AMERICA'S RICH FELLERS WINS LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX AT ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP FINALS

The competition took place at the Thomas & Mack Center on a rest-day for the jumping horses taking part in the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals which run through Sunday.  The Finals feature World Cup Finals in the two Olympic disciplines of show jumping and dressage, and the Jumping title will be decided in Sunday's third-leg showdown.

Just five of the 24 starters went clear to go into the second-round Las Vegas Grand Prix jump-off and 19 year old sensation, Laura Teodori from Scottsdale, Oregon led the way against the clock with Kasoar D'Uxelles.

Two fences down this time out left her vulnerable however and when Prince Abdullah produced a foot-perfect run in 38.61 seconds with Mobily Ashkur Allah Obelix he went into the lead.

Norway's Geir Gulliksen and Sundal Colliers Cattani hit the vertical third fence and then also clipped the first part of the following double to pose no threat, but when Fellers came cantering into the ring with Kilkenny Rindo he clearly meant business.

Setting off in a great rhythm with the 11 year old gelding, the 49 year old from Wilsonville, Oregon cruised around the seven-fence track riding smooth corner-cutting turns but never looking under any pressure as he shaved almost two seconds off the target time, and when Schroder and Eurcommerce Seattle hit the second fence it was a done deal. 

Fellers agreed that this victory was a great omen ahead of Sunday's third and last leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final.  "Confidence plays a big part in a major like this so today's win is a great boost" he said.  He only discovered how owners, Doug and Sharon Boyd, sourced Kilkenny Rindo when meeting top horse dealer Paul Hendrycks during the course-walk.  "He told me he sold the horse to the Boyd's as a five year old" he explained. 

Spectators were also treated to a fun exhibition in the International Reining Celebrity Challenge in which world-class show jumpers and dressage competitors pulled on their cowboy boots and went Western.

The chance to see riders of the calibre of 2004 Olympic champion show jumper Rodrigo Pessoa from Brazil, Will Simpson of the US and Holland's nine-time World Cup champion Anky van Grunsven in Western gear proved a big crowd-puller.  Riding circles, speed transitions, sliding stops, roll-backs and head-turning spins the stars did not disappoint and the US side of Simpson, dressage specialist Charlotte Bredahl-Baker, and US Reining Champion Rick Weaver won through.

The American Quarter Horses performed to perfection, but NRHA professional and Open World Champion Ann Fonck found herself in trouble with one of the spins. "I don't know what happened there, I think I was enjoying myself too much because the crowd were so great!" she admitted later. 

Weaver said "the whole experience of sharing time with expert horseman in other disciplines was wonderful.  The quality of the horses and the horsemen and women was unbelievable.  We were almost having too much fun out there!"  And Simpson agreed with that.  "I'm ready to go back to the barn and find another one of those great horses right now" he said.

American riders are in with a real chance of snatching the coveted Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping title for the first time in 22 years.  The last US champion was Katherine Bursdall who claimed the trophy riding The Natural in Paris, France back in 1987. Rich Fellers goes into Sunday's final challenge lying fourth with his Irish-bred Flexible and McLain Ward, from Brewster, NY, lies second with Sapphire ahead of Dutchman Albert Zoer and Oki Doki who separates the two main home-side contenders.

After the first two rounds however, it seems that only an unlikely error by defending champions Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly can prevent the German rider from capitalising on her double-victory this week and taking the title for the third time.