SporthorseTV Editor

The sheer class of the German winner's 16 year old gelding determined the result on a day when Anthony D'Ambrosio's course building tested many to the very limit.  For Shutterfly however limits don't seem to exist.  No fence is too high or too wide, and the clinching second-round run from this partnership was an exhibition of near-perfection. 

Stamina and concentration played a major role in the closing stages, but most of the leading contenders proved equal to the challenge and none of the top three finishers lowered a pole throughout three days of world-class jumping. Lying fourth however, America's Rich Fellers and Flexible slipped two places with a double-error and then disappeared from the reckoning when adding another 22 faults second time out.

Switzerland's Christina Liebherr produced a career-defining performance when anchoring the runaway No Mercy to great effect in both rounds and this moved her up from fifth to fourth in the final analysis, but the real battle was played out among three great proponents of the sport.  Perhaps Ward and Zoer are a little unlucky that their two heroic mounts are at the top of their game at the same time as Michaels-Beerbaum's extraordinary horse.  The American rider's mare Sapphire and the Dutchman's great gelding Oki Doki are exceptional by any measure, but Shutterfly has once again shown that he is in a class of his own. 

Ward said afterwards that if he had the chance to do it all again he wouldn't do it any differently - "my horse and I gave everything we had" he pointed out. 

Having established the advantage in Thursday's opening speed leg, Michaels-Beerbaum then reinforced her position with another definitive victory in Friday's two-rounder and sealed the result with clinical efficiency in Sunday's decider.  The first-round track was plenty demanding but D'Ambrosio stretched them even further in round two, the double of massive oxers on entry to the triple combination and the final 1.85m-wide spread asking for everything, and more.

Liebherr had ensured fourth position with a second action-packed clear before Zoer returned to follow suit with Oki Doki and when Ward and Sapphire were foot-perfect once again the only thing that could change the orders was a mistake from the leading partnership.  A tiny tap at the opening vertical however was the only  thing to be heard in an otherwise flawless tour of the track by the winners who mesmerised the crowd with their sheer brilliance.

"Horses like Shutterfly only come along once in a lifetime" the 39 year old German rider said, "and I'm very lucky to have such a great team.  Shutterfly has the same groom for 10 years now and he and I are like an old married couple, we know each other so well.  He won't take too much work in the warm-up, he's a bit fragile in there, but we are a great example of how the partnership between the horse and rider plays its role in success" she added.

Ward agreed, pointing out that Sapphire is cared for by staff who have been working for his family for 23 years while Zoer never hides the enormous affection he feels for the horse that has secured his position at the top end of the sport. "Oki Doki fights for me every time he goes into the ring - I really love him" he simply said.

Michaels-Beerbaum talked about her preparation before going into the ring which is also a team effort.  "Because Shutterfly doesn't like to do too much its a nerve-control thing for me - its not easy to do very little before going in to jump at a big championship" she said.  "I try to keep him happy, my husband Markus tries to keep me calm and my groom also keeps a rein on me" she explained.

With Geneva, Switzerland selected for the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Finals next year and Leipzig, Germany, 's Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands and Goteborg in Sweden scheduled for the following three seasons while the Dressage will go to 's Hertogenbosch in 2010 there has been much speculation about the equestrian highlight returning to Las Vegas.  FEI First Vice-President, Sven Holmberg, said "it's really not good for world events to be held too often in Europe" and then Las Vegas World Cup Show Jumping Manager Robert Ridland announced a strong bid to bring the 2014 Finals back to the US city which has injected such energy, showmanship and excitement into the series which has become so popular over the last 31 years.

"This show is too good to give it up" he pointed out.  No-one disagrees about that, and Holmberg added that the US 2014 bid would be "very well received".

The 44 year old rider from San Diego, California edged Germany's double World Cup champion Isabel Werth into runner-up position with an inspirational performance, while nine-time winner Anky Van Grunsven from The Netherlands had to settle for third.

The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals conclude Sunday with the Jumping final.  The Finals feature World Cup Finals in the two Olympic disciplines of show jumping and dressage.

This was just the second-ever US victory in the 23-year history of the Dressage World Cup - the previous American to take title was Debbie McDonald who, on Friday, officially retired the great mare Brentina who carried her to World Cup success in 2003.

Peters was chasing Werth's leading score of 84.500% when third-last into the arena.  The German rider's 15 year old gelding Satchmo can be nervous and fearful on occasions, but he kept his cool to produce spectacular movements this time out and snatch the lead from Dutchman Hans Peter Minderhoud and Exquis Nadine who were real crowd-pleasers.  There had been something magical about Peters and Ravel all week.

During Wednesday's warm-up the crowd went crazy with excitement as they watched them in practice and they went wilder still when the US duo topped Thursday's Grand Prix.  If the noise level was difficult to cope with then, it faded into insignificance compared to Freestyle night however, when the spectators simply could not contain their excitement.  Peters admitted he was "concerned" when they started clapping and screaming with delight as he worked his way through near-perfect piaffe and passage but Ravel didn't let him down.  "I could see his ears were still pointing towards me and not to the crowd so I knew he was still listening to me.  There was amazing electricity in there and it was hard for the dressage fans to hold back - honestly I appreciate it!" he said.  

At the Olympic Games in Hong Kong last summer they finished just out of the medals in fourth place but everything this partnership has already achieved is extraordinary.  The trip to China came just seven months after Peters started riding this horse who just continues to grow in confidence and ability.  "Ravel has improved so much and I didn't have to push him tonight, he was just so with me all the time.  He's naturally a very level-headed horse" he explained.  "Even before the Grand Prix when I schooled him I knew this could be good here in Las Vegas.  I can't take too much credit for his mind, that's just the way he was born" he pointed out.

The crowd exploded as he came up the center line to finish but there was an agonising wait for the score which saw him take the lead by less than half a percentage point and then it was time to sit back and watch Van Grunsven take her turn with IPS Painted Black who earned a mark of 82.500% which proved no danger. "The degree of difficulty in my test could have been bigger" the Dutch rider admitted, "and we did make a mistake in the changes but I'm really pleased - he tried to do well and its great for the sport that Steffen has won. It shouldn't always be Anky and Isabell" she added, referring to the long-time dominance of these two giants of the sport.  "Of course we will go home now and practice a lot to be sure we beat him the next time!" she added.

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.

The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals continue at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas through Sunday.  The Finals feature World Cup Finals in the two Olympic disciplines of show jumping and dressage.

Last to go in the thrilling 13-horse jump-off the American-born German rider produced an ice-cool run with the sensational 16 year old Shutterfly, but it didn't go quite to plan for all the other leading contenders.

Switzerland's Christina Liebherr lost her second-place ranking allowing America's McLain Ward to move up from third into runner-up position, and after US rider Rich Fellars and Denmark's Thomas Velin also faulted it is The Netherland's Albert Zoer who lies third going into Sunday's finale. 

With the results of the first two days' competition now recalculated into points Michaels-Beerbaum carries a zero score going into the last of the three final classes but has only a two-point advantage over ward while Zoer is a further two points behind followed closely by Fellers.  There is no room for error at the top end, and the leader knows it.  "I never quite understand the scoring system for the World Cup but it definitely makes for excitement right to the end!" Michaels-Beerbaum said.

A total of 13 horse and rider combinations found the key to another masterful track from course-designer Anthony D'Ambrosio who admitted however that he got more clears in the first round than he had expected.  "I may have been a bit conservative tonight, because I was thinking ahead to Sunday" he explained, but Michaels-Beerbaum was not complaining.

Sweden's Helena Lundback and Madick produced the first jump-off clear before America's Richard Spooner and Cristallo shaved almost three seconds off their target time but, fourth into the timed round, Beezie Madden was even faster again for the host country with a great ride on the novice nine year old Danny Boy.  Another three horses came in the ring before Zoer set off with Oki Doki who reset the parameters when breaking the beam with a thrilling run in 34.72 seconds but Ward and Sapphire raised the roof when stopping the clock on 33.77 seconds to take the lead with only two more to follow them into the ring. 

Liebherr's normally electric No Mercy had been unusually calm in Thursday's class but as she turned the gelding into the second fence, an oxer, this time out the communication system broke down and they had to make a turn before taking it on a second time.  When they also lowered a fence and collected time penalties their 10-fault score saw them drop down the order.

Shutterfly however was the epitomy of cool and with the greatest of ease the defending champion got a great shot to the double at the half-way stage and another great corner-cutting angle to the following vertical to keep them well in touch.  A fearless gallop to the last sealed the result with clinical efficiency, the Rolex clock showing 32.77 seconds as the winning time.
  
Asked afterwards how many Rolex watches she has collected during qualifying rounds and her two previous final successes, she answered that, if she wasn't riding any more, she would have enough to open a watch store.  Discussing her ride she said "I didn't see McLain go but Shutterfly is super-fast by nature and he was really 'on' tonight". 

McLain knows that he is carrying US hopes on his capable shoulders going into the last day but he was well-pleased with his performance.  "I was a bit anxious in the first round which was hard for my horse because it all about adding strides which doesn't suit her but she was brilliant in the jump-off" he said.  He didn't seem quite convinced however that he could oust the leader from top position.  "Today i went as fast as I could go - we just couldn't have gone any faster" while Zoer was simply happy that, after a long and difficult recovery from the badly-broken leg which kept him out of the Dutch Olympic team last summer, he was well-satisfied with his result.  "All I need on Sunday is two double-clears, that's my target!" he said.   But Meredith pointed out that she intends to "try to hold the form we've had so far this week right through to the end".  In that case a hat-trick of Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping titles seems very much on the cards for this extraordinary partnership.

The Saturday schedule at the Thomas & Mack Center is packed with action beginning with the Las Vegas Grand Prix.  This is not a leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ final, but riders will be keen to earn some of the $75,000 prizemoney on offer. 

Many of the world's top dressage and jumping riders have been taking a crash-course in the art of reining over the last few days, and stars including The Netherlands' Anky Van Grunsven, Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa and America's Will Simpson have signed up for the first-ever International Reining Celebrity Challenge during which they will be paired with National Reining Horse Association professionals Rick Weaver and Ann Fonck.

Nine-time World Cup champion Van Grunsven will be hoping that the sliding stops and mind-blurring spins won't throw her off course ahead of Saturday night's feature event - the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Dressage Freeystyle in which the horses and riders perform to music.

The 44 year old German-born US rider who is based in San Diego, California clinched victory with a score of 77.915%, pinning nine-time World Cup champion Anky Van Grunsven into second spot while German star and two-time World Cup winner Isabell Werth had to settle for third place.

The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals continue at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas through Sunday.  The Finals feature World Cup Finals in the two Olympic disciplines of show jumping and dressage.

The competition began with a difficult ride for Jan Ebeling whose 12 year old mare, Rafalca, proved arena-shy on this big occasion and fellow-American, Leslie Morse, also experienced deep disappointment when her 17 year old stallion, Kingston, was eliminated after becoming unsound at the beginning of his test.  Morse was devastated after leaving the ring on foot after the Ground Jury rang the bell to call a halt to her effort. "I had the most powerful amazing ride yesterday.  It felt like eight or nine years of togetherness had come together to such a fun time" she said afterwards.  "I could tell in the first corner, he felt unbalanced and I knew he wasn't right.  We respect the Ground Jury's decision....it was absolutely in the best interest of the horse..."she agreed.

Ashley Holzer of Canada went into the lead with Pop Art just before the half-way break, but The Netherlands' Hans Peter Minderhoud pushed them down the order with a better mark for Exquis Nadine before Werth and Satchmo changed the leaderboard once again when fourth-last of the 14 starters to take their turn.  Werth's score of 73.745% was immediately surpassed by a mark of 74.170% from the defending champion whose horse, IPS Painted Black, produced some spectacular extended trot.

It was Peters however who completely stole the show with a magical performance from his 11 year old bay gelding.  Just as they had done in the practice session the previous day, the pair remained totally in tune with one another, Ravel earning nine out of 10 marks from one judge for his excellent piaffe and two nine-point marks for a fabulous extended canter while Peters himself was awarded nine points for his riding position.  Fans at the ringside waved a huge flag reading "Bring it home Steffen" and he did just that, the final partnership of Monica Theodorescu and Whisper finishing seventh when scoring 70.170%.

Van Grunsven could not bring her triple World Cup winning ride Keltec Salinero this time around and was further hampered during the qualification period by a recurring back injury which kept her periodically out of the saddle but she was pleased with her horse's effort.  "Riding him here has been a new challenge for me, I was not sure how it would be but his confidence is growing and I'm satisfied and feel very happy with my second place today" she said.

Werth said she had to be cautious when going into her first pirouette because Satchmo was nervous of the sound of camera-shutters - "please don't click on Saturday night!" she said with a laugh to the photographers. 

Ravel however was totally at ease in the electric atmosphere and Peters found it hard to describe his delight at the final result.  "He gave it all to me today, I didn't have to push him hard he just gave me all the movements - I'm beside myself with excitement!" he said. 

"He was just like this yesterday in the warm-up, even when the spectators were clapping and screaming when he was executing some of his movements.  He is showing so much more maturity since he competed at the Olympics in Hong Kong which was his first big international event.  Today we didn't have to hold back and I could take some calculated risks and they really paid off.  I can't tell you how happy I am!" he declared.

The Grand Prix result however does not influence the battle for the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup™ dressage title which will be decided on Saturday night during the Freestyle competition, and a huge influx of Californian supporters are expected to turn up to watch the battle played out under the Las Vegas spotlights.

Friday's schedule at the Thomas & Mack Center promises plenty more entertainment with world-class competition in the Olympic/Grand Prix Pas de Deux Challenge which will feature big stars performing in pairs.  This will be followed by the International Superstar Young Horse Exhibition but the highlight will be the emotional retirement of Debbie McDonald's mare Brentina, the only US dressage hose to win the World Cup final.  The partnership represented the USA at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and led the team to bronze medal position in Athens in 1999. 

"It was six years ago that Brentina and Debbie McDonald earned the United States' first and only FEI World Cup Final Championship, so it is only appropriate that they return here to Las Vegas to celebrate a career that is one of the all-time best in the sport of dressage" said Pat Christenson, President of Las Vegas Events.

RESULTS

Rafalca/Jan Ebeling USA: 53.915

 Kingston/Leslie Morse USA: Eliminated

 Diamore/Marco Bernal COL: 62.553

 Regardez Moi/Heath Ryan AUS: 64.638

 Don Charly/Minna Telde SWE: 68.979

 Bjorsells Briar 899/Jan Brink SWE: 70.043

 Pop Art/Ashley Holzer CAN: 72.511

 Jeanette Haazen/Nartan NED: 70.383

 Randon/MichalRapcewicz POL: 68.128

 Exquis Nadine/Hans Peter Minderhud NED: 73.064

 Satchmo/Isabell Werth GER: 73.702

 IPS Painted Black/Anky Van Grunsven NED: 74.170

Ravel/Steffen Peters USA: 77.915

 Whisper/Monica Theodorescu GER:70.128 

August 21st, 2008, Kong Kong, China---  Canada’s Eric Lamaze rode Hickstead to another clear round in the jump-off for Gold and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and Ninja had one down in the Gold medal jump-off to take home Silver for Sweden. They were the only two combinations to jump clear. Lamaze and Hickstead jumped four out of five clear rounds and won the first individual show jumping gold medal for Canada.

Madden and Authentic's time of 35.25 was the fastest of the three clears in the Bronze medal jump-off. Madden took a big risk jumping over some brush that was part of the course to save time and it paid off. MacLain Ward was the first US rider to try this and it worked well for him.

 1.    GER Germany          72.917

        Heike Kemmer/Bonaparte                                 72.250

        Nadine Capellmann/Elvis VA                            70.083

        Isabell Werth/Satchmo                                      76.417

       Hans Peter Minderhoud/Nadine                       69.625

      Imke Shellenkens-Bartles/Sunrise                   70.875

      Anky Van Grunsven/Salinero                            74.750

        Anne Van Olst/Clearwater                                67.375

       Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein/Digby                            70.417

       Andreas Helgstrand/ Don Shufro                    68.833

      Courtney King-Dye/Mythilus                           70.478

      Debbie McDonald/Brentina                              63.000

      Steffen Peters/Ravel                                         70.000

       Patrik Kittel/Floresco                                        67.125

       Tinne Silfven/Solos Carex                              66.042

       Jan Brink/Briar                                                    68.875

        Jane Gregory/Lucky Star                                63.375

        Emma Hindle/Lancet                                       71.125

        Laura Bechtelsheimer/Mistral Hojris            65.917

         Marc Boblet/Whitini Star                                66.125

        Julia Chevanne/Calimucho                           63.250

        Hubert Perring/Diabolo St Maurice             66.833

       Heath Ryan/Greenoaks Dundee                   62.542

       Hayley Beresford/Relampago                       65.583

       Kristy Oatley/Quando Quando                     65.750

         Leslie Reid/Orion                                            59.750

        Jaqueline Brooks/Gran Gesto                        63.750

        Ashley Holzer/Pop Art                                    67.042

         Yuko Kitai/Rambo                                           59.250

        Meiko Yagi/Dow Jones                                   60.167

        Hiroshi Hoketsu/Whisper                              62.542

         POR   Portugal            EL

        Daniel Pinto/Galopin De La Font                   63.083

        Carlos Pinto/Notavel                                       61.708

        Miguel Ralao Duarte/Oxalis                           RT

RESULTS

1. Anky Van Grunsven/Salinero         NED       Total GPS+GPF      78.680
2. Isabell Werth/Satchmo                GER        Total GPS+GPF      76.650
3. Heike Kemmer/Bonaparte            GER        Total GPS+GPF      74.455
4. Steffen Peters/Ravel                              USA        Total GPS+GPF      74.150
5. Hans P. Minderhoud/Nadine                 NED        Total GPS+GPF      73.035
6. Alexandra Korelova/Balagur                 RUS        Total GPS+GPF      72.625
7. Emma Hindle/Lancet                              GBR         Total GPS+GPF      72.345
8. Kyra Kyrkland/Max                                 FIN          Total GPS+GPF      71.985
9. Bernadette Pujals/Vincent                   MEX         Total GPS+GPF      71.675
10. Jan Brink/Briar                                         SWE         Total GPS+GPF      71.205
11. Andreas Helgstrand/Don Schufro      DEN         Total GPS+GPF      70.675
12. Tinne Silfven/Solos Carex                  SWE         Total GPS+GPF      70.345
13. Courtney King-Dye/Mythilus              USA          Total GPS+GPF      70.175
14.  Ashley Holzer/Pop Art                         CAN         Total GPS+GPF      70.105
15. Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein/Digby               DEN         Total GPS+GPF      69.110                            

RESULTS

        1.   USA                             Time: 115.41

Maclain Ward/Sapphire, Laura Kraut/Cedric, Will Simpson/Carlsson Vom Dach, Beezie Madden/Authentic

       2.  Canada                      Time: 76.67

Jill Henselwood/Special Ed, Eric Lamaze/Hickstead, Ian Millar/In Style (NS), Mac Cone/Ole (NS)

       3.   Norway

Stein Endresen/Le Beau, Morten Djupvik/Casino, Geir Gulliksen/Cattani, Tony Andre Hansen/Camiro

       4.   Switzerland

Christina Leibherr/No Mercy, Pius Schwitzer/Nobless M, Niklaus Schurtenberger/Cantus, Steve Guerdat/Jalisca Solier

       5.   Netherlands

Angelique Hoorn/O'Brien, Marc Houtzager/Opium, Vincent Voorn/Alpapillon-Armanie, Gerco Schroder/Monaco

       6.   Germany

Christian Ahlmann/Coster, Marco Kutcher/Cornet Obolensky, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum/Shutterfly, Ludger Beerbaum/All Inclusive

       7.   Great Britain

Nick Skelton/Russel, Tim Stockdale/Corlato, Ben Maher/Rolette, John Whitaker/Peppermill (NS)

       8.   Sweden

Peter Eriksson/Jaguar Mail, Lotta Schultz/Calibra II, Helena Lundback/Erbblume, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson/Ninja

        9.   Australia

Peter McMahon/Genoa, Laurie Lever/Drossel Dan, Edwina Alexander/Itot Du Chateau, Matt Williams/LeConte

 27 April, 2008, Goteborg, Sweden--- The 30th anniversary fixture at the Goteborg Horse Show in the Scandinavium delivered some of the most breath-taking show jumping ever seen. Riding for Ireland, Jessica Kuerten held the lead going into today's closing rounds but, just as the she had predicted on Friday night, it was her great rival who ruled, when Kuerten herself gave it to her by driving through instead of jumping over fence six, a narrow vertical, in the second to last round on Sunday in the final.

Meredith rode last and had the opportunity to watch as the other riders faced the course’s challenges. Shutterfly, a 15 year old gelding, had his work cut out for him at the triple combination in today's opening round but he just opened up his jump a little more, got the job done and brought her home clear. Shutterfly was relaxed and it all looked so very easy. Post-competition Meredith said, "He's been in a great mood here all week and he wasn't nervous at all. He enjoyed working in the warm-up ring which was very quiet and he reflected that in the ring."

Rich Fellers, the Oregon-based trainer, aboard his lovely stallion Flexible, seemingly appeared out of nowhere since he has spent little time competing in Europe, created a huge sensation when finishing second. Fellers credits his readiness for the competition to having ridden continuously throughout the HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA earlier in the year saying, "The indoor arena at HITS really gave us a sense of what a tight arena with crowds in the stands would be like." Flexible worked wonders for Rich against some tough odds having come back from two injuries, a broken scapula suffered in a turn out and what would be an angioplasty surgery for a human to correct a blocked artery in one of his forelegs. During our interview with Rich he said coming in he wasn’t sure what his chances were but that after Friday night he began to think there was potential for Flexible to come through. The Irish-bred 12 year old stallion is by Cruising out of a mare called Flex that was ridden by Edward Doyle. "You don't know what they can do until you ask them, and when I asked him this week to jump higher and go wider he just kept saying Okay," the rider pointed out. Flexible will be going home to Oregon for a much deserved rest according to Fellers.

Heinrich-Hermann Engemann and Aboyeur took the third place slot.

Course-designer Rolf Ludi designed some of the toughest, most technical courses that many of the competitors have ever seen ion Days one and two and presented two more fascinating tracks on the third and final afternoon. The courses demanded that the riders be accurate and that the horses perform to their maximum ability, stretching themselves over enormously high and wide oxers, tight turns and rollbacks and unusual distances between jumps.

Two of the 24 starters retired in the opening round; Judy-Ann Melchior and the adorable stallion Levisto Z after hitting two elements of the triple combination at fence eight and America's Todd Minikus and Olinda after dumping the narrow vertical at fence six. The triple came up quickly off a left-hand turn after a big oxer and fence six that also put an end to Kuerten's dominance. Kuerten, in the lead after the first two legs and having won the Grand Prix with Quibell on Saturday night, looked like shoe-in that just couldn't be stopped. But as all top riders are only too willing to admit, show jumping is the luck of the draw on any given day.

Belgium's Patrick McEntee produced the first clear round with Ever Mury Marais Z with the two Swedish riders Helena Lundback with Madick and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson with Ninja La Silla coming through clear as well. The packed stadium went wild. However in the standings, they were significantly behind the main players, carrying double-figure points after Thursday's Speed and Friday's Jump-Off classes.

Switzerland's Steve Guerdat and Tresor and Engemannin seventh place both went clear. He began to move up as Ludger Beerbaum fell victim to the middle-element of the triple with All Inclusive NRW and the defending champion, Beat Mandli from Switzerland, dropped two rails with Ideo du Thot.  Michaels-Beerbaum applied pressure and when the last three got into trouble she was in pole position. Peter Wylde’s rookie Esplanade picked up 12 faults, Fellar's stallion hit the vertical at six as did Kuerten and Castle Forbes Libertina, although the partnership recovered their cookies quickly to finish without further incident.

The second-round course was shorter with nine fences but the challenge was still very much there and course-builder Ludi admitted afterwards that he might have been a little kinder with the distance to the very final fence, a high vertical that came after the wide Rolex oxer. The distance called for either three pushing, or four short and snappy strides from the previous oxer and, time and again, the riders just couldn't master this one.  Wylde returned to show the huge promise of his amazing mare Esplanade to come up with the first clear. Mandli mastered the last distance too but Guerdat, now lying sixth, kicked out the final vertical as did Ludger Beerbaum when both attempted the distance on three strides while Kuerten, now fourth, slipped further down the order with a frustrating mistake at the very first fence. Fellers chipped in an extra stride on the last line and Flexible came through snapping up and over to hold his position with a clear round.

Engemann took a rail from the first jump of the double combination down which left Meredith Michaels Beerbaum to close the deal. The crowd went wild for over ten minutes as she cleared the last vertical that had been the downfall of so many before her in four strides. In post-competition press conference she said that she was very glad to have slayed the dragon of last year's final when she dropped out of contention due to a freaky fall.

'I'm very proud to win my second World Cup title and the first Rolex-sponsored World Cup final" said the rider who previously topped the line-up in Las Vegas in 2005. "Shutterfly showed he was in great form over three days and at 15 he is not young --- he was super and he never had a rail down. I'm pleased with myself today too, and glad I got him around safely," she added.

RESULTS
The first score are points carried into today's competition from the first two classes.

1, Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 4/0/0 - 4; 2, Flexible (Rich Fellars) USA 2/4/0 - 6; 3, Aboyeur W (Heinrich-Hermann Engemann) Ger 5/0/4 - 9; Equal 4, Ideo du Thot (Beat Mandli) Sui 4/8/0 - 12, All Inclusive NRW (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 4/4/4 - 12, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Ger 0/8/4 - 12; Equal 7, Esplanade (Peter Wylde) USA 3/12/0 - 15, Tresor (Steve Guerdat) Sui 10/0/5 - 15; 9, Suncal Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GBR 8/5/5 - 18; 10, Ninja la Silla (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe 15/0/4 - 19; 11, Madick (Helena Lundback) Swe 16/0/5 - 20; 12, Ever Mury Marais Z (Patrick McEntee) Bel 20/0/1 - 21; 13, Up Chiqui (Kent Farrington) USA 14/4/4 - 22; 14, Quick Study (Lauren Hough) USA 13/8/5 - 26; 15, Guarana Champeix (Rutherford Latham) Esp 18/6/5 - 29; 16, Isaac (Royne Zetterman) Swe 13/8/9 - 30; 17, Vancouver d'Auvrey (Danielle Torano) USA 20/8/9 - 36; 18, Cristallo (Richard Spooner) USA 18/8/16 - 42; 19, Summer (Mandy Porter) USA 18/8/22 - 48; 20, Ilostra Dark (Eugenie Angot) Fra 11/12; 21, Onira (Brianne Goutal) USA 19/20; 22, Oki Doki (Albert Zoer) Ned 17/Ret; 23, Olinda (Todd Minikus) USA 21/Ret/ 24, Levisto Z (Judy-Ann Melchior) Bel 22/Ret.

27 April, 2008, Goteborg, Sweden--- The first ever Dressage Invitational was well-recieved by the Goteborg crowds as the Dutch brought home a solid first place win with a team score of 417.433. The German team of Paula De Boer, Franziska Sauer and Weiger De Boer took second turning in a score of 391.542, followed very closely by the Danish team of Joan Jensen, Anna Kasprzak and Camilla Blicher and their 391.500. The Swedish teams came in fourth and fifth with scores of 391.117 for Sweden 1 and 329.250 for Sweden 2. Nederland's Junior Rider, Sanne Van Groten won the Individual Award with a collective score of 141.700

The Dressage Invitational comprised two rounds: The first being the highest test at the level that either the Young, Junior or Senior rider competed. The first round was held Friday and the second round consisting of their Freestyle Kurs was completed on Saturday evening after the Goteborg Trophy Grand Prix.

Several trends were apparent watching these freestyles not the least among them the incoming Halt being just inside of A. Several kurs also began with the required walk movements and then went directly to the canter work and back to required trot movements. Weiger De Boer's ending Halt and salute at C on his Holsteiner stallion Cosmopolitan was a very confident movement as he ended his salute staring the judge at C close range in the face.

Check back later this week for video of the complete event.

April 26th, GoteBorg, Sweden--- Jessica Kürten aboard Castle Forbes Libertina rode a stellar ride over quite possibly the toughest Day 2 course that anyone can remember. The course left showjumping masters like Ludger Beerbaum, Peter Wylde and Michael Whitaker shaking theirs heads wondering what course designer Rolf Ludi of Sweden had in mind for them on Sunday when the third and final round of the World Cup will be ridden.

Only five horses made it to the Jump-Off with several horses taking down the back bar of the huge Wallenstam oxer that came up quickly around a tight right turn just after a very challenging water and rock double combination.

We'll bring you complete standings and of course the results from tomorrow's final along with video of the Goteborg Trophy Grand Prix and several interviews with riders so check back soon!

1. Jeesica Kurten               Castle Forbes Libertina         36.91
2. Peter Wylde                   Esplanade 7                          37.21 
   
3. Ludger Beerbaum           All Inclusive NRW                   40.25
4. Rich Fellers                    Flexible                                36.28
5. Michael Whitaker           Suncal Portofino                   42.46

April 26th, Goteborg, Sweden---  Dressage comes to Sweden's largest and most prestidgious jumping show. For the first time ever, four countries are vying for the title of Dressage Cup Champion at the Goteborg Horse Show. Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Denmark sent riders in all categories and yesterday saw each rider ride the highest test at their level. Young rider, Femke Beljon of the Nederlands on Kasparov, a bay KWPN gelding turned in the day's high score of 69.500, with Sanne  Van Grotel, also from the Nederlands and their Jumior rider following closely behind with a score of 68.800 on her KWPN gelding Melvin. Joan Jensen from Denmark was the highest score for the Senior riders at 67.500 on her Oldenburg Gelding Albert.

Round II comprised of their Freestyles will be ridden tonight after the Goteborg Trophy Grand Prix. Updates with complete scores will be provided after the Final Round of Freestyle competition tonight and video of all rides will be available on Sporthorse.TV next week!

Riders

Denmark:

Joan K Jensen (senior), Anna Kasprzak (young rider), Camilla Blicher (junior)

Germany:

Wieger de Boer (senior), Franziska Sauer (young rider), Paula de Boer (junior)

Netherlands:

Anke Ter Beek (senior), Femke Beljon (young rider), Sanne van Grotel (junior)

Sweden:

Team I: Louise Nathhorst (senior), Johanna Due Boje (young rider), Sara Henrietta Bergström Källström (junior)

Team II: Emma Karlsson (senior), Stephanie Brodd (young rider), Elisabeth Hjelm (junior)

The first round is scheduled for Friday afternoon and the freestyle finals on Saturday evening.

Programmes

Senior riders: Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle

Young riders: Prix St Georges and FEI Freestyle for Young Riders

Junior riders: FEI Individual Championship Test and FEI Freestyle for Junior

Jump in to the action! Login on SporthorseTV for footage from Sweden and watch your favorites' rides.

Rolex FEI World Cup™, Western European League

Jessica Kürten, IRL
Meredith Michaels Beerbaum, GER
Rutherford Latham, ESP
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, SWE
Gerco Schröder, NED
Marcus Ehning, GER
Ludger Beerbaum, GER
Steve Guerdat, SUI
Patrick McEntee, BEL
Albert Zoer, NED
Eugenie Angot, FRA
Helena Lundbäck, SWE
Harrie Smolders, NED
Heinrich Hermann Engemann, GER
Michael Whitaker, GBR
Judy-Ann Melchior, BEL
Malin Baryard-Johnsson, SWE
Mikael Forsten, FIN

Japan League

Takamishi Mashiyama, JPN

Central European League

Lukasz Jonczyk, POL
Mikhail Safronov, RUS
Hanno Ellermann, EST

North American League - USA West Coast

Rich Fellers, USA
Guy Thomas, NZL

North American League - USA East Coast

Kent Farrington, USA
Peter Wylde, USA - replacement for McLain Ward, USA
Lauren Hough, USA
Margie Engle, USA
Brianne Goutal, USA
Todd Minikus, USA- replacement for Shuyler Riley, USA
Danielle Torano, USA

North American League - Canada

Jill Henselwood, CAN
Darrin Dlin, CAN

South African League

Shaun Neill, RSA

ARAB League

Abdullah Mhd Al Marri, UAE

Title Holder

Beat Mändli, SUI

Wild card

Royne Zetterman, SWE
Mandy Porter, USA

FEI Wild card