Las Vegas, NV – With solidly executed rides that can be described as nothing less than perfectly precise, it was Brazil’s show-jumping super-star, Rodrigo Pessoa who would stake his claim in the spotlight at the inaugural Las Vegas World Invitational at Las Vegas’ Thomas and Mack Arena, October 15. Out of a field of 25 of the world’s best, the 32-year-old Pessoa was one of only six riders to make it to the final jump-off in the most anticipated class of the weekend, the $750,000 Grand Prix. Of the final six, Pessoa and Baloubet Du Rouet were the winning rider and horse pair, shaving off bits of time throughout the entire course to speed through at an unbelievable 29.64 seconds. The win came with a hefty award too, earning $250,000.

“From the first jump to the last, everything came really perfectly,” said Pessoa. “With the competitors coming behind me in the jump-off, I couldn’t afford to leave anything [to chance]. The track was tough, but we expected that today. It was good and it was fair.”

Like most of the riders, Pessoa was quick to praise the footing at the event, provided by Martin Collins footing. The lightly wax-coated sand and rubber mixture gave riders the grip and the spring they needed to excel. “The footing was perfect,” added Pessoa. “The horses could go really fast and turn and never slip. It had a really good grip.”

In second place was Great Britain’s Nick Skelton, riding Arko III to a very close second place finish with a final ride-off time of 30.45 seconds. In third was California native Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum riding for Germany. Aboard Checkmate 4, Beerbaum secured a jump-off time of 31.53 seconds.

The United States’ first ever five-star, million-dollar show jumping event proved to be a challenge not only of skill, but also of execution, especially with German course designer Olaf Petersen’s final puzzle for the $750,000 Grand Prix. With difficult but well-placed lines and tricky double and triple combination jumps, the course became more of a challenge than riders might have first anticipated. More than three-quarters of all riders had at least one rail down, with many accumulating multiple faults. Alas, Lady Luck was not on the side of the United States’ riders Saturday night.

Lauren Hough was the United States’ highest placed rider at eighth place. She and Casadora nearly rode a clean round, but picked up a rail during the triple combination, adding four faults to their total.

“The rail that she had down was my fault,” explained Hough. “I pushed her too much over the second part of the triple. She easily could have jumped a clear round.”

Even so, the eighth place finish earned Hough $17,000. “I was thrilled!” she said. “My horse is quite young—she’s nine, and this was a huge test for her.”

Overall, the Americans were in good spirits after the conclusion of the Invitational.

“I thought the event was fantastic,” shared Hough. “To have money like this in the first year of an event is something new.”

Fellow rider Laura Kraut echoed Hough’s sentiments. “We were lucky to have it,” Kraut said. “We had 25 of the world’s best horses and riders—it was nice to have this in our country.”