Stunning performances highlight the Lugano Grand Prix at WEC

by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 22, 2024 | On the rail, Previous Columns

When is a $330,000 grand prix not the featured attraction at a horse show?

Answer: When it’s held during a week that offers the only U.S. leg of the Longines League of Nations, a new version of the traditional Nations Cup series.

Teams from 10 countries will face off Saturday in that much-anticipated two-round contest at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, where all the seats were sold out days ago. But on Thursday evening, the Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix did shine in the spotlight, with 49 starters taking on the dare of an Alan Wade-designed course that yielded only one clear round—from Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam–among the first 37 starters.

Would this class be deprived of a jump-off? The very tight 80-second time allowed resulted in time penalties for five riders who otherwise were fault-free, including the USA’s Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, who finished sixth with a single time fault.

No, happily several of the field’s biggest names conquered the demanding route so spectators could anticipate the tiebreaker. First to join the clean round list was France’s former European Championship gold medalist, Kevin Staut on Beau de Laubry Z, followed by another former European champion, Martin Fuchs of Switzerland with Leone Jei. Then Steve Guerdat, yet another Swiss star, and the winner of individual Olympic gold, the European Championship and the FEI World Cup finals produced a clear with the untested Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte.

But the real surprise was the last to go, the USA’s relatively unheralded Callie Schott, who unlike her clear round predecessors in the class won’t be riding on a team for the League competition.

She was aboard Garant, Beezie Madden’s former mount, to complete a jump-off field of five accompanied by the heartfelt cheers of the crowd as she cleared the last fence. The list for the tie-breaker soon became four, however, as Kevin bowed out to keep his mount fresh for the French team’s efforts two days later in the League competition.

Callie was on the American squad for the League’s debut in Abu Dhabi last month, where she reported Garant had the first fence down in both rounds. There would be no such mishaps in this class.

Shane produced a respectable trip with RR Combella in 39.44 seconds. Martin went after that clocking with his magnificent grey son of Baltic VDL, finishing in 36.68 seconds after a mad dash to the final fence. No one would be able to beat that. Steve tried, but as he noted, “it’s the very first time that this horse has seen a ring like this, that he has seen jumps like tonight, the first time he jumps under the lights.”

He was clocked in 37.54 seconds, good enough, as it happened, to be runner-up. (Interestingly, the dam sire of Steve’s horse was Tinka’s Boy, ridden to great acclaim by Martin’s uncle, Markus Fuchs).

Steve noted, “I thought the time was just maybe one or two seconds too short, so I knew it was going to be a tough ask. He responded beautiful to everything I asked him. It couldn’t have been any better, and it made me very proud tonight.”

Callie gave it her all to finish in 37.88 seconds, strides ahead of Shane to make it onto the podium in third place.

Coached by Beezie’s husband, John Madden, Callie received this advice before the jump-off “Go enjoy yourself.” And she did, as evidenced by her wide smile on the podium while lifting a bouquet next to Steve and Martin.

I wondered whether as a relative newcomer to the top level of the sport she was intimidated by riding against such major stars. She is ranked 229^th in the world, while Martin is sixth-ranked and Steve third-ranked.

“Actually,” she replied, “I think it was really exciting to be able to compete with them.”

Steve won’t be riding his grand prix horse on the Swiss team Saturday, but Martin will be aboard Leone Jei and doesn’t think the extra outing in the grand prix will affect his Dutch-bred mount.

“He jumped fantastic both rounds, he felt really good. He was really working with me, and I felt like he enjoyed both rounds a lot. When you’re in a grand prix like this, you really want to win, and you try your best in the jump-off. You don’t think too much about the Nations Cup yet. Leone Jei has so much experience already at this level, and I really trust him that he can go fast in a jump-off like today, and then still be focused and at his best on Saturday for Team Switzerland.”

The course laid out with the assistance of Colm Quinn and Bobby Murphy was showcased against the backdrop of the columned 5-star Equestrian Hotel, where lucky fans got to watch the action in the Grand Arena from the front porch.

Asked how she prepared to tackle the awesome route, Callie said she and John, “broke down the course and stuck to the plan, we did it piece by piece and put it all together.”

Garant, known as Junior around the barn, was withdrawn from consideration for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when Beezie was riding him because she and his owner felt he wasn’t ready yet.

But he’s ready now and Callie noted, “If I make the short list for the Olympics, I think we are going to try to pursue that, and if not, we’re going to do the best for all of our horses and go from there.”

She has quite a relationship with Garant.

“He is a goofball who is playful in the barn. It’s taken a while for me to get to know him in the ring because he turns into a different horse and has so much energy. Day to day, he’s a very relaxed, very low-key animal then you go into that first jump and then you’re off.”

Nine competitors were eliminated or retired in the class. Aside from Laura, U.S. team riders didn’t fare well.

McLain Ward had the last fence down with Ilex to finish thirteenth, which was good enough to be in the prize money. Kent Farrington had two rails with Landon to wind up twenty-seventh. Aaron Vale, a local crowd favorite because he’s based in Ocala, was thirty ninth with 20 penalties, but Ovi Wan is not his team horse, so don’t read too much into that for the League contest.

Melissa Brandes of Lugano called the class, “an unbelievable night of sport. I have been looking forward to this week for a long time. As a founding sponsor of WEC, to see a competition like this take place here is unbelievable.” I’m awe-struck.”