It looked as if the quest for the Rolex Grand Slam was all over for world number one show jumper Richie Vogel, when United Touch S clipped a rail from the next-to-last fence in the second round of the world’s richest grand prix Sunday, after the pole splashed into the liverpool beneath it. The German’s disappointing score was 4 penalties.
But then the next rider to go in the 12-horse round in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Spruce Meadows Masters, Ireland’s Daniel Coyle on Farrell, had two rails down from that dangerous double, leaving him on 8 penalties. And the final competitor, Lillie Keenan of the U.S., toppled the B element of the CPKC double with Fasther.
So all was not lost for Richie, because Lillie’s error triggered a six-horse tiebreaker of the 4-fauters from six nations, all that remained of the starting field of 39 in the $5 million (Canadian) CPKC International presented by Rolex.
The original group, which included seven of the world’s top 10 jumper riders, was whittled down to 12 for the second round. That involved the seven fault-free competitors, one rider with a single time fault, and the four fastest 4-faulters. All faults carried over from the first round to the second round and then the tiebreaker.
World Champion Steve Guerdat of Switzerland had led the way in the jump-off on a fast, fault-free trip in 42.25 seconds with Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte.
Steve was followed by Great Britain’s Ben Maher on Enjeu de Grisien. Ben had suffered a fall in Saturday’s Nations Cup on a different horse, but bounced back with a sore right shoulder to take his chances in the featured class — even though his wife, didn’t want him to compete.
His perfect trip was clocked in 41.40 seconds. In the end, it would be good enough to win, but not before four more riders had their turn. One of them was Richie.
Sadly, his second chance of the day at getting the 1 million Euro bonus for the Grand Slam did not work out, with the B element of the CPKC double hitting the ground on the shortened course designed by Leopoldo Palacios and Anthony D’Ambrosio. Not only did the European champion lose the class, finishing fifth, he also lost a chance to claim the elusive Rolex Grand Slam, which has been won just once.
That was 11 years ago; no one since Great Britain’s Scott Brash did it in 2015 has been able to win three Rolex Major grands prix in a row to claim the title. Scott, number three in the world, finished seventeenth on Sunday after a slow 4-fault trip in the first round on Hello Jefferson.
Last to jump in the tiebreaker was Lillie, who gave her aptly named mount, Fasther, a kiss on the neck before heading out on course.
Lillie Keenan at the iconic Dutch bicycle jump from the 1994 World Equestrian Games in the Hague.
She was fault-free, but 0.45 seconds slower than Ben, putting her in the silver medal spot on the podium. Not bad — she was sandwiched in the standings between two Olympic individual gold medalists. (Steve was 2012; Ben 2021).
“I am a little disappointed in myself,” said Lillie, always the perfectionist.
Ben Maher with Lillie Keenan and Steve Guerdat on the podium.
“I know my horse could have won today, but I am extremely proud of him,” she noted about the 16-year-old KWPN gelding she has worked with for eight years.
“It was a long day, hard-fought, but to be second to Ben Maher is pretty awesome.”
The class took nearly five hours to run, on a day that included the region’s first frost of the season and a dose of rain. But the stellar level of competition made it sparkle for the crowd wrapped in blankets, parkas, scarves and hoodies who filled the stands around the immaculately prepared grass field.
“Incredible day,” said Ben as he absorbed the fact that he had triumphed after three grueling rounds.
“I’ve been coming to Spruce Meadows for many years; never had too much luck in the grand prix. Enjeu, he’s always loved this arena, but never had a chance on Sunday. I thought the chance had slipped away with the one down (in the first round).
Second course for the CPKC Grand Prix
“I came back around and I got a second chance and he did everything for me,” Ben continued, praising his 12-year-old Selle Francais.
“This sport, one day you’re on the floor; the next day you could be winning. It was an unfortunate mistake yesterday (Saturday) and i paid for it. It was a long night; I came very close to not riding today. I’m very happy we won.”
U.S. Coach Robert Ridland noted Lillie “Just barely missed winning the grand prix. She’s a fierce competitor ever since she won the Maclay finals quite a few years ago. She’s a tremendous talent.’
What was his reaction when he saw the scoreboard timer after her ride?
“My first thought was probably what her first thought was: Damn — she almost won. She’s out there to win, not to be second. I thought she had him. She rode exactly the ride they planned going in,” he said, referring to her mentor, McLain Ward, who finished twelfth on High Star Hero. Lillie noted McLain was with her “every step of the way.”
“She got fairly beaten by a great ride,” Robert added graciously.
“She laid it down just like she wanted to — to be second in the biggest prize money event in our sport is not too shabby.”
Reflecting on how the class went, Lillie felt in the jump-off, “I should have been faster to the third jump. I left out a stride from one to two, which was my plan.”
But then, she noted, “I didn’t push through the rollback.” Her horse, she added, was “phenomenal.”
The silver medal winner noted, “I am incredibly grateful to the team around me, because I show quite a bit, and to have any success at this level is thanks to everyone behind the scenes who makes it possible.” Click here for results
