Scott Brash is keeping Britain’s World Cup dreams alight as he lies in second place behind world champions Henrik Von Eckermann and King Edward.
Last night (5 April) the opening round of the showjumping World Cup final took place in Omaha, USA. 40 starters from 19 nations tackled Bernardo Costa Cabral’s 13-fence track.
Scott Brash and his Tokyo Olympic and World Championships ride Hello Jefferson were seventh to jump and went into the top spot, with a time of 59.23sec. Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Tobago Z looked like they might threaten Scott’s lead, but the pair had to settle for second place. It was last-in Henrik Von Eckermann and King Edward who closed the evening on top, stopping the clock on 59.09sec.
“I’m very happy with Jefferson, I thought he jumped fantastic”, said Scott of the 14-year-old gelding. “He’s amazing, he’s capable of winning anything. I’ve always believed in him and it’s just about things going right on the day. So far, so good.”
“He’s a quick horse but he gets tense so I try to do the round that’s comfortable for him. I was very happy with the first half and then just at the end he got a little bit keen, he lost his relaxation a bit, but he jumped the last good and hopefully we can keep him settled for tomorrow.”
Henrik made use of being the last rider to jump.
“It was an advantage to watch a little bit to see how much risk you really need to take without getting too crazy,” he said.
“I got my plan done. Scott’s horse is completely different so I just did my plan that suited my horse. To the triple bar [fence 6] I could do one less, he did nine, I did eight, so I knew there I’d have a bit of time, and on the other ones I kept the pace going. We did nine to the last when many did 10. These small things meant that I was in front.”
Harry Charles is the only other Brit competing in the showjumping World Cup final; he lies in 17th on Balou du Reventon. Ireland’s Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights are in 18th, and Daniel Coyle and Legacy are 25th. Last year’s winner Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei are 22nd, after having two fences down.
The jump-off class takes place this evening (6 April), and the final two-round competition on Saturday (8 April).
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