The mentor and his protege battled it out in the $400,000 Longines FEI World Cup qualifier at Santa Anita Saturday night, with only the narrowest of margins separating them in the standings.
While U.S. Olympic multi-medalist and World Cup champion McLain Ward finished on top at the Split Rock show in Arcadia, Calif., European Champion Richie Vogel of Germany was happy to have come so close, noting how important his friend has been to his performance.
“He’s always there for me. He always has a wise thought on the struggles I have,” said Richie, then added with a smile, “I’ll try to beat him next time.”
McLain was aboard High Star Hero, a 12-year-old Belgian sport horse, with whom he has had some ups and downs. After his top horse, Imperial HBF, was sidelined with an injury earlier this season, it was time for Hero to step up.
McLain Ward on his way to a win with High Star Her.
In the seven-horse tiebreaker, the partnership showed how well it is working now, finishing in 33.99 seconds after a time-saving sharp turn to the third fence, a vertical.
An extra stride may have cost Richie the title on Gangster Mondesir, a slick-looking bay 9-year-old Selle Francais, who finished so close behind the leader in 34.39 seconds. It was a pretty remarkable performance, since it was only their fourth class together and the first World Cup the horse had ever jumped.
The stallion has been getting better at each show, and as Richie pointed out, “every question we asked him, he has an answer to.”
After his ride, Richie generously shared some insights about the course with McLain before he went in the ring.
“It was great sport tonight and I’m happy for him,” said Richie.
“Unfortunately, I was too slow.”
Richie Vogel and Gangster Montdesir.
Third place went to Nina Mallavaey of France, number one in the world Under 25 rankings. She finished in the same range as the top two riders, clocked in 34.73 seconds with Dynastie de Beaufour. The USA’s Laura Kraut was further back with a time of 36.02 seconds on Bisquetta to finish fourth.
Although it might be intimidating for some young riders to be facing off against so many of the world’s best riders, Nina goes for it.
“I think I’m just surrounded by amazing people and horses and that gives me a lot of confidence. I’m really grateful to be here right now. I’ve been watching McLain since I was a kid, so to be a part of this now is a dream,” she said.
Nina Mallavaey and Dynastie de Beaufour
McLain called Hero “a very talented horse, incredibly sensitive.”
When Imperial was injured, McLain turned to Hero and told himself, “This is the best horse and he’s got a lot of good qualities and we’re going to dig in here.”
Hero had been getting “a bit tense in small arenas. This is probably the smallest arena and he performed well so I think he’s getting better.”
McLain is the leading U.S. rider in the North American standings for the 2026 Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Ft. Worth, which also will be presented by Split Rock. The North American qualifying list is headed by Conor Swail, who is from Ireland but based in North America.
Santa Anita will host the equestrian portion of the 2028 Olympics, which adds extra excitement to the competition there.
McLain walked the course with successful race horse trainer Bob Baffert, who was impressed by what he saw.
“I didn’t know what they were doing,” he said about the walk.
McLain Ward gives racehorse trainer Bob Baffert a course walk guided tour.
“I thought they were looking for holes in the surface, or something,” Bob revealed.
“He showed me how they step it off. It’s pretty intimidating when you get that close to see how high the jumps are And the timing and everything that goes into it. They’re like jockeys, but they really have to think out their strategy. Watching these horses, they’re all sizes and different shapes. The athleticism they have to get over that high. It’s pretty remarkable.”
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