With U.S. rider Molly Ashe and Cocu standing on top of the leader board with a clear in 43.06 seconds, Pessoa entered the ring as the sixth to go and paused to scope out the course one more time before asking Baloubet to pick up a gallop.
Baloubet looked fresh and bucked playfully in the first round but got down to business in the tiebreaker. He shaved the turns and dug into the turf to stop the clock in 39.95 seconds with all the rails up.
Pessoa said he really saved time throughout the twisty jump-off course by making tighter turns and employing all the short cuts he could. He was confident that Baloubet was on his game.
“He felt really good,” said Pessoa of his Selle Francais who had earned the individual silver medal at the Athens Olympics. “The Olympics didn’t take anything out of him.”
Ashe was thrilled with her gray mare, Cocu. “I couldn’t have gone any faster,” she said smiling. “I think that was pretty much all I could do–it’s hard to beat Rodrigo when he’s on turbo.”
Even though Canadian Eric Lamaze had trouble getting his Lorrain Z into the ring for the jump-off–he had to dismount and lead her in on foot–the 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood jumped superbly to post the third double-clear round of the class, good for third place (0-0/47.97).
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The EnCana Cup is traditionally held in two phases. The first phase, which began at 4 p.m., included 10 riders and the second phase, at 5 p.m., had the remaining 28 contenders. In the past, going early in the class has been a bonus because of the added daylight, and this year three riders went clear–Landwind 19 with Scott Smith of Great Britain, Lorrain Z and Lamaze of Canada and Anne Kursinski with her venerable partner, Eros. The remaining 28 riders returned at 5 p.m. to conclude the class and five more earned the right to jump-off in the diminishing light.
Leopoldo Palalcios’ challenging first-round course featured 12 fences and 15 efforts, and the tight time allowed made it an even more exacting test. U.S. rider Sheila Burke had a wonderful clear round but just took .55 seconds too long for 1 time fault and 10th place aboard Caya.
Fence 6, the Sydney jump, was particularly challenging in both rounds and came down regularly. The sky-blue planks, on flat cups, also included a bottom panel that resembled the city skyline.
When Eros tapped it with his hind legs in the jump-off, it was the only mistake he made on his way to fourth place with Kursinski. Eros, 17, jumped beautifully over the first round, giving no indication of his status as one of the oldest horses in the class. Kursinski talked him over the final 1.60-meter EnCana vertical as he took off, and then rewarded him with abundant pats on the neck after they crossed the timers with a clear round.
Quriel and Norman Dello Joio also dropped one rail on the way to fifth place in 43.60 seconds. Quibell and Jessica Kurten of Ireland were sixth (0-8/40.81) and Check Mate 4 with German Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum was seventh after a refusal at the Sydney jump (0-11/57.15). Smith and Landwind had difficulty and finished eighth (0-15/57.24).
Tomorrow’s action includes the BP Cup in the morning and the featured BMO Financial Group Nation’s Cup in the afternoon. For complete results see www.sprucemeadows.com.
