Julien Epaillard and his homebred gelding Donatello D’Auge stormed to the top of the leaderboard in the opening leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland, on Tuesday, while Lillie Keenan and Kick On put the United States on the podium in Round 1 with their third-place finish. 

Swiss course designer Gérard Lachat set a strong but delicate track for the first of the three competitions that comprise the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final. This competition is run as a speed class under Table C rules, where fences down are penalized by time added (3 seconds for each fence lowered) rather than faults. Unlike the usual speed classes that athletes are accustomed to, this opening leg, while directly against the clock, is run over a Table A course—a full track with technically demanding lines and elements, set at 1.60 meters to place the emphasis on jumping rather than pure speed. 

Epaillard, whose comfort with speed has earned him the nickname the “Flying Frenchman,” has evidently mastered the technical requirements of Basel’s St. Jakobshalle arena as he topped the podium here for the second time this year, having taken victory in the city’s Longines FEI Jumping World Cup qualifying leg in January.

“I just hope I didn’t ask too much today, there’s a lot more fences to jump,” he said, before praising the venue and his homebred partner. 

“I’m so proud, this horse is like family, he is so special to us” he said of the 12-year-old Selle Français (Jarnac—Tequila D’Auge, Hello Pierville). “He loves it here; the ground is very good. He’s barefoot so good ground is very important for him.”

Watch their winning round, courtesy of FEI.tv:

Broken Foot Doesn’t Bother Maher

Great Britain’s Ben Maher, despite having recently broken his foot, piloted Point Break to a speedy second-placed finish over the 1.60-meter track, stopping the clock in 60.43 seconds. 

Maher was modestly dismissive of the potential handicap presented by his foot, an injury sustained less than a week ago. Although struggling to walk, he is able to ride albeit with his stirrup “in a different position,” he said. 

“Point Break felt confident and relaxed, which is really important for him,” Maher said. “There’s a long way to go, but I’m really proud of him. It’s his first championship test and he feels ready.”

Keenan Leads U.S. Contingent

Keenan and Kick On, an 11-year-old British Sport Horse stallion (Warrior—Sussex Caretino, Caretino Glory) owned by Chansonette Farm and cared for by Kelly Rohe, were impressive in their FEI Jumping World Cup Final debut, finishing their round in 60.69 seconds, to put the U.S. on the podium and secure a competitive ranking on the leaderboard to begin the competition heading into today’s second round.

Behind her, Katie Dinan and Out of the Blue SCF also jumped a faultless round to sit in 11th, while Alessandra Volpi and Gipsy Love are tied for 12th after also producing a clear round effort for the stars and stripes. 

“Tonight was a very good showing for our riders with three in the top 12 and one on the podium to start the week,” U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland said. “Most importantly, I felt like each of them rode like they belong here, and put in a very strong effort to begin this final in Basel.”

The first round of the final demands evaluation of risk versus reward to dictate the tone, and Keenan and “Ken” rode their plan in the compact indoor arena.

“To be in the top three is very surreal,” Keenan said. “My coach McLain Ward is here, we walked a plan to win, but my horse is inexperienced at this level so I expected to have to improvise—but I didn’t need to! My first step now is to enjoy this moment, then reset, take a breath take it day by day and enjoy the ride.”

Keenan said the stallion “has every quality you could dream of” in a horse.

“Ken was incredible tonight,” she said. “With the first leg being a speed—and, as they said when it started, the past six years the winner of the final has won the first day—my plan was really to take the winning track. I left out in a few places that were risky, but I knew my horse could do it. I think that’s a testament to the partnership we build with our horses and how special our sport is.”

Dinan earned 11^th with a time of 64.76 seconds, with Volpi close behind at 64.81.

For the rest of the U.S. contingent, Kristen Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Jireh hold 21st overall, after adding 3 seconds to their score to finish with a time of 67.34 seconds. Kaitlin Campbell and Castlefield Cornelious also just had one down, adding 3 penalties to their time of 65.24 seconds to sit in 24th. Alise Oken and Gelvera slotted in just behind Campbell, with a single rail falling during their round to finish on 68.37 seconds. Shawn Casady and Cool Quarz hold 28th overall with 3 penalties added to their time of 67.01 seconds. McKayla Langmeier and Mimosa VD Rollebeek round out the top 35 heading into tomorrow’s class, with 9 penalties added to their time of 68.40.

The second round of jumping competition will begin at 8:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. Eastern Time) today and will run in reverse order of the final standings from Round I and in a Table A format with a first round and jump-off.

See complete results here.

The first round of competition in the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois FEI Dressage World Cup Final took place Friday. See results here, and stay tuned for a report.