, because she didn’t get across,” said Kraut. She was relieved to have a solid score for the team, placing 48th, which translated into 5.98 faults.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start today,” said Madden. “But then Laura went in and had a good, solid round. And McLain really helped our spirits with that round. We really needed it, and it was exciting to watch. He rode so beautifully.”

At the end of Day 1, the highly regarded German team was in an unusual position–sixth. Beerbaum went clean but slow. And Michaels-Beerbaum and Christian Ahlmann both had quick rounds, but rails left them down in the standings.

German hopes could have been buoyed by anchor rider Marcus Ehning, who has won multiple grand prix classes and the FEI World Cup Final this spring and was hotly touted as an individual medal favorite.

But Ehning made a major error, mis-judging the angle to a vertical, and Noltes Kuchengirl had the rail. They then pulled a rail at the last fence. It was the beginning of a week Ehning would likely rather forget.

Holding Their Own
“Now we just have to hold our own over the next two days [in the two rounds of the Nations Cup], and we’ll have a medal,” said Morris. “We don’t have to play a game of giant, impossible catch-up.”

Little did Morris know that the Nations Cup competition for the team medals would play out with all the drama and emotion of a soap opera. Round 1 was held during the day on Aug. 30, and shuffled the standings dramatically.

The Dutch increased their lead by adding only 1 time fault to their total, with clear rounds from Zoer on Okidoki and Schr�der on Eurocommerce Berlin. Going into Day 2, they had 7.01 faults, well ahead of the Ukrainian team, in second with 13.17 faults.

The Ukrainian team–composed of former Belgian and German riders who switched nationalities–was put together by Ukrainian gas magnate Alexander Omischenko. Their flag may not be familiar to fans, but all the riders–Katharina Offel, Gregory Wathelet, Jean Claude van Geenberghe and Bjorn Nagel–are familiar faces of European show jumping.

The U.S. team had mixed fortunes. Kraut, Engle and Ward all had unlucky rails, but Madden yet again anchored the team with a clear round under pressure to keep the team in contention in third.

And at the end of Round 1, Germany had clawed their way up to fourth place with a clean round from Beerbaum and L’Espoir, and 1 time fault from Michaels-Beerbaum on Shutterfly. Ahlmann was the drop score, with 8 faults on C�ster, and Ehning again had the chance to be a hero and put the Germans into second. But, again, Noltes Kuchengirl caught a rail, crushing the German fans and causing Ehning to shake his head in disgust.

The drama began in Round 2, which was run under the lights on the evening of Aug. 31, when Raymakers was surprised by a run-out from Van Schijndel’s Curtis at a new fence–a narrow, solid wall painted as a postage stamp. His 18 faults was the Dutch drop score.

“From that point on, I knew every fault you make is going to count,” said Dubbeldam. “But I pulled everything together to be relaxed and calm and stay with my horse. My clear round was very important to make the other two [riders yet to come] believe in it again.”

Engle and Kraut started off the U.S. effort with four- and eight-fault rounds. “I woke up this morning, and I said to myself, ‘I have to jump a clear round today,’ ” said Ward. “Needless to say, it was a very long day for me, repeating that to myself! Obviously, the 4 and 8 faults weren’t the start we were hoping for, and I was feeling the pressure, but my horse felt great in the warm-up, and we knew we could do it.”

Ward’s clean round put the U.S. back in the running, and Madden backed it up with yet another clear round, putting the U.S. team’s total at 18.85 faults.

Beerbaum kicked off the German bid for gold with a clean round, and Michaels-Beerbaum followed it up with another. But Ahlmann and C�ster had another rail. A clean round by Ehning would mean silver–anything less would drop them below the United States.

Disaster struck for Ehning yet again. Noltes Kuchengirl caught the front rail of an oxer, meaning Germany was out of the running for silver. And then she added insult to injury by stopping at the postage stamp wall and crashing through it. Ehning retired, knowing he’d be the drop score regardless.

Little did the Germans know that the Ukrainian team would have a similar roller coaster ride. As their last rider, Offel, came onto the course, the Ukraine had 18.16 faults, just .69 faults ahead of the United States and .90 faults ahead of Germany. A clean round from Offel would assure the silver, and as she galloped through the finish timers with all the rails in the cups, a jubilant shout and a fist raised in triumph, Offel looked back and saw that the clock told the tale. Her 1 time fault dropped the Ukraine from silver into fourth and gave the Germans the bronze.

Even a four-fault round from Zoer and Okidoki couldn’t put a wrinkle in the Dutch team’s offensive. Schr�der started his pressure-filled round with the weight of Dutch hopes on his shoulders, but a seven-fault cushion. He didn’t need it, as Eurocommerce Berlin jumped perfectly yet again to clinch the commanding Dutch victory.

Beerbaum was gracious in the mighty German team’s defeat on their home turf. “When you see the performances of the Dutch and Americans, you know that they were not lucky to win. They were simply far better than us, and we have to admit this,” Beerbaum said.

The Four Best Horses
Jos Lansink’s Cavalor Cumano, a massive gray stallion with a thick, arched neck, is a horse who exudes power. And he definitely stood out among the horses for the final four. A Holsteiner, he was the only one who looked to be without a significant amount of Thoroughbred blood.

Authentic, a Dutch Warmblood by Guidam, is so light and typey that he could be mistaken for a race horse, and he has a similar turn of foot. Shutterfly, though tall and a Hanoverian (Silvio I–Forrest), is a more leggy, slight type. And the diminutive Isovlas Pialotta, a Westphalian by Pilot, looks much like Authentic’s body style.

Everyone was curious to see how the women–Beezie Madden, Edwina Alexander and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum–used to their quick, clever horses, would handle the powerful Cumano.

“In the beginning, I was a little bit nervous about riding Cumano–I didn’t know what to expect–but I have to say he’s a beautiful horse to ride,” Alexander said. “He’s extremely well-educated and a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed riding him.”

None of the women had any problems with Cumano, putting in fluid and impressive rounds even though they looked like pony riders transplanted into the grand prix ring.

Lansink, however, didn’t necessarily enjoy his ride on Authentic. He had some trouble adapting to Authentic’s more forward way of going, and Authentic set a more rapid pace than usual. “I was thinking he was jumping a little flat in the warm-up, so I tried to leave him alone at the jump, and he had the rail down [over a warm-up fence]. Then, I gave him a little too much leg, and he got strong. He was still jumping well, though,” he said. “Pialotta and Shutterfly, I had a great feeling on.”

Alexander also had some trouble with Authentic, as the little bay built up speed around the course. Alexander struggled to keep him calm, but ended up leaving a stride out to the last oxer as Authentic’s enthusiasm got the best of her.

“I was also a little bit worried about Authentic, and he got pretty strong with me in the end. I did the six to the last fence without meaning to, but he’s a clever, amazing horse,” she said.

Michaels-Beerbaum, who rode plenty of Thoroughbreds in her youth growing up in the junior ranks in the United States, rode Authentic easily, and similarly to Madden.

The riders’ eyebrows all raised when they went to get on Michaels-Beerbaum’s Shutterfly. The bay gelding–always a little wide-eyed in the ring–didn’t handle the final four routine of saddling and mounting in the ring very well. Getting the saddle on him was a challenge for his groom, German national coach Kurt Gravemeier, and Michaels-Beerbaum’s husband, Markus. Shutterfly spun around, kicked out and reared. And riders had to get on him quickly, and sometimes while he was in motion.

“That was very difficult for him. He’s very sensitive to noise–that’s why I never take him in prize-givings or parades. I knew, and his groom knew, that this would be very tough for him. That’s the sport,” Michaels-Beerbaum said. “Considering how tough it was on him mentally, he did a great job jumping for all the riders. Every rider could see that once they were on him and they rode him in the ring, he concentrated on the fences and calmed down. But he’s going to need a vacation.”

Alexander’s rail on Shutterfly came at the third fence, dropping her out of the medals. “Shutterfly is an extremely quick, sharp horse, and I think I came a little close to that fence, and maybe had too much in my hand,” Alexander said. “I was very happy to be in the final four. Someone had to be fourth, and, unfortunately, that’s me, but it was fantastic. I was never even expecting to get to this position, so of course I’m very happy.”

Alexander’s horse, Isovlas Pialotta, is familiar to Americans because she was formerly Lynne Little’s grand prix mount. After being sold back to Europe, Pialotta, now 15, won consistently with riders such as Rolf-G�ran Bengtsson of Sweden and Tatiana Freytag von Loringhoven of Austria, and was sixth in the 2005 FEI Budweiser World Cup Final with Steve Geurdat, after which Alexander took over the ride.

Alexander, 32, is a native of Australia, but now lives in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands, with her trainer and boyfriend Jan Tops.

Molly Sorge