The course was exquisitely designed, the jumps were meticulously placed, and the distance was precisely wheeled.

And in the end, only Jos Lansink and Cumano mastered Leopoldo Palacios’ two-round challenge in the world’s richest grand prix, the $773,931 CN International.

“These courses from Leopoldo are always very difficult from start to finish,” said Lansink, adding that the CN International is more difficult than the Olympics. “Here you only have one double-clear and no jump-off. That says it all.”

Palacios agreed. “I am always working for just one double-clean here,” said the Venezuelan designer who was also the technical delegate at the Athens Olympics. “And God has given me that pleasure many times, including this year.”

After collecting just about every color of ribbon in this class over the past decade, the Belgian rider finally took the coveted red ribbon and $251,575 in the featured class at the Spruce Meadows Masters, Sept. 8-12 in Calgary, Alta.

“I was fourth last year, and I’ve been second and third, but I was missing the big one,” he said. “That we did today.”

Aboard his gleaming gray stallion Cumano, Lansink, 43, a five-time Olympian, accrued just 1 time fault.

“Every rider has a dream to win this class, and my dream came true today,” said Lansink with a grin.

Lansink, who rode for the Netherlands prior to changing his citizenship in 2001, has been partnered with the 11-year-old Holsteiner (by Cassini) for the past two years. Because Cumano is used extensively for breeding, he’s taken out of work from January to April.

“He is a great horse with tremendous ability,” said Lansink. “I am fortunate to have him.”

German Olympic team gold medalist Christian Ahlmann and Coester lowered a rail in the first round at the innocuous fence 2, but they were the only pair to earn a perfect score in the second round. With 4 faults in 86.26 seconds, Ahlmann claimed second and $154,815.

Robert Smith of Great Britain and Mr. Springfield continued their successful tournament–they also won the $19,239 Prudential Steel Cup on Thursday–and dropped one rail in the second round to claim third with a slower time than Ahlmann (0-4/95.66). Mr. Springfield misjudged the first element of the triple combination and actually managed to clear the second element after carrying a rail between his legs.

Riders approached the white-railed combination of oxer-oxer-vertical off of a left-hand turn. The downhill element, adjacent to the in-gate, also included two liverpools to add to the difficulty.

“I should like to see a replay of that [fence],” quipped Smith, who earned $77,407 for third. “Everybody said I came in too tight, but I didn’t want to fly in there. I don’t think he got his eye on it.”

Ludger Beerbaum, the No. 2-ranked rider in the world and winner of the Olympic team gold medal last month, guided Gladdys S to fourth place after difficulties in the same triple combination (0-5/93.29).

Battling The Elements

The feisty Calgary weather made the first-round course especially challenging. The first half of the field of 43 had to contend with biting wind and cold rain, while those at the end faced wet turf and bright sunlight. To make matters more difficult, Palacios’ testing 14-fence course had such a tight time allowed that riders had to cut the turns wherever possible to finish within 101 seconds.

Palacios admitted he was concerned when the first horse on course, Mr. Springfield and Smith, jumped clear and within the time. “That worried me too much,” he said, laughing. “But I know Robert and know this horse from the Olympics, and they are in my sights.”

But it wasn’t until Jessica Kurten of Ireland and Quibell, the 24th in the order, that anyone jumped a second clear round.

Rails dropped throughout the course, but the most challenging aspects were the triple combination of CN Trains at 9ABC and the Dutch Bicycle fence at 12. The final fence, No. 14, the Canadian Planks, also caused heartbreak for riders whose tired horses just couldn’t clear the final 1.60-meter (5′ 21³2″) test.

Lauren Hough missed earning a bonus of $347,163 when she had 9A down aboard Clasiko and placed 19th. Hough had won two earlier events in the CN Precision Series at Spruce Meadows–the Direct Energy Preferred Grand Prix and the CN Performance Grand Prix–but she still pocketed a $38,583 bonus.

Cocu and Molly Ashe, second in the $77,050 EnCana Cup earlier in the week behind Rodrigo Pessoa and Baloubet Du Rouet, had their only faults at the Dutch Bicycle.

There were nine riders with clear rounds, and the fastest three of the four-faulters joined them for the second round, including Beezie Madden, who squeaked into the top 12 with a splash in the water as her only fault with Authentic.

Madden believed Authentic misjudged the take-off to the water. “He got confused and left a whole stride early,” she said. “I think the box in front was curved, and I was heading inside the curve and he left before it. When I went to ride him forward to the last stride he just left the ground.”

As the 12th qualifier, they returned first in the second round and had their only error at the tricky triple combination. “It looked like a blur when you came down to it,” she said. “The distance was very tight.”

“I had a good feeling about the way he jumped yesterday, but it takes a lot to put [two clear rounds] together in this class,” she added. “And it didn’t happen today.”

Nevertheless, Madden’s score was good for eighth place, the best U.S. rider and the top woman rider in the class. She now ranks No. 4 in the FEI Gandini Jumping Riders World Ranking list and is the top woman rider in the world (see sidebar).

“I made a mistake in the second round, and he made a little mistake in the first round,” she added. “But he’s only 9, and he hasn’t done a section II class here before. He just started jumping in grand prix classes this time last year, so I’m actually thrilled with how he went. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Pessoa, the world’s No. 1-ranked rider, and Baloubet Du Rouet returned in the second round as the class leaders with the fastest first-round clear, but Baloubet slipped on the soft turf rolling back to the fourth fence and pulled the rail. The Selle Franç¡©s stallion also dropped fence 9 for 8 faults and eventual seventh place.

Montender and Marco Kutscher, the German heroes in Athens, had a perfect first round, but the elegant, dark brown stallion dislodged the middle element of the triple combination and also logged 1 time fault for fifth place (0-5/93.36). Likewise, crowd favorite Nick Skelton, of Great Britain, and Arko III had 5 faults in the second round to claim sixth (0-5/96.90).

Shutterfly and German Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum mastered the first round but then had difficulty in the second phase. Shutterfly refused fence 2 and then a rail in the triple for 9 faults with the added time.

Germany Dominates–Again

After earning the gold medal at the Athens Olympics, the German team traveled to Spruce Meadows with two of their gold-medal members, Ahlmann and Beerbaum. To contest them, the U.S. team brought two of its silver-medal riders in Madden and McLain Ward.

So it was a classic rematch as the two teams duked it out in the $192,910 BMO Financial Group Nations Cup on Sept. 11. After several days of overcast skies and temperatures in the 40s, the sun finally arrived, and riders and the 49,820 show jumping fans enjoyed warmer weather (in the 60s).

In the end, Germany prevailed as they did in Athens (and they successfully defended their Spruce Meadows Nations Cup title) with two riders with double-clear rounds and 8 faults over the two rounds. The U.S. team faded in the second round as no one could jump clear, and they finished runners-up with 24 faults.

Riders described Palacios’ Nations Cup course as technical and “big enough.” The Rainbow Butterfly triple combination at 10ABC, a vertical-vertical-oxer, factored in the results. The striding was a tight two strides to a one-stride with a wide oxer coming out. Many horses caught the back rail behind.

It was here that Madden and Authentic had their only faults in the first round.

Immediately following was the infamous Dutch Bicycle fence at fence 11, which came down more than a dozen times. It was made more difficult because riders approached it after a 90-degree left-hand turn, and it faced directly toward the in-gate.

But rails also fell routinely at the BMO double combination at 7AB and at the final fence, No. 12, an imposing oxer adjacent to the in-gate. Spruce Meadows acquired this fence, the Athens Coin jump, which depicts the history of the horse, after the Olympics concluded. It made for a beautiful but challenging finale.

Germany edged the U.S. team after the first round as they registered three perfect scores from Shutterfly with Michaels-Beerbaum, Lucie 55 with Lars Nieberg, and Gladdys S with Beerbaum. Ahlmann and Coester dropped the rail on the Dutch Bicycle fence.

With two beautiful clear rounds, the U.S. team remained in contention, thanks to Ward, aboard Sapphire, and Richard Spooner, aboard Robinson. Madden’s four-fault score counted because Alison Firestone and Casanova accrued 12 faults.

Great Britain and Belgium finished the first round tied with 16 faults, while Canada had 17 faults and the Netherlands 24. The Netherlands, fourth-placed at the Athens Olympics, had a disadvantage as their team was a last-minute entry and they were only able to field three riders.

Spooner, who was interviewed by Spruce Meadows commentator Ian Allison during a commercial break, said he was especially thrilled to have kept the U.S. team going strong with the much-needed clear first round. Allison noted team Chef d’Equipe Frank Chapot, standing at the in-gate during Spooner’s round, had erupted in an uncharacteristic outburst of happiness after his ride.

“I’m very happy to make Frank happy when he’s chef d’equipe,” Spooner said with a laugh.

In the second round, Michaels-Beerbaum kept Germany’s momentum strong by posting another clear round, while Ward lowered two rails down with Sapphire, including the Dutch Bicycle.

Firestone and Casanova improved their performance with a four-fault round. Casanova jumped into the triple combination with power but just couldn’t clear the final oxer.

Ahlmann and Coester began well, but the gray stallion dropped his toes twice, at the Dutch Bicycle fence and the Athens Oxer, for 8 faults.
Spooner couldn’t replicate his first-round clear and collected 8 faults. He rode aggressively to the water, but Robinson didn’t seem impressed and stepped on the tape. The two then had a bit of a disagreement coming into the triple combination, and the gray couldn’t clear the back rail of 11C.

“I wish I’d gone clear, but Robinson did the best he could,” said Spooner. “In the second round he was really amped. I pulled as hard as I could [to the triple]. But he’s like a boxer–he gets very excited.”

Nevertheless, Spooner was pleased with their performances for the team. “I know it’s one of the last, if not the last, teams for which Frank will be the chef d’equipe. And I’m proud to be a part of that,” he noted.

Nieberg then solidified Germany’s top placing by jumping another clear aboard Lucie 55.

Because the U.S. team couldn’t defeat Germany at this point, neither Madden nor Beerbaum rode the second round. The U.S. finished with 20 faults for the round and 24 faults total to Germany’s 8 faults.

“I’ve been very blessed to have a horse like Shutterfly with the ability to jump these fences,” said Michaels-Beerbaum, who missed the Masters last year due to a broken leg. “He likes this field out here, and it’s been a really good season.”

The Canadian team posted two clears in the second round–Eric Lamaze riding Tempete V/H Lindehof and Ian Millar with Promise Me–to finish just behind the U.S. team, with 25 faults. Harold Chopping, riding Kathleen, and Jill Henselwood, with Special Ed, completed the team. It was the best Canadian Spruce Meadows Nations Cup finish since 1992.

“Drunk” On Speed

On Saturday morning, Ludo Philippaerts of Belgium topped the $57,793 BP Cup, a classic speed derby, over Beerbaum on Champion Du Lys. Spooner placed third with the fastest time but two rails down aboard Bradford.

Spooner, who’d won three events in this Molson Canadian Six-Pack Series on the Spruce Meadows summer tour, was riding for a $46,288 added bonus if he could win this event. But he couldn’t overcome the added seconds for the dislodged rails and settled for third-placed money.

“After the first fence came down I went faster, and then after the second one came down I went even faster,” said Spooner, smiling. But he and the 14-year-old, gray Thor-oughbred could only finish 1.28 seconds short of the victory.

Spooner, Burbank, Calif., had one more chance on Sunday morning to capture the bonus in the grand finale of the Six-Pack Series, the $57,858 Molson Cup. But it wasn’t to be. The results were a d骠 vu of the opening day’s Cinergy Cup as the top three riders repeated their exact placings. Madden and Con-quest II conquered this top group of speed horses ahead of Philippaerts with Tauber VH Kapelhof and Rich Fellers aboard McGuiness.

Madden celebrated in the International Ring during the awards ceremony by accepting a toast from the beer-filled Molson Boot and hoisting a check for
$20,057 (Alta.) aloft in celebration.

She and Conquest II, sixth in the order of 33, galloped and jumped so fast that no one else could catch them. They stopped the clock in 80.59 seconds with a brilliant round.

“He’s a naturally careful horse,” said Madden. “So I can really go as fast as I want to, and he’ll leave the jumps up.”

Philippaerts and his 8-year-old, black, Belgian Warmblood stallion (by Darco) settled for second place in 82.01 seconds. Fellers and McGuiness finished just a few fractions (82.77 seconds).