Rich Fellers and Flexible (SusanJStickle.com)

Las Vegas, N.V. – The quest for the championship title continued tonight in the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, N.V. Prized World Cup points were up for grabs as 35 combinations went head-to-head over Anthony D'Ambrosio’s 16 effort course with just six returning for the jump-off. The U.S. contingent surged up the leaderboard, sending four forward to the jump-off: Beezie Madden, Lucy Davis, Rich Fellers, and McLain Ward. Fellers now stands tied for first going into Sunday’s always exciting third and final leg of competition.

Fellers (Sherwood, Ore.) and longtime partner Flexible, the eldest horse in the field at 19-years-of-age, brought the crowd to a fever pitch with a clear first round. The fan favorites put in a fighting effort over the large track and moved forward to the jump-off. Fellers said of round one, “It was a scopey trip, he fought against the odds out there with that type of a track for a horse of his age. I could not be more pleased with his effort.”

Thinking forward to Sunday, Fellers made the decision not to take any warm-up jumps before heading back in for the jump-off, opting to save the stallion for the remainder of the competition. Despite having the first rail down, the pair finished in a time of 33.80. Fellers is now tied for first in overall World Cup Rankings with Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on zero faults. 

Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and Simon returned to their characteristic form this evening, putting in double clear rounds to place second in this second leg of competition and move up 10 spots on the overall leaderboard to tie for fifth overall on six faults. Heading into the jump-off Madden knew she could rely on Simon’s agility through the tight turns and took several riskier angles including fence two, the liverpool oxer.

Looking to repeat the pair’s winning effort from 2013, Madden looked forward to Sunday, saying “It comes down to clean round jumping now. I will try to prepare my horse to be the best he can be. Anything can happen as we all know, so I plan to take it the best we can and jump a couple clear rounds.”

In her third consecutive Finals appearance, Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.) vaulted up the leaderboard with an impressive clear in the first round. In the jump-off Davis, rode an aggressive track and had only the last rail down, finishing third tonight and tied for eighth overall on seven faults.

“It was a difficult course, very proper and large with a lot of options,” said Davis. “I am lucky to have a horse than can handle the track and if I stay calm and stick to the plan then results like tonight happen.”

Ward and Rothchild handily moved forward to the jump-off, but a refusal at the third fence and rail down at 4A landed them sixth in the class and tied for eighth overall with Davis and Jur Vrieling of The Netherlands.

The U.S. has qualified nine riders for Sunday’s final leg: Karl Cook (Woodside, Calif.) who sits 23rd overall, Kirsten Coe (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), Laura Kraut (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), and Vinton Karrasch (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) who are tied for 25th overall, and Hardin Towell (Camden, S.C.) who sits tied for 30th. Todd Minikus chose to retire Babalou 41 after several mishaps left the mare unsettled on-course. The pair did not qualify to move on to Sunday. 

The Final leg of the 2015 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final will take place Sunday at Noon.

For complete results visit worldcuplasvegas.com.