The conclusion of the BMO Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows Saturday was not really a surprise, as the German team built on the world show jumping championship it won last month in Aachen to take another splendid victory.
The squad’s talent translated across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, where Germany finished on a mere 4 penalties to take the BMO Cup for a record twelfth time.
But the other podium placings were in doubt until the end, while the action offered its share of unexpected drama throughout the afternoon.
In the first round, defending Cup champion Great Britain led on 2 penalties, with Germany second on its 4, Ireland third on 8 and the U.S. fourth on 16. But things did not go Britain’s way in the second round, and the unsettling climax was 2020 Olympic individual gold medalist Ben Maher’s fall at the first fence, after Catelly ran through it. Happily, neither horse nor rider was injured, but it was a shocker for the crowd lining the berms and grandstands around the vast turf field in Calgary.
Britain wound up fourth on 26 penalties, behind Ireland, which rose to second with 17 penalties from fourth after the first round, and Belgium, fifth in the first round, but going on to claim the third podium spot on 21 penalties.
The U.S., fourth in the first round, ended up fifth on 46 penalties without a fault-free trip during the afternoon. Anchor rider McLain Ward did not take part in the second round, because anything he did could not improve the team’s placing. A total of nine teams took part in the first round, with six qualifying for the second round over the same course.
Another surprise was seeing Germany’s anchor rider, world number one and European Champion Richie Vogel, ride Cloudio in the second round after his country already had clinched the title. Why bother, you ask.
The answer: Although he already was fault-free in the first round and the team didn’t need another score from him in order to win, a second clear would boost his points in the world standings. It was not to be, however, since a rail at the last fence, the Swedish butterflies oxer over a liverpool, came down.
It made no difference in Germany’s score because Richie’s teammates, Sophie Hinners, Daniel Deusser and Jörne Sprehe, all were fault-free in that round, and only the best three scores count. The team was the same as the victorious Aachen squad, with the exception of Jörne subbing for Marcus Ehning.
The winning German team with Chef d’Equipe Otto Becker: Jörne Sprehe, Daniel Deusser, Sophie Hinners, Richie Vogel. (Spruce Meadows Media/Dave Chidley)
“It was a tough course,” said German Chef d’Equpe Otto Becker, a comment echoed many times as the class proceeded.
“I’m totally proud and happy. It’s something special to win here at Spruce Meadows,” Otto concluded.
The course was laid out by Spruce’s perennial designer, Leopoldo Palacios, who had a doozy of a test on the line from fence nine. the oxer painted in Ireland’s colors, four strides to the blue and white vertical/oxer/vertical BMO triple combination, with one stride between its elements.
In the first round, that line was responsible for 22 faults, and some involved more than just falling rails.
Britain’s pathfinder, Jessica Mendoza — who had only 4 penalties in the first round when a block toppled from the Normandy wall, fence number two — assessed the scene after watching other competitors ride. It took 18 trips until Sophie Hinners scored the first double-clear.
“It’s clearly a tough course,” Jessica said.
“It was a little bit of a bloodbath out there.”
The home team suffered the worst luck.
Nikki Walker had the B element of the triple down, and then a refusal at C. When she came back, she fell off as her horse refused in the combination.
Prior to that, Kyle King, a dual U.S./Canadian citizen making his debut on the Canadian team with Kayenne Z, crashed through the famous Dutch bicycle fence, then had a difficult approach to the next jump, turned away and left the ring after the horn blew.
With only two members remaining from the four-member squad, Canada was out. Although Amy Millar did start, she had a refusal at the triple and retired.
“It sure wasn’t our best day,” said chef d’equipe Ian Millar, who rode on many winning teams at Spruce Meadows.
“Reasons are excuses and so you’re not going to get either from me. I’m just going to say our horse/rider combinations weren’t good enough today and we’re going to fix it in the future.”
Discussing the course, the 10-time Olympian said, “I think the triple BMO combination today caused an unintended amount of trouble.”
Richie Vogel and Cloudio mastered the BMO triple.
Citing the grade of the ring’s surface, he commented, “the horses are actually working their way up a hill. It was a visual and it was a bit of distance issue and horses just didn’t figure it out. The second round, they came back, and by and large, jumped it so much better because they knew what it was at that point.” Click here for results
The excitement isn’t over at Spruce Meadows. The world’s richest grand prix, the $5 million (Canadian) CPKC ‘International’, presented by Rolex, is slated for Sunday. Richie Vogel is in line to become only the second person to take the Rolex Grand Slam if he can win the class.
The format of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping is simple: anyone who wins three major Rolex grands prix in a row receives the Rolex Grand Slam trophy and a 1 million Euro bonus on top of the class’s prize-money. If that same rider then continues their success by winning a fourth Major in succession, they will be rewarded with an additional 1 million Euro bonus.
