Fellers King of the ‘World’

By Staff Report April 19, 2012

U.S. rider Rich Fellers and his superstar mount Flexible topped the competition on day one of the 2012 Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final, April 19 at the Indoor Brabant, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

The 16-year-old Irish Sporthorse stallion has the distinction of being the oldest horse in the competition, and observers marveled that he lived up to his name, taking a super-tight turn to the double verticals at fence five that proved pivotal in every sense. None of the rest could match his pace as he broke the beam in 60.26 seconds in the CSI5* competition, scored under FEI Table C  (speed class) rules.

Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Nino des Buissonnets were more than a second slower when slotting into second, while the remarkable Rik Hemeryck finished third for Belgium with Quarco de Kerambars, despite having the dubious distinction of being first into the ring.

Pius Schwizer (SUI) and Ulysse lined up fourth ahead of Kevin Staut and Silvana HDC for France in fifth, while reigning FEI European Champion, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson from Sweden, was sixth with Casall La Silla.

There were 10 clear rounds in the field of 37 ―nine of them representing the U.S. The test took place on a 13-obstacle course set by Dutch designer Louis Konickx. With the faults-converted format, riders needed to ride forward and efficiently while still jumping carefully.

This is the second time Fellers, of Sherwood, OR, and Flexible have won the initial round of a Finals, having led out of the gate at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Finals in Geneva, Switzerland. Additionally, they were second overall in the 2008 edition of the competition in Gothenburg, Sweden, finishing behind Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly.

“It’s always incredible to win at a World Cup Final.” Fellers said of his partner of 10 years. “He has some longevity in the sport. He’s a tough horse and is continuing to learn. He’s a better horse now then he was in Gothenburg.”

The only time a clear round looked in doubt for Fellers and his diminutive partner was heading into the double combination at fence five off a short turn. However, Flexible was unfazed by a slight stumble before the fence and just kept jumping.

“I made a little mistake in the turn back to the double verticals. Fortunately, my horse is clever and didn’t seem to mind. I didn’t slow (him) down enough before the turn, so I had to add a stride late, but he didn’t seem to mind.”

The liverpool oxer at fence nine proved to be the bogey during the first round, and it fell another four times during the jump-off. The front element of fence 6 (oxer to vertical) also proved the undoing of many a rider.

Kirsten Coe (Johnston, SC) followed Fellers into the ring three rides later and produced another clear jumping effort for the U.S. However, a more conservative pace meant she and Ilan Ferder’s Baronez completed the course in 65.76 seconds. They lay in eighth place following Thursday’s opening round.

Rounding out the U.S. riders in the top 20 placings are Richard Spooner, Beezie Madden and Charlie Jayne. All three posted competitive times but each had costly faults moving them down the order. Spooner (Agua Dulce, CA) and Show Jumping Syndication International’s Cristallo faulted at the oxer jumping into the Rolex combination at six and stand equal 14th. Madden (Cazenovia, NY) and Abigail Wexner’s Cortes C notched 16^th after adding four penalty seconds to their time as a result of faulting at the ninth fence an oxer down the rail. Jayne (Elgin, IL) and Pony Lane Farm’s Uraya had rails at fences 6B and 12 and stand 20th.

Kent Farrington and Margie Engle, both of Wellington, FL, each were forced to add eight penalty seconds for two knock downs on course. They stand 22^nd and 25^th on RCG Farm’s Uceko and Gladewinds, Griese, Garber, and Hidden Creek Farm’s Indigo respectively.

Also competing for the U.S. were Francie Steinwedell-Carvin (La Canada, CA) and Prentis Partners’ Taunus and Michelle Spadone (Kennett Square, PA) with Morgan Hill Partners’ Uwwalon. Each collected faults over the course and lay 29^th and 32^nd.

Fellers will head into the second round Friday with the early lead in the 2012 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final and 38 World Cup points. Guerdat and Hemeryck head into tomorrow’s second round with 36 and 35 World Cup points respectively.

There are many more big fences to be jumped before the 2011/2012 Rolex champion will be crowned on Sunday afternoon, but Fellers is not intimidated, and Flexible has as big a heart as his rider of 10 years. The horse’s career has been threatened by severe injury on more than one occasion but he has returned to the top of the sport, each time giving more and more of his best.

Flexible didn’t have an easy trip to this year’s Final either.  Originally scheduled to fly out of Seattle, WA, Fellers had to re-route with a 19-hour road-trip to Los Angeles instead when the Seattle flight was cancelled, but says he and Flexible “still felt good” when they got there.  It’s that fighting spirit that sets the duo apart from the rest.

The second leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final 2011/2012 takes place tomorrow, Friday 20 April, at 19:00 local time. The deciding competition will get underway on Sunday afternoon at 14:00 hours.

Helen Murray and Louise Parks contributed to this report.

2011/2012 FEI World Cup Finals Jumping, Day 1 Results
(April 19, 2012)

1. Flexible (Rich Fellers) USA 60.26
2. Nino des Buissonnets (Steve Guerdat) SUI 61.94
3. Quarco de Kerambars (Rik Hemeryck) BEL 62.66
4. Ulysse (Pius Schwizer) SUI 62.84
5. Silvana HDC (Kevin Staut) FRA 63.07
6. Casall la Silla (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) SWE 63.60
7. Regina Z (Harrie Smolders) NED 63.67
8. Baronez (Kirsten Coe) USA 65.76
9. Sabrina (Marcus Ehning) GER 65.87
10. Coriana van Klapscheut (Eric Lamaze) can 65.97
11. Titus (Edwina Tops-Alexander) AUS 66.33
12. Lennox (Luciana Diniz) POR 66.59
13. Ornella Mail HDC (Patrice Delaveau) FRA 66.87
14. Cristallo (Richard Spooner) USA 67.52
Souvenir (Philipp Weishaupt) GER 67.52
16. Cortes C (Beezie Madden) USA 67.99
17. Special (Luiz Francisco de Azevedo) BRA 68.50
18. VDL Groep Verdi (Maikel van der Vleuten) NED 71.37
19. Cantaro 32 (Ali bin Khaled Al Thani) QAT 71.57
20. Uraya (Charlie Jayne) USA 71.81
21. Abbervail van het Dingeshof (Denis Lynch) IRL 71.98
22. Uceko (Kent Farrington) USA 72.43
23. Satisfaction FRH (Marco Kutscher) GER 73.48
24. Kassini Jac (Ludo Philippaerts) BEL 74.30;
25. Indigo (Margie Engle) USA 75.33
26. Taloubet Z (Christian Ahlmann) GER 76.09
27. WKD Pepperpot (Sameh El Dahan) EGY 78.79
28. Chaman (Ludger Beerbaum) GER 79.68
29. Taunus (Francie Steinwedell-Carvin) USA 81.40
30. Lascar (Benas Gutkauskas) LTU 83.63
31. Ducati (Pedro Junqueira Muylaert) BRA 90.34
32. Uwwalon (Michelle Spadone) USA 90.62
33. Carisma (Emilie Martinsen) DEN 93.17
34. Hallmark Elite (Dermott Lennon) IRL 94.00
35. Cinnamon (Tilt Kivisild) EST 96.47
36. Aslan (Ljubov Kochetova) RUS 98.69
37. Willem (Yuyu Ninomiya) JPN Elim.

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